This State-of-the-Art Patrol Vessel Can Deploy and Retrieve Its RHIB in One Minute

All American Marine (AAM) will start building an aluminum catamaran patrol vessel for CDFW, The Bellingham Herald reports. The CDWF is responsible for the safety of the fish, wildlife, and plant resources in California State waters and their habitats. To achieve that, it also has a Law Enforcement Division, and this is where the future vessel will play an important part.

The Bellingham-based shipbuilder claims to have launched some of the most technologically-advanced vessels out there. The future CDWF vessel will boast a catamaran hull designed by Nic de Waal of Teknicraft Design in Auckland, New Zealand. This is supposed to not only reduce drag but also cut fuel consumption.

The future boat will also include a FLIR M400 XR high-resolution thermal-imaging video system as part of a state-of-the-art electronics package.

One of the top catamaran’s top features is a Rapid RHIB (rigid-hulled inflatable boat) launching and retrieval system developed by Teknicraft. Integrated into the vessel’s stern, this advanced feature allows for the inflatable boat to be launched in less than one minute and retrieved just as fast. This not only saves time and manpower during patrol missions but also makes boat operations safer.

The patrol vessel for CDFW is based on the larger one that was previously built for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Called Captain Murchison, the 80-foot (24.3 meters) catamaran also features the innovative Rapid RHIB launch-and-retrieve system. Plus, it was the first vessel in North America to be equipped with Hamilton Jet’s Advanced Vessel Control (AVX) system. It also has a DJI Mavic drone on board.

AAM is already working on the new vessel and will most likely share a tour of it when it’s ready. Until then, you can take a closer look at the Captain Murchison below.