Research Vessel Sea Explorer - Specifications
SEA EXPLORER - Research Vessel Specification Sheet
Intermediate Aluminium Sailing Catamaran • Solar Electric & Hybrid Propulsion
VESSEL PARTICULARS
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Size/Type | Intermediate Catamaran RV - Aluminium Sailing Catamaran with Solar Electric & Hybrid propulsion |
| Class Society, Class, Notations | — |
| Operational Region | Eastern Mediterranean |
| Hull Material | Aluminium 8mm/5mm |
| Home Port | Ayia Napa, Cyprus |
| Country of Origin/Flag | San Marino |
| Length (m/ft) | 23.99m / 78’ |
| Beam (m/ft) | 11.76m / 37’ |
| Gross (GT) | 25T |
| Call Sign | T7AR4 |
| Draft, Max (m/ft) | 1.3m / 4’ |
| Draft, Min (m/ft) | 1.2m / 4’ |
| Max Speed (kts) | 13 kts |
| Cruise Speed (kts) | 8 kts |
| Range (nm) | Unlimited on Sail & Solar Electric propulsion |
| Endurance (days) | Unlimited - Fully Self Sufficient |
| IMO | — |
| Affiliation | Galactiva Ltd |
OCCUPANCY AND ACCOMMODATIONS
- Total Scientists: Up to 28 for day trips; Up to 12 for overnight trips
- Cabins: 5 total
- Master with Queen & 3 singles (sleeps 5)
- VIP with Queen & single (sleeps 3)
- Regular (sleeps 2 in bunks)
- Two large Forepeaks (sleep 2 each)
- Crew: 2-3
- Restrooms: 3 heads, 2 showers
- Medical: First Aid Kit, Emergency Oxygen tanks & kit, Oxygen Generator
- Air Conditioning/Heating: 3 x Portable air conditioners (2 × reverse cycle 12000 BTU; 1 × 9000 BTU)
Amenities:
- Large Galley with dishwasher and eating area for 3
- Lounge area with 2 LCD TVs
- Dining Area with table for 12
- 60 m² trampolines at front
- Synthetic grass relaxation area with beanbags & seats
- Elevated 24 m² rear platform
Vessel Complement: 3 crew & up to 12 scientists for overnight journeys.
SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICAL EQUIPMENT
- Oceanographic Winch w/ Conductive Cable: 2000m aramid reinforced fibre optic 10kW 48v electric winch with 12 × 8 litre Niskin Rosette & underwater base station with power, compute & 10Gb & legacy (eg RS232) connectivity for robots (TBD 2027)
- Winches:
- 10kW electric oceanographic winch (TBD 2027)
- 2 × 1.4kW electric winches on rear platform (200kg direct lift each with 800kg or 1200kg lift with 2:1 or 3:1 pulleys.)
- 2 × two-person Barbarossa grinder sailing winches 1m cast aluminium pedestal sailing winches capable of high multi-ton loads
- Multiple large sailing winches
- 100kg rotating hand crane
- Lifting Apparatus:
- Multiple lifting options from 8m wide x 3m deep rear platform.
This platform is cantilevered 1.5m over water between catamaran hulls at 3.15m height and has 4 reinforced davits along its width.
It can lift objects into a RIB up to 8m long positioned transversely between catamaran hulls or onto telescoping beams extending from lower rear platform (TBD 2027) via either:
A) Two 1400w 48v electric winches with 20m of 5mm “Dyneema” cable spaced 2.8m apart allowing 800kg of lift via 2:1 pulley system attached to 2 of 4 davits (higher loads possible with 3:1 pulley system); OR
B) Two 2 person manual grinder sailing winches capable of lifting additional large loads via the other 2 davits. - Multiple lifting options from top of 27m forward facing A frame mast (above trampolines)
A) Lifting via one or two grinder winches and one or two 90m 12mm dyneema sailing halyards into water via trampoline area (removal of some trampolines creates a moon pool).
B) Lifting via alternative 5mm dyneema 2000m cable drum on 10kW electric oceanographic winch (TBD 2027) from rear platform up, over mast and down via trampoline moon pool. - Manual 100kg rotating crane on port side of rear platform.
- Twin rotating crane davits on port side.
Supports Large RIBs AUVs, ROVs, and small submersibles.
- Flybridge/Observation Deck:
-Two person crows nest upper lookout with 360 degree views at 22m height on A frame mast accessible via ladder - quite stable due to very stable catamaran platform. Aluminium guard rails and stanchions for safety & attachment of sensors etc. - Three Person lower lookout with 360 degree views at 5m height on roof of main cabin.
- Twelve person rear platform with 360 degree views at 3.15m height.
- SCUBA Support:
3kW Coltri Scuba Compressor; 10 Scuba tanks; 2 Full scuba sets (BCD, reg) & additional wetsuits, fins, mask & snorkels. Easy water entry at port swim step and egress at starboard swim step with dive ladder & hot/cold shower / gear wash down, hanging space for wetsuits. Emergency Oxygen kit & Oxygen generator.
- Sonar: GARMIN UHD Echomap 6” with ClearVü
- Other Scientific Equipment: Ecowitt WS85 Weather Station, Garmin GWind sensor
LABORATORIES AND SCIENTIFIC WORKING AREAS
Office/Workspace: ~25m2 comprising three areas with work space for up to 17 scientists:
A) 1.8m wide (3 work stations) internal helm desk with 24” 4K Touch screen with Intel NUC+ 1.2m (2 work stations) kitchen bar table (internal with AC);
B) 4 seater lounge (3-4 work stations) with two 42” TV screens & printer & windows laptop (internal with AC);
C) 12 person dining table (8+ work stations) (external but full shaded).Wet Lab: ~6 m2 of wet lab area with 2 sinks hot & cold freshwater and bench space. This is external to main living area separate from kitchen sink area which also has 2 sinks & hot & cold water. Compressed air & oxygen is available & seawater & suction can be arranged.
