With the help of skilled craftsmen and volunteers and the generosity of Volvo Corporation, Riverkeeper launched an entirely refurbished patrol boat in the summer of 1999. The R. Ian Fletcher is a 36-foot wooden vessel similar in design to a traditional lobster boat. It has been rebuilt, repainted and outfitted with a state-of-the-art clean-burning diesel engine by Volvo.

"The new engine is cleaner, faster, quieter, more fuel efficient and produces fewer air emissions than its predecessor. It is a big improvement," says Riverkeeper Alex Matthiessen.

Known as the Volvo Penta, the new in-line, six-cylinder engine is a well balanced unit with smooth, vibration-free operation and low noise levels. The engine is designed to provide an optimum mixture of fuel and air, which greatly contributes to reduced noxious emissions. A direct injection system ensures fuel efficiency.

Courtland Herbert, a former Riverkeeper board member, and Robert Gainer, his partner in 21st Century Computers in Suffern, supervised much of the volunteer work on the boat, while craftsmen at Julius Petersen Inc., one of the last remaining full-service boat yards on the Hudson, handled the skilled labor.

John Lipscomb, former general manager of Petersen's boat yard and now Riverkeeper Boat Captain, said his staff replaced planks in the boat, recaulked the bottom where needed, installed a new propeller shaft and a new propeller, removed the old diesel engine, rebuilt the engine bearers and installed the new engine in the first phase of the renovation.

When the boat was given a sea trial after phase one, it cruised at 20 knots per hour and showed no signs of leaks or structural problems, Lipscomb said.

Petersen's, which has been in business since at least 1898, has a full-time crew of 15 with specialists in boat building, hand refinishing, mechanics and rigging. The yard, owned by Tom and Jeff Benville, is one of the few remaining service yards to work on wooden boats.