M/V Nekton Rorqual
General Information
The M/V Nekton Rorqual is 80 feet long with a 40 feet beam, 36 feet of freeboard and 2000 square feet of sundeck with a jacuzzi. This is the ultimate platform for whale watching on the Silver Bank. Appropriately named the Nekton Rorqual, it cruises at ten knots and the unique Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) assures you of the most comfortable cruise available to and from the Silver Bank. Based on the same technology that allows oil platforms to operate in the rough waters of the North Sea, it provides stability and comfort unmatched by conventional monohulls and catamarans. The M/V Nekton Rorqual prides herself as a U.S.C.G. (United States Coast Guard) inspected vessel that meets or exceeds all U.S.C.G. and SOLAS (International Treaty on Safety at Life at Sea) specifications.
The Rorqual crew members have all undergone rigorous STCW 95 training in shipboard firefighting, sea survival skills, CPR, first aid and crowd control. The U.S.C.G. licensed captain and mates have received additional training in Crises Management through Maritime Professional Training in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. With its professionally trained crew, rigid maintenance schedule, and abundant spare parts, this boat provides a trouble free adventure during your stay aboard.
The Rorqual is equipped with modern instrumentation and communications, including a global Inmarsat Satellite phone with voice and fax capabilities, side scanning SONAR, dual D-GPS navigation, RADAR, real time weather data, EPIRB, SSB short-wave radio, VHF radios and cellular telephone. Telephone calls via satellite can be placed anytime for a fee ($6/minute in 2008). The electrical outlets are standard U.S. 115 V household current.
The M/V Nekton Rorqual can sleep 28 participants in air-conditioned comfort with private baths and spectacular ocean views. We will limit our two tenders to a capacity of 22 leaving availability for participants who only want to whale watch from the Rorqual and passengers who prefer single supplements. Her spacious accommodations include two master staterooms with queen size bed (cabins 3 and 7), twelve deluxe staterooms with two having queen size beds and the remaining ten having twin beds capable of being combined as a queen size berth, private facilities, full size showers, picture window views in all staterooms, mirrored cabinet, wardrobe, independent air-conditioned controls in each cabin and fresh towels daily.
The chef and stewards will provide you an excellent variety of delicious cuisine in the scenic dining room and unparalleled service including daily maid service and nightly turndown bed service with mints on the pillow. If you have a general request regarding diet, please let us know, so that we may advise the ship directly. They will do their best to accommodate your wishes. Happy hour daily on the sundeck (with snacks, no drinks beyond juice and water available onboard, byob, happy hour coctail drinks provided by Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris), green flash sunsets and starlit nights. Enjoy your spare time from whale watching by utilizing the onboard alternatives including entertainment center with CD, VCR, DVD and ships library or at the spacious partially shaded Sky Deck with chaise lounges and beverage cooler. An onboard boutique and vacation videos are available throughout the week.
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About the SWATH Hull
Nekton Rorqual uses a Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH)
The Nekton Rorqual utilizes a unique Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH) design technology to provide you with the smoothest ride unlike any other live-aboards. Why is a SWATH vessel so stable? There are two submarine-like pontoons that can ride completely submerged beneath the surface of the water (unlike a catamaran where the pontoons only ride on the surface of the water). When the ocean is rough, the water is calmer just a few feet below the choppy surface. That's precisely where the pontoons, which provide the buoyancy for SWATH, are located. Hence the submerged pontoons act as stabilizers giving you the feeling you're on a vessel more than eight times its size! Ballast tanks in the pontoons can be flooded with seawater and pumped out by huge pumps in very short notice. Ballasting up (catamaran mode) allows for shallow water harborage (1.8 meters/6 feet) and maximum speed. Ballasting down (SWATH mode) provides for maximum stability. The entire dive platform raises and lowers via hydraulic lifts making for easy access to and from the water.
Comparison of the SWATH and Convensional Hulls
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Specifications
Length: 80 ft
Beam: 40 ft
Draft: 6.6 ft to 12 ft
Displacement: 240 tons
Construction: Steel and Aluminum
Engines: Twin Cummins QSK19/1520 total hp
Speed: 9-12 knots
Range: 3,000 miles
Generators: 2 Cummins 165KW
Available voltage: 12V DC 110/208V AC 60Hz 3 phase
Fuel tankage: 6,000 US gallons
Water tankage: 3,200 US gallons
Tenders: Two 30 ft twin-outboard heavy duty fiberglass boats (4-stroke Yamaha 115 horsepower engines)
Electronics: 2 Garmin Global Positioning Systems
Furuno 48 mile radar
2 recording fathometers
VHF radios, a high resolution large screen TV, VCR, CD stereo, slide projector and digital projector
ICOM SSB radiotelephone
Safety: Full safety equipment as per USCG and SOLAS requirements, emergency first aid kit
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Deck Plan
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Interior Photos
Stateroom
Salon
Molamola Deck
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Tenders
Tender in action
The Nekton Rorqual has two twenty-five foot fiberglass Privateer tenders to transport you during twice daily whale watching adventures. These extra-wide ocean-going tenders are equipped with twin, environmentally superior four stroke Honda engines. These state of the art engines reduce noise, oil discharge and exhaust fumes, permitting us to approach quietly resting or sleeping Humpback Whales. Having two engines for safety and speed doubles our distance capabilities compared to other operators and permits us the luxury of not having to be in the same areas as other operators. This obvious advantage increases our probability in providing our participants with more encounters in areas that are the most productive in Humpback Whale observation above and below the surface. The two tenders furnish the best platform for topside photography available on the Silver Bank.
Each tender carries twelve persons with plenty of bench space. Passengers are protected by splashguards maintaining dry articles. The tenders also have plenty of space for snorkeling gear, as well as topside and underwater camera equipment. They are covered with tops to protect against sun, and have heavy-duty boarding ladders, navigation equipment and a daily-replenished stock of sandwiches, snacks, fruits, water, carbonated beverages and juices.
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