NOAAS ''Peirce'' (S 328), was an American survey ship that was in commission in the

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (abbreviated as NOAA ) is an United States scientific and regulatory agency within the United States Department of Commerce that forecasts weather, monitors oceanic and atmospheric conditio ...

(NOAA) from 1970 to 1992. Previously, she had been in commission in the

United States Coast and Geodetic Survey The United States Coast and Geodetic Survey (abbreviated USC&GS), known from 1807 to 1836 as the Survey of the Coast and from 1836 until 1878 as the United States Coast Survey, was the first scientific agency of the United States Government. It ...

from 1963 to 1970 as USC&GS ''Peirce'' (CSS 28). After her NOAA decommissioning, she was donated to the

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum The ''Intrepid'' Sea, Air & Space Museum is an American military and maritime history museum in New York City with a collection of museum ships. It is located at Pier 86 at 46th Street, along the Hudson River, in the Hell's Kitchen neighborh ...

for use as the floating classroom and archaeological research ship MV ''Elizabeth M. Foster''. She was sold for private use in 1999 and in 2001 became the

yacht A yacht is a sailing or power vessel used for pleasure, cruising, or racing. There is no standard definition, though the term generally applies to vessels with a cabin intended for overnight use. To be termed a , as opposed to a , such a pleasu ...

MV ''Avedonia''.

Construction and commissioning

''Peirce'' was built a cost of $2,300,000 (

USD The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

) as a "coastal survey ship" (CSS) for the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey by the Marietta Manufacturing Company at Point Pleasant,

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

. She was launched in October 1962 and delivered in May 1963. The Coast and Geodetic Survey commissioned her on 6 May 1963 at the Alabama State Docks in

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ( ...

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

, as USC&GS ''Peirce'' (CSS 28), the first and only Coast and Geodetic Survey ship of the name. When the Coast and Geodetic Survey and other

United States Government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a feder ...

agencies merged to form NOAA on 3 October 1970, ''Peirce'' became a part of the NOAA fleet as NOAAS ''Peirce'' (S 328), thus far the only NOAA ship to bear the name.

Capabilities

''Peirce'' had a two-drum

oceanographic Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...

winch A winch is a mechanical device that is used to pull in (wind up) or let out (wind out) or otherwise adjust the tension of a rope or wire rope (also called "cable" or "wire cable"). In its simplest form, it consists of a spool (or drum) attach ...

with a maximum pull of 1,500 pounds (680 kg). The upper drum had of 0.3-inch (7.62-mm)

electrical cable An electrical cable is an assembly of one or more wires running side by side or bundled, which is used to carry electric current. One or more electrical cables and their corresponding connectors may be formed into a ''cable assembly'', whic ...

, while the lower drum had of 5/16-inch (7.9-mm) cable. She had a telescoping boom with a lifting capacity of and a articulating boom with a lifting capacity of , as well as a movable

A-frame An A-frame is a basic structure designed to bear a load in a lightweight economical manner. The simplest form of an A-frame is two similarly sized beams, arranged in an angle of 45 degrees or less, attached at the top, like an uppercase lette ...

. For acoustic hydrography and bathymetry, the ship had a deep-water

echosounder Echo sounding or depth sounding is the use of sonar for ranging, normally to determine the depth of water (bathymetry). It involves transmitting acoustic waves into water and recording the time interval between emission and return of a pulse; ...

, a shallow-water echosounder-lOOKhz, and a

hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore oil exploration/ offshore oil drilling and related activities. Strong emphasis is placed ...

sounder. To process data, she had the

National Ocean Service The National Ocean Service (NOS) is an office within the U.S. Department of Commerce National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). It is responsible for preserving and enhancing the nation's coastal resources and ecosystems along the of ...

s Hydrochart system, which employed a PDP/8E computer to acquire and process hydrographic data in real time, generate a real-time position-corrected plot of sounding data, provide steering commands to the helmsman, and generate a punched paper tape for shore-based processing of sounding dara. ''Peirce'' had an ice-strengthened steel hull. ''Peirce'' carried two aluminum-hulled

diesel Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engin ...

-powered Jensen survey launches, each equipped with the same Hydrochart system as aboard ''Peirce''. For utility and rescue purposes, she also carried two open boats with

gasoline Gasoline (; ) or petrol (; ) (see ) is a transparent, petroleum-derived flammable liquid that is used primarily as a fuel in most spark-ignited internal combustion engines (also known as petrol engines). It consists mostly of organi ...

-powered

outboard motor An outboard motor is a propulsion system for boats, consisting of a self-contained unit that includes engine, gearbox and propeller or jet drive, designed to be affixed to the outside of the transom. They are the most common motorised method ...

s, a

Boston Whaler Boston Whaler is an American boat manufacturer. It is a subsidiary of the Brunswick Boat Group, a division of the Brunswick Corporation. Boston Whalers were originally produced in Massachusetts, hence the name, but today are manufactured in Edg ...

fiberglass Fiberglass (American English) or fibreglass ( Commonwealth English) is a common type of fiber-reinforced plastic using glass fiber. The fibers may be randomly arranged, flattened into a sheet called a chopped strand mat, or woven into glass clo ...

-hulled boat and

Monark Monark, also known as Cykelfabriken Monark AB and Monark AB, is a Swedish bicycle, moped and motorcycle manufacturer, established in Varberg, Sweden, in 1908 by the industrialist Birger Svensson. As of 2016, Monark is valued at 11.5 billion kr ...

aluminum Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. It ha ...

-hulled boat.

Operational career

From her home port at

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

, ''Peirce'' conducted hydrographic and

bathymetric Bathymetry (; ) is the study of underwater depth of ocean floors (''seabed topography''), lake floors, or river floors. In other words, bathymetry is the underwater equivalent to hypsometry or topography. The first recorded evidence of water d ...

surveys involving nautical charting and ocean mapping, primarily along the

United States East Coast The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...

and

United States Gulf Coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Texas, Louisiana, Missis ...

and off

territories of the United States Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sove ...

in the Caribbean. NOAA decommissioned ''Peirce'' on 1 May 1992.

Floating classroom and yacht

In 1992, ''Peirce'' was donated to the

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. The museum acquired her for use as a floating classroom and archaeological research ship and renamed her MV ''Elizabeth M. Fisher'' in 1993. In 1999 the museum sold her for private use, and in 2000 she returned to the name MV ''Peirce''. By 2001 she was operating as the private

MV ''Avedonia''.

References

''Ships of the NOAA Fleet'', Rockville, Maryland: United States Department of Commerce, June 1989
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peirce (S 328) Ships of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Ships of the United States Coast and Geodetic Survey Motor yachts Ships built in Point Pleasant, West Virginia 1962 ships

Construction and commissioning

Capabilities

Operational career

Floating classroom and yacht

See also

References