Middlebury College’s Board of Trustees has officially adopted the R/V David Folger as the name for our research vessel. It’s named after the Geology professor who started the College’s Lake Studies program back in the early 1970s. His influence in research on Lake Champlain, already important and durable, will continue through our use of this facility named for him.

Daily conversations with AAM and Dave Weed continue, and things are moving along according to the revised schedule. Dave has visited AAM several times in the past 2 months. We’re in the final stages of completing the smart-lab technology design and integrating it with the wheelhouse navigation systems.

In addition to their names and the official identifying information that all boats must display on the stern, most research vessels also have logos. Here’s a first look at the logo for the new research vessel:

The logo emphasizes that this vessel is built for lake research

We asked for a logo that highlights Lake Champlain’s most characteristic features, and Tim Etchells has come up with a great design. It’s a view over the water to the west, with the sun going down behind the Adirondacks, which are reflected in the lake.

Our students will tell you, though, that the lake is rarely this calm!

Dave Weed has submitted his first formal report: AAM is assembling the frames and bulkheads for the hull. In this phase, rider bars and stiffeners are added to the frames and bulkheads. Completed parts are stored in racks until they can be installed in the hull.

Two AAM employees were working on the parts.
Dave reports that the plate, cut, marking, and welding quality appear good. A half-dozen frames are already assembled, and
parts for the remaining dozen or so were stacked awaiting work.

Tom, Richard, and Dave Guertin of LIS had a marathon conference call today with Denis and Matt from AAM. It included a l-o-n-g discussion about wiring.

The vessel’s power and control cables and the wiring for the communications and computer systems will be housed in separate raceways. AAM needs to know by mid-May which cables are computer-related (so they can keep them separate from power and control cables), which cables are considered “permanent” and which can be replaced relatively quickly, how much all our technology-related equipment weighs, and where we intend to put it. AAM also wants a simplified sketch showing where we want the computer-cable raceways and how we’d prefer to route cables to the workstations and other devices on the vessel.

AAM wants all technology-related equipment on site by June 1. If everything goes according to schedule, LIS will be able to start installing technology-related cabling in late October and have everything hooked up and tested by mid-December. This schedule fits the timeframe planned for sea trials, which will enable us to test much of the scientific equipment while LIS is still on site.

Chris Goodrich will provide a schematic diagram showing how the “clean” AC power should be distributed. This design will be incorporated with the wiring designs for “dirty” AC power and systems control. Chris will also work with LIS, Tom, and Richard to provide a basic schematic for lights and outlets.

Several visits to AAM are planned or projected. Two are definite. The first, sometime between June 26-30, will coincide with near-completion of the hull and possibly with flipping the hull to an upright position. With luck, the cabin will be complete, too. Tom, Richard, Dave, and Chris should be there; Mark Gleason may also be able to come. The second visit, on August 15-16, will come at the end of my research in the volcanic regions of the northwest, so I’ll be there, with the same crew. Most systems installations will have been completed by then.

At least five other trips are planned—to make final decisions about interior and exterior details, to launch the vessel and test systems, to attend USCG inspection, and for sea trials—but the exact dates will depend on whether construction stays on schedule. So far, so good!

The architectural drawings were the one unpleasant surprise. Although they aren’t explicitly mentioned in our contract with AAM, we thought that they would become the College’s property—but they’re proprietary! AAM has provided architectural drawings on a few occasions (for example, for NOAA). If the College wants the drawings of this vessel, the architect will probably require a non-disclosure statement.

After many phone calls and emails back and forth, we’ve straightened out the confusion about Coast Guard inspection. The USCG has agreed to inspect the vessel to certify that it meets T-boat safety standards. The inspection will be performed by the Seattle Branch. The Officer in Charge of Marine Inspection there will review the drawings first, select some for further review, and then pass them on to the Marine Safety Center in Washington, DC.

To say we are relieved is an understatement. Without this inspection, the College would not have been able to use the new facility!

The updated design and construction specifications book has been completed and approved by the College. I’ve sent a spreadsheet, which defines all the change orders and associated costs and explains why they are important, to our contact at NSF, with a request to tap our grant’s contingency funds to cover these changes.

We received word today that the Coast Guard will not inspect the new research vessel. Clearly there’s some misunderstanding somewhere! Without USCG inspection, the vessel can’t be used the way we need to use it. We’ll appeal this decision. Stay tuned…

One of the MANY schematic drawings generated during design!

Middlebury’s Research Vessel Committee met today to establish the final design plan. The committee reviewed all of the design modifications and determined which ones we will implement. The engineering change proposals (AAM calls them ECPs) were broken out by the reason for the change safety, design enhancement, or proper working conditions for the vessel. Tom will communicate the ECPs to AAM – all 49 of them!

The master construction list is three items short of being complete. When it’s finished, we are officially ready to start Construction.

Richard is now back in Vermont and will be prioritizing the information that we currently have. The winch manufacturer is concerned that the side-mounted (cantilevered) aluminum drum design may not be safe. We’ve been in touch by phone and e-mail for the past week; today they will provide three alternative options with associated costs. Whether these costs will be additional or will be covered under AAM’s original bid is yet to be determined.

Prefabricated aluminum panels ready for installation

The winch manufacturer is also negotiating many aspects of the vessel’s hydraulic systems with AAM, who apparently didn’t realize that they also create, build, and install hydraulics, A-frames, and control systems. The controls for the A-frame, the Pull-master, and the ship’s controls are being restructured into a simpler system.

AAM now says that, because of space constraints, construction of our vessel can’t begin for approximately four more weeks. This news is somewhat disappointing but actually works to our benefit, because it gives us more time to find solutions to the remaining engineering challenges.