Wet lab area can easily be extended into 50m2 of open deck space of catamaran nacelle or set up on lower rear platform where hot & cold water is available.Dry Lab: ~18m2 (overall with Office/Workspace) comprising three areas with work space for up to 17 scientists:
A) 1.8m wide (3 work stations) internal helm desk with 24” 4K Touch screen with Intel NUC+ 1.2m (2 work stations) kitchen bar table (internal with AC);
B) 12 person dining table (8+ work stations) (external but full shaded).Deck Area: 85 m2 of total free deck area comprising:
A) 50sqm (8m x 6.2m) catamaran main nacelle (half shaded) includes wet lab area & 12 person table dry lab area.
B) 11m2 (8m x 1.3m) of adjoining lower rear platform (fully shaded)
C) 24m2 (8m x 3m) of upper rear platform (unshaded).
In addition there is 60m2 of open trampolines space at front of vessel which can be partly shaded. Not suitable for heavy equipment.
ADDITIONAL VEHICLES AND SUPPORT
- Boats:
A) Minicat Explorer 520 catamaran tender (5.2m x 2.2m) with 48v 100Ah LiFePO4 battery & 6kW electric outboard.
B) 2.5 m NEPTEA Rigid plastic dinghy with TEMO 450 Electric motor stick
C) 2 person inflatable sea Kayak
D) 2 person Stand Up Paddleboard
AUV
Support for deploying and recovering AUVs up to 5.5m long & 700kg via dual rear winches & telescoping support beams (TBD 2027)ROV
Support for deploying and recovering ROVs (up to 200kg & 2000m depth via fibre optic oceanographic winch (TBD 2027)Submersible:
Support for deployment of small submersibles (up to 1000kg) via mast lift and trampoline moon pool.Flight:
Support for multiple drones including large models.
A) The 24m2 (8m x 3m) upper rear platform provides excellent launch point for drones, including large models. It is unobstructed to the sides and rear and only has two ropes to the mast top that could be removed in the forward direction.
B) The 60m2 of front trampolines are also an excellent location for launching & recovering drones with the ability to cut engines and just drop on soft trampoline material.
ELECTRONICS, NAVIGATION, AND COMMUNICATIONS
Navigational Equipment:
Signal K/ NMEA 2000 network with Orca Core 2 comprising:
Internal Helm
24’ touchscreen running Orca Copilot Navigation App & Other marine navigation apps (eg PredictWind) on Orange Pi 5 Ultra
10” Tablet running Orca Orca Copilot Navigation App
Furuno 711C Navipilot head unit
Furuno 1835 radar with GPS, Heading & AIS NMEA0183 input via multiplexer
Amtrak R300 AIS receiver
Miniplex 3WI-N@K multiplexer with USB & Wifi
Raspberry Pi 4B running Signal K integrating, logging & sharing all data sources
External Helm
15” Touchscreen running Orca Copilot Navigation App on Raspberry Pi 4B
Orca Core 2 (GNSS, Sat compass, IMU, NMEA Wifi hub etc)
1 GARMIN Echomap 6” chartplotter with Mediterranean charts plus depth sounder
Furuno 711C Navipilot head unit
Garmin GWind wind transducer
EcoWitt Ultrasonic wind sensor
Communications Equipment:
Starlink Mini High Speed Internet
Marine VHF Fixed 25w: Navicom RT1050 N2K (with GPS receiver)
Marine VHF Handheld 5w
Marine HF & HAM HF Portable 10w: Xiegu X6100 HF transceiver 0.5 - 30 MHz & 50-54 MHz
2 x VHF & UHF Handhelds 8w: Baofeng Gt-3TP Mark III
GPS Equipment
Orca Core 2 High accuracy (1.5m CEP, 1.5 degree compass accuracy, 10Hz update) multi-constellation GNSS.
Starlink Mini location data for backup in case of GPS interference.
GPS on Garmin Chartplotter.
Multiple GPS pucks connected to various computers.
VHF radio with inbuilt GPS
OTHER FEATURES
A) Silent, pollution free zero fuel operation for extended operations via sails and solar electric propulsion with diesel engine backup.
Effectively unlimited endurance and range at low speeds via solar or higher speed via sailing.
Fully solar powered with 25kW of Solar PV production, 105kWh of LIFEPO4 battery capable of delivering 70kW of electrical power at 48v.
50kW Molabo Aries 50 48v electric propulsion motor on starboard propellor shaft
10kW Golden Motor 10Kw 48v electric propulsion on port propellor shaft in hybrid with 125hp John Deere diesel engine.
Able to deliver industrial scale 41kVA of AC electrical power including 33 kVA of 3 phase electrical power.
B) Unique A-Frame mast allows easy deployment of scientific instruments at 27m height with great stability.
C) Extremely stable, ultra wide catamaran platform. Allows deployment of scientific equipment & RIBs to protected waters between hulls.
D) Beachable with flat 8mm grounding soles on bottom of each hull, only 1.3m max draft and forward boarding ladder.
E) Aluminium port hull mounted rail with carriage for deploying sensors (hydrophones, sonar etc) into the water in fixed position and raising out of water when not needed.
Ready for scientific missions in the Eastern Mediterranean and beyond.
More details about RV Sea Explorer's research capabilities here
Contact Details
Here are the contact details to plan and book your scientific mission.
Timing is flexible depending on your needs.
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +972 54 536 3529 (Phone, SMS, iMessage, Telegram & Signal but not WhatsApp)
Telegram: @akivah
Signal: akivah.18
