Processing Your Payment

Please do not leave this page until complete. This can take a few moments.

November 6, 2024

Marine Patrol’s latest boat provides ‘safe and stable platform’

A motorboat kicks up a wake. Photo / Courtesy, Jon Johansen The Sentinel II is the latest patrol vessel added to the Maine Marine Patrol fleet.

The Maine Marine Patrol is swapping out a 25-year-old patrol vessel for a new one.

P/V Sentinel II is a 42-foot boat launched recently in South Bristol and will be stationed in Jonesport, according to a news release. The craft has a 15-foot beam and is powered by an 800-horsepower diesel engine.

The hull was designed by Calvin Beal and the hull and top were provided by SW Boatworks in the Hancock County town of Lamoine. The vessel was built and finished by Farrin’s Boat Shop in the Lincoln County town of Walpole, and the engine came from Billings Diesel and Marine in Stonington. 

Farrins Boatshop was established by Bruce Farrin in the late 1970s and custom builds workboats, commercial sport fishermen and pleasure yachts.

The Calvin Beal boat lines were bought by SW Boatworks owner Stewart Workman a number of years ago. Beal’s boats have long been popular with fishermen for their Downeast looks and handling.

“We were fortunate to be able to contract with Farrin’s Boat Shop again to build the Sentinel II and are very happy with the finished product,” said Marine Patrol Col. Matt Talbot. “Farrin’s produces an excellent Maine lobsterboat and was exceptionally accommodating during the build process.”

Distinguished history

P/V Sentinel II is the second Calvin Beal vessel that the Marine Patrol has built in recent years to replace existing patrol boats.

In 2021, Farrin's Boat Shop completed construction of P/V Endeavor, which was home-ported in West Boothbay.

Endeavor replaced P/V Monitor, a 35-foot Young Brothers boat that was two decades old and had been damaged by an electrical fire in 2019.

The Beal design has proven to provide a safe and stable platform for marine patrol officers while hauling and inspecting lobster gear in both nearshore and offshore locations, according to the release.

It will accommodate a 14-foot rigid hull inflatable that can be carried on deck and used for at-sea boarding’s, which are conducted to check vessels for compliance with marine resources laws.

The P/V Sentinel II will replace the P/V Maine, 42-foot Wesmac, which was also more than two decades old. Operated by Specialist Jason Leavitt, it will patrol waters along the Downeast coast as far as the Canadian border.

“This new vessel will serve as the cornerstone for our officers’ at-sea patrol work in eastern Maine for years to come,” said Talbot. “I can’t think of a better place on the coast for Patrol to have a “Beals Island-style” patrol boat than Jonesport-Beals.” 

Founded in 1869, the Maine Marine Patrol is the oldest law enforcement organization in the state, employs about 50 people and has a fleet of more than two dozen craft. 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.

Sign up for Enews

0 Comments

Order a PDF