How difficult is it to build a buoy and constrain it in place?

2019/03/14 15:54

Hi everyone.

I'm very interested in marine science and conservation. Is there any information on how to build a buoy? Icing on top would be to constrain it in place as well, but if that's not possible, that can be worked around with GPS.

Thanks.

Akiba

htarold

2019/03/15 07:36

In reply to Freaklabs

Hi Akiba,

Probably the biggest hurdle is regulatory in nature (c:

Assuming that's been overcome, anchoring becomes the issue. As you can imagine that gets more expensive the deeper the water is. The nature and purpose of the buoy has an effect on this: if the buoy has to remain absolutely dead nuts stationary then a 3-point mooring may be required (and it still will move around a bit).

An interesting possibility is to have a wind powered buoy to keep it stationary. Basically you put a wind turbine on the buoy to drive a propeller in the water. The harder the wind hits it, the harder it wants to claw its way upwind. This is counter intuitive but it does work. But it assumes the main cause of drift is wind.

As for the buoy proper, you can buy them off the shelf in various sizes, or build your own.

Thanks,

-harold

Freaklabs

2019/03/15 08:05

Thanks Harold!

I think it doesn't need to be super stationary but perhaps anchored so it doesn't move too far off. Alternatively, I like your idea of the wind powered (or solar powered) propeller.

Do you recommend any website that goes through how to make a DIY buoy? Something that would actually last in coastal waters for at least a year long deployment and can provide a path towards buoys that could be released into deep ocean?

Thanks :)

Akiba

htarold

2019/03/15 08:13

Hi Akiba,

May I ask what the buoy would be used for?

There's really not much to a buoy physically, you could make it from a 44 gallon plastic drum, but there may be requirements to carry a particular topmark, or a radar reflector. or a flashing lamp with a particular flash sequence At any rate the coastal authorities may require approval of the location and may have to include it in their charts.

I was part of a team that maintained a data buoy. It may seem like a simple thing but it was a lot of work: corrosion, biofouling, guano covering the PV panels, damage due to collisions with apparently drunk and blind boat skippers... it required attention every 10 days on average. Calmer and less trafficked temperate waters would have been better, but we don't get to dictate that.

It was that experience that convinced me the future lay in autonomous underwater robots. Mine is here.

There are a few robots out there that can do year-long missions: the wave glider, slocum or similar glider, Argo float come to mind. The Saildrone is a bit new to say how long it will last out there. Of these the Argo float is the cheapest, USD10k I'm told.

Thanks,

-harold

Freaklabs

2019/03/19 04:46

Hi Harold.

Thanks for the reply. It'd mainly be for data acquisition, ie: weather as well as possible hydrophone and other sensors to measure parameters in the ocean. There's no fixed project for it yet, but wanted to know how difficult to build one. This type of thing keeps resurfacing in my work with sensor networks.

Akiba

LindyClydeKnowles

2020/11/06 16:09

Hi Akiba,

Creating a buoy isn't all that complicated and can be made by using PVC fixtures (greater than 30cm diameter). Then you can use a combination of foam and PVC cement to keep it in the correct orientation. You'll need to either use an anchor, or a heavy weighted object (I've seen people use I bolts cemented into car tires. this allows the buoy to be moved over time, but works best in shallower water. You'll definitely have to consider the items that @htarold mentioned above. But it's not too crazy to be honest. I've been part of a team that installed and created buoys.

cosmicspittle

2020/11/20 13:11

@LindyClydeKnowles I have the same question as @Freaklabs .... is there a resource to learn more about how to construct a buoy? Specifically, what are some designs and materials that we know will work (or not work)? I haven't found much in the open source community and any Off-The-Shelf commercial units seem prohibitively expensive for projects that may contain hundreds of sensors...or that don't have gazillion dollar backing :)

Maybe it's time to start such a project? It would be nice to know how much interest there would be.

(my personal interests would be estuarine and near coastal depths of 1-50 ft)

Freaklabs

2020/11/20 14:34

In reply to cosmicspittle

Harold and Lindy are the ones to talk to on this. @htarold worked in underwater robotics and @LindyClydeKnowles built buoys for his work in the Bahamas.

On a side note, I've discovered it's really hard to say "I'm interested in small buoys" without creating awkward silence in a room.

Akiba

cosmicspittle

2020/11/20 14:45

In reply to Freaklabs

"On a side note, I've discovered it's really hard to say "I'm interested in small buoys" without creating awkward silence in a room. "

Ha! Yea, I have noticed :)

Robert

CarlosAbrahams

2020/11/23 17:23

Akiba,

You might want to check out these systems, if you haven't seen them already?

http://www.smruconsulting.com/the-coastal-acou-a-new-tool-for-remote-and...

https://www.seiche.com/underwater-acoustic-products/platforms/acoustic-m...

https://www.mseis.com/services/buoys/

https://rtsys.eu/buoys

Thanks, Carlos

LindyClydeKnowles

2020/12/29 11:45

In reply to cosmicspittle

I worked with some folks years ago, and I'll dig into my files to see if I had a schematic of some sort. this following video --> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMzk94BQ-sg&ab_channel=RobertBevan is similar to what we would've done, though we did use insulation foam in place of the pool float, upcycled soda bottles and to anchor in place we used a car tire with cement and an I bolt alongside somethign that swivels so that the rope that holds the bouy doesn't snap off. We used it in shallower and calmer areas, though it might've been 10'-15' (3-5m). I'll make a note to look for any files I have of the project, and if you don't hear from me in the new year, could you send me a reminder?
As @Freaklabs would've heard me say a few times, PVC, whilst not environmentally friendly, is quite adaptable and can allow a modular system to be built to suit your needs.