The following is text of a news release from Moose Boats:
(VALLEJO, Calif.) — Moose Boats has been awarded a contract from California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife for the construction of an M1-46 catamaran to serve as an offshore game warden boat.
Twin Volvo Penta D11 625-hp turbo diesel propulsion engines, Twin Disc transmissions and HamiltonJet waterjets with Blue Arrow and Jet Anchor station-keeping controls will power the 46-foot aluminum catamaran. Accommodations are designed around extended patrol duties for a crew of up to four with Coast Dynamics Shoxs shock-mitigating seats and berthing for each crewmember, a full galley, dinette table, head and shower facilities.
Electronics and navigation equipment will include a comprehensive Raymarine navigation suite including four Axiom 12 multi-function screens, open array radar, autopilot, RealVision sonar and secure AIS. A FLIR M617CS gyro-stabilized thermal imaging camera and several network cameras will integrate into a GOST Watch video recording system. Communications equipment will include Icom, Motorola, KVH and Pyramid radio and satellite systems.
The Department of Fish and Wildlife’s vessel specifications called for comprehensive deck and interior outfitting to enable extended operations for game wardens while performing enforcement and wildlife sampling duties off the Northern California coastline. In response, Moose Boats will integrate Freeman side sliding doors into port and starboard sides of the wide M1 cabin allowing the crew to freely communicate with commercial and recreational boaters, as well as serve as secondary ingress and egress for the crew. A custom 24-inch-tall fendering collar profile will allow the M1-46 catamaran to make contact with both high and low freeboard vessels. Game wardens will retrieve commercial crab traps with a electro-hydraulically operated pot hauler and a rubberized deck and removable gunwale chafe plate will prevent damage to the boat and equipment.
A secondary HamiltonJet Jet Blue Arrow and Jet Anchor control station for the Moose Boats M1 catamaran will be located on the port aft side of the cabin, permitting game wardens to maneuver and automatically hold station with greater situational awareness during wildlife sampling and vessel boarding operations.
The M1-46 catamaran will join the Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Moose Boats M2-38 catamaran Cabezon in protecting Northern California’s marine ecosystem and enhancing the safety of its commercial and recreational mariners.
