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Since 2009 LAMP has partnered with the Institute of Maritime History to use their primary research vessel. Built by William Holden in 1990 in New Bern, North Carolina, Roper was originally based on lines for a 40' trawling vessel designed by Charles Wittholz. As built, she is 36' in length and was shortened from her original lines and constructed with heavier steel plate. After a short career fishing the waters of North Carolina in the commercial shrimp fishery, she was sold to an interest in Galveston, Texas to serve as light duty cargo. For a brief period her regular route was to the Caribbean, delivering diesel engines. In 1999 Roper was moved to southern Maryland, where she is now home-ported to act as the primary research vessel for the Institute of Maritime History. Since then, she has operated from New Jersey to Florida as survey vessel, dive support vessel, and continues to serve as an ambassador for public archaeology. Projects of note which Roper has supported include: SHIP Project- an ongoing and extensive inventory of submerged resources in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bays; First Coast Maritime Archaeology Project- a multi-year project to search for shipwrecks in Northeast Florida and continue excavations on the Storm Wreck, an Revolutionary War period shipwreck in St. Augustine, Florida; The Federalist Project-a collaborative project with George Washington's Mt. Vernon to search for a miniature ship lost in the Potomac River in 1788; Search for Ft. Elfsborg-A project looking for a 1638 Dutch fort believed to have eroded into the Delaware River; Three Warships Project - A project to look for three warships destroyed in the British occupation of Philadelphia in 1777. Roper's namesake is the USS Roper (DD-147), a Wickes Class destroyer commissioned in 1919. While a little too late to see action during WWI, she served under various commands, including part of the last China sailors in Hong Kong and Chefoo. During WWII Roper served with distinction and was the first ship of the United States Navy to sink a German U-boat. Her commander, Cdr. Hamilton Wilcox Howe, is a distant cousin of the modern Roper's owner, David Porter Howe, Cdr. USN (Ret.) The vessel is equipped for medium range cruising, marine survey, archaeological diving, and light salvage. Hold space includes storage for salvage/towing gear, power generation space, reserve fuel and water, and reserve cargo space. Dual station computer monitors allow heads-up navigation with simultaneous survey monitoring or other software use. Roper is documented for Coastwise Unrestricted, Fishery, and Recreational.