David Sneddon had never even heard of the College of Charleston – much less considered giving it his boat. But when he realized that his days of offshore fishing were behind him – and that he wasn’t going to get a suitable offer for Dotty, his 31-foot Pursuit 310 C Center Console Deep Hull Offshore Fishing Vessel – a quick Google search led him to the College’s marine biology program.
“I did a little checking up and found that they were in need of a boat like mine to survey the ocean and teach students how to work the sonar, radar, GPS and to navigate,” says the former New York retailer who retired to Bluffton, S.C., in 2005. “I thought that this was the best use of a boat that gave me so much pleasure. This was a way to get a new purpose out of it.”
And what better purpose than education? The addition of the 2008 boat, valued around $150,000 and equipped with twin Yamaha 250 outboards and tons of high-end electronics, allows students and faculty members to pursue a new range of offshore research.
“I love to hear how much the students are enjoying my boat,” says Sneddon, who gets periodic updates from students and staff. “It makes me feel good about giving it to them. I’m really glad I did it.”
