An update of US Coast Guard buoy development efforts

As part of an on-going project to improve the performance and cost-effectiveness of the aids-to navigation buoys maintained by the US Coast Guard, the suitability of buoys made from composite materials was assessed. After conducting a worldwide market study, four different composite buoy designs were purchased for field testing. This study presents the status of this project to date, details the dockside and field testing that were conducted on the buoys, summarizes the results achieved, and discusses projected future work that will be performed