North River Boats Delivers New Sonar Survey Boat for USACE

North River Boats, a custom aluminum boatbuilder, has delivered a new, 26-foot Sounder Survey Vessel for the US Army Corps of Engineers in Los Angeles. The Army Corps of Engineers has a long history of providing surveying and mapping services for government agencies and organizations.

A unique feature of this new offshore hull-based survey boat is the replacement of the traditional moon pool for deploying survey equipment through the hull with a side mounted sonar arm.

Seafloor Systems is equipping this boat with the highest resolution, state-of-the-art Multibeam Echo Sounder and LIDAR equipment for hydrographic survey, dredging, inspection, infrastructure, and channel maintenance surveys.  This system will enable the USACE to collect high density, geo-referenced point cloud representation of the bottom, below water, and above water.   

Each sonar head will be pole mounted on Universal Sonar Mounts (USM mounts), one on Port side, one on Starboard side.

“The combination of the side mounted sonar arm and an offshore hull provides for a more versatile boat,” says North River’s Jesse Faunce.

“It’s not only more comfortable and safer when running to and from survey areas,” explains Faunce, “but it makes it possible to expand survey boat operations into rougher waters. Additionally, not having the moon pool frees up deck space so that the boat can be used for multiple purposes.”

A special feature of this boat is an expanded battery capacity that enables extended operation of the survey equipment without having to run a back-up generator.

According to Faunce, the side mounted sonar arm and other aspects of the survey system can be mounted onto the full range of boat lengths and beam widths in the Sounder series. “However,” he notes, “the 8’6” beam configuration is often desirable because it meets transportation requirements for being trailerable without needing a special permit.”

Vessel Characteristics

•  Length — 26 feet

•  Beam — 8.6 feet

•  Deadrise — 20 degrees

•  Propulsion: Twin Yamaha 200 hp, with Digital Electric Steering

•  Controls: Helm Master EX Full Maneuverability Control

•  Batteries: 640 Ah AGM house battery bank

•  Fuel Cap — 180 gallons (aluminum tank)

North River is an employee-owned company, with a 125,000-square-foot facility located in Roseburg, Oregon. They offer both a Commercial and Recreational line of boats that range in size from 18 feet up to 60 feet. For more information, please visit www.northriverboats.com or call 800-413-6351.