Silver Ships, Theodore, Ala., recently delivered a custom-built Explorer 26 to the Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile (Ala.) District. The 26' marine survey vessel, Miss Agnes, will conduct hydrographic survey analyses along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway.
The Miss Agnes is powered by twin 200-hp Mercury SeaPro outboards and includes a double jack plate which simultaneously controls both engines when lifting or lowering them within the water.
The survey boat is a multibeam and single beam capable vessel that features an enclosed center console, a three-monitor survey station, and an air conditioner unit that is paired with a generator.
Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway, also known as the Tenn-Tom, is a 234-mile stretch of waterway that connects the Tennessee River at Pickwick Lake in Tennessee to the Blake Warrior River at Demopolis, Ala. Completed by the Corps of Engineers in 1985, the Tenn-Tom has 10 lakes and 10 locks and dams which provide a direct navigable route between the eastern Gulf Coast to the mid-continental U.S. The waterway’s federally authorized purposes are navigation, wildlife mitigation and recreation.
The Tenn-Tom is located in the Corps Mobile District and the Miss Agnes is custom designed for the Mobile District to survey inland waterways and shallow draft operations in the Tenn-Tom. The mission-specific vessel provides a stable work platform allowing the Corps to efficiently collect and document accurate data when conducting hydrographic surveys of the waterway.
“Silver Ships is committed to providing our customers with the ideal vessel to meet their needs,” Dave Hunt, business development at Silver Ships, said in a statement announcing the delivery. “Our team designed and constructed Miss Agnes for the Corps Mobile District to best equip their team in daily operations on the water.”
The vessel’s name honors Agnes G. Zaiontz who was a member of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway Development Authority since its opening in 1985. Zaiontz began her time with the authority as local volunteer to help coordinate the waterway’s inauguration in June 1985. Shortly after the waterway’s grand opening, she became a full-time employee where she ultimately served 34 years.
