60 



• The vessel should have comfortable accommodations; 



t The vessel must have space on the working deck to carry out 

 sampling activities, unencumbered by machinery; 



• The vessel should have well -maintained operations; 



• The vessel should have adequate laboratory and analysis space. 

 Presently NMFS is budgeting nearly one million dollars on the refur- 

 bishment of the Albatross IV. This vessel, built in the early 1960s, 



is a medium-sized stern trawler that has long served as the basic mainstay 

 of the Georges Bank assessment community. While the history of this vessel 

 is a sad story of limited funding, the vessel itself has several limi- 

 tations that, when combined with her age and condition, indicate a con- 

 tinuing series of operating difficulties. 



Instead of a single engine, the Albatross has two smaller diesels 

 that are used to drive a single shaft and wheel. While such engine 

 duplication is necessary for tows at a very low speed, the engines 

 have never been aligned properly, and consequently there have been a 

 series of broken propellor shafts and subsequent need for repairs. 



The steering system is of foreign manufacture and utilizes steering 

 nozzles. Whenever this system breaks down, much time is wasted while 

 awaiting replacement parts from abroad. 



While the vessel does have extended range and comfortable accommo- 

 dations, as well as a clear aft deck for working space, she is arranged 

 in a manner that wastes space below and forces creation of laboratory 

 structures well above the waterline. Although she is said to be a good 

 "sea boat," the presence of working areas well above the waterline imply 

 exaggerated motion for all analysis activities. 



