The Maine Marine Patrol has added a new Maine-built vessel to its fleet of more than two dozen craft.
The Marine Patrol recently launched P/ V Endeavor, a 42-foot-long lobster-style patrol boat made by Farrin’s Boat Shop in Walpole. The boat’s hull is from Calvin Beal Boats, part of SW Boatworks in Lamoine, according to a news release.
The Endeavor is home-ported in West Boothbay and replaces P/V Monitor, a 22-year-old, 35-foot-long Young Brothers boat that was damaged by an electrical fire in 2019.
The new vessel will provide a safer, more stable platform for Marine Patrol officers while hauling and inspecting lobster gear in both near-shore and offshore locations, the release said.
The Endeavor has an 800-horsepower engine and can carry a 14-foot-long rigid hull inflatable boat for at-sea boardings and vessel checks.
Like the Monitor, the Endeavor has been assigned to the Marine Patrol’s Section 2, which extends from Freeport to Bremen, and is operated by Specialist Evan Whidden.
“The Endeavor is a high-performance addition to Marine Patrol’s fleet,” said Marine Patrol Col. Jay Carroll. “It will fill the void left by the loss of the Monitor and allow our officers to more effectively conduct vital enforcement and search and rescue activity in this very busy section of the coast.”
Founded in 1869, the Maine Marine Patrol is the oldest law enforcement organization in the state and employs about 50 people. A bureau of the Department of Marine Resources, the patrol also provides search and rescue, public health, and maritime security on Maine’s coastal and tidal waters.