The vessel will be in the water February 24, and all remaining ECPs must be either approved or rejected by the New Vessel Committee ASAP so they can be installed before that date. The committee will try to make most of these decisions today, because some orders for this equipment require long lead times. We also must wait, as always, for NSF authorization before we can purchase anything. We’re working with committee members to get the votes in by the end of the day today.

We are now down to virtually the last expenditures to be made on the vessel. Tom is confident that the College will still have several thousand dollars left to make any small alterations needed by early March. If nothing more urgent comes up, the priority for these funds is to purchase spare props and shafts before the vessel leaves for transport and the construction contract comes to a close.