Stick is Up!

Seafix, Inc. of Garapan, Saipan has finished installing the CREWS station pylon at Lao Lao Bay. The Seafix crew consisted of Jesse Mailuw, Jerome Wong, Ning-Ning Li, Dale Carhill, and was led by Seafix General Manager Mark Blackburn. Support by boat and access to the Bay was by Kraig Church, also of Seafix, Inc. On site technical consultants were John Halas (NOAA, Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary), and Jim Hendee (NOAA, Ocean and Atmospheric Research, Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory; Miami, FL)

Consulting

John Halas of NOAA/ONMS takes a breather.

Oversight

Jim Hendee of NOAA/AOML dries off before another snorkeling plunge.

Securing Shackles

The Seafix team attends to various shackles around the station by wiring them closed to prevent them from unscrewing through action of seas and tides.

Lashing the Eyes to Bottom Plate

All four bottom eyes are lashed to the pins of the bottom plate, and are tightened only so much as to keep the cup on the bottom of the pylon snug against the 2" stainless steel ball on the plate. Thus, the ball articulates within the cup, much as a knee joint. The lashings cannot be too snug, or the hounds on the pylon may bend or break the pins on the bottom of the pylon under heavy seas and defeat the purpose of the pylon being able to move (hence the term, a "dynamic pylon").

Consulting and Oversight

Jim Hendee of NOAA/AOML observes as the Seafix crew prepares to attend to removing temporary nylon lines from bottom plate to lower hounds, and replacing with blue Spectra line.

Attaching Wraps of Spectra to Bottom Pin

The come-a-long is utilized again to tension line while the final wraps of Spectra line are made through the bottom eye-pins and the thimbles of the extension Spectra lines.

Extensions

A stainless steel shackle is utilized between Spectra line extensions.

Tightening the Lines

A new method calls for a come-a-long for tightening the lines to straighten the pylon, rather than lift bags. This makes for much less cumbersome positioning.

Lashings

The blue Spectra line, attached to the extensions that are in turn attached to the chains, are lashed to a U-pin on the southern side of the pylon, or a standard pin on the north, west and east sides of the pylons.

Floating the Chains

Float bags (in orange) are used to lift the chains from the bottom into place. This part of the operation will be changed in the future.

Spectra Lines

Spectra lines (in blue) are used to steady pylon as chains are attached, while Ning Ning takes movies of the operation.

Chains and Shackles

Mark Blackburn and the Seafix crew meet with John Halas as they begin to position chains on shackles at hounds near the waterline.

Baby Steps in the Right Direction

Though we still are waiting for a contract to be issued for the ICON station installation, we continue to slowly make progress. Most recently the modem provided by PacIOOS that will provide wireless communication to and from the station was delivered to Docomo Pacific to make sure the unit will work with the wireless carrier's system.