The Michigan Department of Natural Resources Channel Cat

This boat was following the Tregurtha pretty closely.

 This particular boat was the Channel Cat and is a research vessel owned by the Michigan Depart of Natural Resources.  She was built in 1968 by the Maybee Boat Company of Point Place, Ohio.  Her hull is based on the fish tug hull that is seen elsewhere.

She is 46 feet long and has a beam of 13 feet.  She is powered by two 210 horsepower Detroit Allison diesel engines.  She conducts fish sampling on Lake Erie, Lake St. Clair and the Saginaw Bay.  She is homeported at the Fisheries at the mouth of the Clinton River.  Her crew is two captains, a biologist, a technician and a fisheries assistant.  She will typically operate from March to November.