State of Florida Institute of Oceanography

The Research Vessel Suncoaster

 

    

 

RV SUNCOASTER

Crew:

Eugene D. Longo, Marine Captain
Larry Braun, Assistant Marine Captain
John Leyden, Sr. Marine Engineer
George Guthro, Assistant Engineer
Mike Speyser, Cook/Deckhand

 

Specifications:

 

LENGTH:

105 Ft

FUEL CAPACITY:

17500

BEAM:

24 Ft

POTABLE WATER:

8500

DRAFT:

8 Ft

ENDURANCE:

15 DAYS

CRUISING:

8 Kts

CREW:

5

RANGE:

5000 NM

SCIENTISTS:

12

 

MAIN PROPULSION SYSTEM:

    (2) Caterpillar D-353 Diesel Engines; 800 horsepower with 4 blade, 48" fixed pitch stainless steel propellers.

ELECTRICAL:

    (1) Cat 3304B 105 kw Generator;

    (1) GM 3-71 55kw, 120/208 V, 60 cycle,

    3 phase generator. 416 volts are available.

     

COMMUNICATIONS: EQUIPMENT:

 

       (2) Stevens SEA 222 SSB Transceivers;

       (1) WaveCall 2100RM Satellite Telephone;

       (1) Motorola 120E Cellular Telephone.

ECHO SOUNDER:

    Furuno FE 881 depth recorder, 2000 meters max depth, located in the lab. DE725 Raytheon 300 foot depth recorder and Sitex CVS 50/200 kHz dual frequency

    color video echo sounder on the bridge.

WINCHES:

    (1) Hydraulic CTD Winch,

     with 600 meters of .322", 3-conductor cable;

    (1) Hydraulic Trawling Winch,

    with 3,000 meters of 5/16" cable;

    (1) Hydraulic Hydrographic Winch,

    with 1,800 meters of 3/16" cable;

    (1) Auxiliary Davit Winch on 01 Deck,

    for small boat deployment & special applications.

    - Other Winches and cable sizes provided on request. 

U-FRAME:

    Stern location, width 16ft., height 18 ft., hydraulically actuated, travel 6 ft. forward, 8 ft, aft; operating capacity 10,000 lbs.

A-FRAME:

    Starboard location, width 9 ft., height 15 ft., hydraulically actuated. 3 x 6 ft. hero platform; operating capacity 1000 lbs

SIDE BOOM:

    Port location, extends 12 ft. for plankton/neuston tows, installed on request.

CRANE:

    5 ton HIAB articulated boom crane.

WORK BOATS:

    A14 ft. Boston Whaler with 25 hp outboard. A 12 ft. inflatable with 15 hp outboard can be placed on board with advanced notice.

QUARTERS:

12 berths for scientists;

5 berths for crew;

3 heads with showers;

fully air-conditioned living spaces.

LAB SPACE:

420 sq. ft. air-conditioned wet/dry laboratories with ample scientific freezer space, 600 sq. ft. afterdeck area without crane mounted.  Additional storage space for scientific equipmentis available on the 01 Deck.

WORK AREA:

    420 square foot air conditioned wet/dry laboratories with scientific freezer space; 600 square foot afterdeck area without the crane mounted; Additional storage for scientific equipment on the 01 deck.

SCIENTIFIC EQUIPMENT:

    (3) Sea-Bird SBE-25 CTDs (optional instrumentation available upon request);

    (1) Sea-Bird SBE-32 Carousel Water sampler

    (8 liter max. bottle size);

    (1) General Oceanics 1015 Rosette (5 liter bottle size)

    - Niskin Bottles (1.7, 5, 8, 30 liter sizes available for special applications);

    - Bathysystems XBT Launchers;

    - Various Sediment Grabs & Coring Devices available.

     

The Research Vessel SUNCOASTER is operated by the Florida Institute of Oceanography on behalf of the State of Florida and the State University System. It is designated and certified as an Oceanographic Research Vessel by the US Coast Guard and is inspected by NOAA Fleet Operations. The normal operational areas for the SUNCOASTER are the Gulf of Mexico, SE Atlantic, Bahamas and the Caribbean Sea, however the SUNCOASTER has operated as far north as Maine in submersible operations. Research disciplines supported are Biological, Physical, Seismic, Geological, Environmental and Weather. Numerous universities and agencies, both state and federal including The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, NOAA, Naval Research Laboratory, Office of Naval Research, Minerals Management Service and U. S. Geological Survey have utilized the vessel.

The SUNCOASTER is available, fully found, to government agencies, universities, colleges and private industry for research and teaching cruises at competitive rates.