R/V Western Flyer operability and hull-strength upgrade

Author

Etchemendy, Steve ; VandenBerg, Mark ; Van Slyke, Robert ; Morgan, Justin ; Leach, Timothy

Author_Institution

Monterey Bay Aquarium Res. Inst., Moss Landing, CA, USA

Volume

1

fYear

1999

fDate

1999

Firstpage

501

Abstract

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) owns and operates the SWATH oceanographic research vessel R/V Western Flyer. This vessel is of aluminum construction and was designed and built to handle MBARl´s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Tiburon in the eastern Pacific. Western Flyer was delivered in 1996 and shortly thereafter experienced significant cracking when exposed to relatively moderate seas. This paper outlines the steps that were taken to assess the causes of the cracks, the process used to determine the necessary modifications and the status of those modifications currently being performed at Bay Ship and Yacht in Alameda, California. She will be redelivered this summer and, shortly thereafter, will return to scientific missions

Keywords

oceanographic equipment; ships; Al construction; MBARI; Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute; R/V Western Flyer; SWATH; SWATH oce; boat; crack; cracking; damage; hull-strength upgrade; marine survey; modification; ocean; oceanographic research vessel; operability; repair; research ship; Aluminum alloys; Boats; Etching; Inspection; Marine vehicles; Monitoring; Remotely operated vehicles; State estimation; Structural beams; Uncertainty;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

OCEANS '99 MTS/IEEE. Riding the Crest into the 21st Century

Conference_Location

Seattle, WA

Print_ISBN

0-7803-5628-4

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/OCEANS.1999.799793

Filename

799793