10 fast facts about the Riverkeeper patrol boat
May 15, 2026
Riverkeeper Team
1. Riverkeeper’s patrol boat was named after Dr. R. Ian Fletcher, a noted expert in fluid dynamics, oceanography, physical ecology and biomathematics who used his dedication to science to benefit the Hudson River. Dr. Fletcher helped Riverkeeper win many historic cases, such as the Westway Highway battle on the west shore of Manhattan.
2. The R. Ian Fletcher, was built in 1983 in Bivalve, New Jersey, to work commercial shellfish beds in Delaware Bay.
3. It’s built of cedar planking on oak frames.
4. Riverkeeper bought the boat in 1990 and it was refurbished and relaunched as the R. Ian Fletcher in 1998.
5. The Fletcher’s engine is a Volvo Penta six-cylinder diesel installed in ’98 by a crew led by John Lipscomb – who later became Riverkeeper’s boat captain – when he was the manager of Petersen’s Boatyard in Upper Nyack, N.Y. The engine was donated by Volvo. It was completely rebuilt in 2024 when Boat Captain Luis Melendez joined Riverkeeper.
6. From when he started the job in 2000, Lipscomb and the R. Ian Fletcher patrolled New York Harbor and the Hudson Estuary to Troy. In 2014, Riverkeeper expanded the range of the patrol to include 120 miles on the Mohawk River to Rome, and 35 miles on the Upper Hudson to Fort Edward. With Boat Captain Luis Melendez at the helm, the Fletcher now patrols from New York Harbor to the Upper Hudson.
7. Until 2024, the R. Ian Fletcher was the floating lab for Riverkeeper’s Water Quality Testing Program, as well as a platform for collaborative scientific research by Columbia University’s Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, CUNY Queens, SUNY Cobleskill, EPA and Cornell University. In 2024, Riverkeeper launched the Bob Boyle, which now serves as the organization’s Science vessel.
8. In 2025, the R. Ian Fletcher and the Bob Boyle travelled more than 2400 river miles patrolling and sampling throughout the Hudson River. Their home port is Westerly Marina in Ossining.
9. The R. Ian Fletcher is the second Riverkeeper patrol boat. The Hudson River Fishermen's Association launched the first patrol boat from the Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston on May 14, 1983. The 25-foot boat was custom designed by Andy Mele for Riverkeeper. The Fishermen's Association had hired its first full-time Riverkeeper, John Cronin, that year. The association and its Riverkeeper program merged in 1986.
10. The Fletcher is maintained faithfully by Riverkeeper’s crew and by our partners at Scarano boatbuilding on the Hudson in Albany, New York. Due to the patrol boat's longevity and history, the R. Ian Fletcher is Riverkeeper’s flagship vessel.
