Overall, we've taken great pains to make our brand new boat, the PROVINCETOWN IV, similar in its outward and inward appearance to our PROVINCETOWN III so that our passengers will enjoy the same level of fit and finish irrespective of which boat they board. New carpeting, upholstery, and fixtures on the older PIII (now, only the second newest boat in all of Boston) will make it very difficult indeed for a passenger to discern which boat they're on. HOWEVER, there's lots of additional stuff (about $2,000,000 worth) that the PIII doesn't have, that the PIV has beneath its skin so as to afford our customers the state of the art in marine technology, comfort, and reliability.

The PIV's navigation equipment is a remarkable suite of electronics that are the very best of what technology has to offer a vessel of our class. All one has to do is think back to what kind of cell phone we used just five or six years ago to realize what's possible with electronics over even just a short span of time. As with its sister ship, the PIII, the PIV's electronics package well exceeds that which is required of a vessel engaged in our kind of service.

Similar to the PROVINCETOWN III, the PIV is outfitted with enough inflatable life rafts for the maximum number of passengers we carry. These are big inflatable boats, complete with roofs. This is well in excess of the U.S. Coast Guard requirement to simply provide what is essentially large Styrofoam mattresses for folks to cling to. While our entire industry has had the good fortune not to have ever needed these types of life saving measures, we believe in outfitting our vessels to a standard that would provide us with the confidence we'd want should our own children be aboard.

The aluminum extrusions that serve as complicated shapes in the deck structures and some framing structures have benefitted from the technological advances made at the metal mills in the U.S. These critical components to the vessel now weigh a great deal less than those used just a few years ago. As a result, the vessel weighs several tons less than its sistership, the PIII. This further decreases our impact on the environment through decreased energy consumption.

Another little known feature of both the PROVINCETOWN III and now the PROVINCETOWN IV is just why our passengers find the boats so comfortable: we do something that airlines, trains, busses, and just about every other ferry boat we know never does. We outfit our vessels with a number of seats that is far greater than the amount of passengers we are permitted to carry. Imagine being able to board an airplane and know, with confidence, that you won't be squeezed in cheek-to-jowl with other passengers. We have nearly 40% more seats than we have passengers, even on sold-out trips! In fact, most ferries we know go the opposite direction, and have far fewer seats than they do passenger capacity, therefore requiring that folks either stand or sit on deck. While that's not a terrible way to enjoy being out on the water, we, again, like to think of how our own families would want to enjoy a ferry trip. Having plenty of room to sit sounds nice to us!

Ride Control: The PIV is outfitted with a robust computer controlled and hydraulically actuated trim tab system that works to keep the vessel, and all its passengers on a level trim. This means that even when there are great big waves on our route, the boat will be held on an even keel by 8 foot wide and six foot long metal plates that are hinged to the transom of the vessel. The shipyard that built this vessel commented to us that this is less a ferry with trim tabs as it is a set of trim tabs with a ferry. This is a stunning piece of technology that is producing massive force at high rates of speed in order to keep this 100 ton ferry on an even plane.

A little known fact about both the PIII and PIV is that much of the quiet and comfort afforded passengers on the vessels is due to fact that the entire superstructure, or cabin structure, is not rigidly connected to the hulls below! Rather, there are 100 large rubber blocks that are bolted to the cabin on the top and to the hulls on the bottom. This removes vibration (the physical origin of sound) from traveling from the machinery spaces up into the passenger spaces. It also creates a motion dampening effect.

The mighty engines that power the PROVINCETOWN IV are the latest development in a century's long line of diesel engines from the reknowned German Manufacturer Motoren und Turbinen Union (MTU) of Friedrichshafen. At more than twice the cost of the engines on the PROVINCETOWN III, the PIV's engines are the lowest pollution emitting engines made in their class. They produce nearly 4,000 horsepower vs. the PIII's 2,700 bhp yet produce less pollutants! These sophisticated and expensive engines make the PIV the "greenest" ferry in Massachusetts.

The hydrodynamics of the PIV's underwater appendages have also benefitted from strides in technology. Things like our keels, rudders, and stern posts have adopted much more sophisticated and efficient shapes such that there is less drag running through the water. This improves speed, fuel burn, and emissions.