I first read about Golden Shellback at John Konrad’s blog gCaptain.com. The article immediately caught my attention, especially the video presentation where the inventor dumped an iPod into an aquarium that continued to play music.

In brief, Golden Shellback is a new invention used to waterproof equipment that gets exposed to harsh (and wet) environments.

I have asked John Conrad (who works closely together with the inventor) to answer some questions. As always, he happily agreed.

What prompted the invention of Golden Shellback (and when) (p.s.: what does Golden Shellback mean)

Most mariners are familiar with the term Shellback, given to those who have crossed the equator aboard ship. Golden Shellback means you have made the crossing at the 180th parallel. Noting the fact that the US Navy is one of the few organizations in the world with the number of ships and the budget to divert so far out of a shipping lane it’s a term fairly to the civilian mariner.

The invention itself was prompted by a real need…. assisting the recovery in man-overboard situations. The thought being that few mariners wear lifejackets with strobe lights attached during normal operations but nearly everyone carries a deck radio everywhere they go. NMI asked the question “What if we could get waterproof radios in the hands of mariners at a low price point?”

Golden Shellback Waterproof Coating from gCaptain.com on Vimeo.

Can you describe how the coating procedure works.

This is mostly a trade secret but it requires the use of relatively expensive machinery to deposit the coating at the molecular level. I can also say it’s done in a vacuum at room temperature.

How long does it take to apply the coating on an object (e.g. a handheld VHF)

3-4 hours depending on the equipment.

Does the treated object become waterproof indefinitely.

The technology is only a few months old so only time will tell but it is our belief the answer is yes.

In what areas can this waterproofing procedure be used and what uses are there specifically for the maritime industry.

Almost any surface can be coated from raw steel (for corrosion protection) to circuit boards to paper. We have even coated sugar cubes.

Nearly every surface that’s exposed to the harsh marine environment can be coated. Eventually we would like to see the coating machinery aboard every vessel but it’s most likely that an electronic communication device will be first to market.

Is there a limit to the size of objects that can be coated.

Yes but the object could theoretically be rather large, if we upgraded the equipment used in the process.

When will Golden Shellback be available to the general public.

We are in talks with a few companies right now to bring this technology to the consumer in the coming months.

Beware, video includes some profanities (in Dutch). Although very funny they might offend you.

The Triple Expansion Steam Engined Tugboat SS Master was built in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1922 around a Royal Navy surplus steam engine. Now retired, the tugboat spent Her earlier years hauling, Coal & Limestone barges, as well as Log Booms up & down the coastal waters of BC. Now the last remaining wooden hulled steam powered tugboat of Her type in North America, She is important floating maritime museum and is maintained by the charitable organization The SS Master Society.

More info at www.ssmaster.org

It is reported that Navy SEALS commonly use two condoms to seal firing assemblies for their underwater explosives, having thus coined the term: “Dual Waterproof Firing Assemblies”. Below instruction video expands on the concept of the waterproof condom, in order to make a waterproof housing for a digital camera.

Stay tuned for our post on Golden Shellback, a revolutionary invention to protect equipment from damage by exposure to water.

­
In the broad expanse of the northern Pacific Ocean, there exists the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, a slowly moving, clockwise spiral of currents created by a high-pressure system of air currents. The area is an oceanic desert, filled with tiny phytoplankton but few big fish or mammals. Due to its lack of large fish and gentle breezes, fishermen and sailors rarely travel through the gyre. But the area is filled with something besides plankton: trash, millions of pounds of it, most of it plastic. It’s the largest landfill in the world, and it floats in the middle of the ocean.

The primary sources of ocean debris include storm sewers, illegal dumping, littering, commercial and recreational boats, and commercial shipping.

The gyre has actually given birth to two large masses of ever-accumulating trash, known as the Western and Eastern Pacific Garbage Patches, sometimes collectively called the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The Eastern Garbage Patch floats between Hawaii and California; scientists estimate its size as two times bigger than Texas. The patch is characterised by exceptionally high concentrations of suspended plastic and other debris that have been trapped by the currents of the North Pacific Gyre.

The main problem with plastic — besides there being so much of it — is that it doesn’t biodegrade. No natural process can break it down. (Experts point out that the durability that makes plastic so useful to humans also makes it quite harmful to nature.) Instead, plastic photodegrades. A plastic cigarette lighter cast out to sea will fragment into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic without breaking into simpler compounds, which scientists estimate could take hundreds of years. The small bits of plastic produced by photodegradation are called mermaid tears or nurdles.

Raising Awareness
Departing from Los Angeles on June 2nd for Hawaii, Algalita staff set sail on “Junk,” a raft built on 15,000 plastic bottles. Their 2,100 mile journey will take them through the plastic-plagued Northern Pacific Gyre. Designed by Dr. Marcus Eriksen and Joel Paschal, the raft boasts an airplane fuselage, discarded fishing nets, a solar generator, and a wind turbine. This ambitious journey will bring further public attention to the plastic marine debris issue.

sources: HowStuffWorks, Algalita Marine Research Foundation, Across the Pacific Ocean, Plastics, Plastics, Everywhere, Humans have finally ruined the Ocean, WikipediA, PlasticDebris.org

Bollard pull is the zero speed pulling capability of the tug. It is a measure of the usefulness of theship in a stranding scenario or in holding a large tanker or aircraft carrier off a lee shore. However, the bollard pull figuremust be under- stood.

Ideally, bollard pull is tested when a tug is built and certified by one of the classification societies. Bollard pull tests sometimes are performed after major engine overhauls. Tug owners whose tugs have been tested usually provide a copyof the certificate attesting to the bollard pull figure.

Bollard pull, like horsepower, is a selling point for tugs and is sometimes overstated. For instance, there are rules ofthumb for converting propeller power (SHP) to bollard pull, such as one ton pull per 100 horsepower for a conventional propeller, or 1.2 to 1.5 tons pull per 100 horsepower for a propeller fitted with a nozzle. The owner may save the cost of a bollard pull test and simply apply one of the factors to convert propeller power to bollard pull without ever knowing what the real figure is It is unlikely that this owner will ever select a conservative conversion factor.

European owners generally report bollard pull in their literature and reputable salvage tug owners generally are able to produce a certificate to document the test. American owners, and the worldwide offshore oil support industry, rarely report bollard pull. When they do, the figure may not have been validated by a test. Horsepower is probably a morereliable measure among ships of these types.

Bollard pull is not the only useful measure of the puling capability of a tug. Except in the case of a stranding, the objective of the tug is to move its tow. In this case, some of the tug’s power is expended on overcoming the hull resistance of the tug itself, and some on the hydrodynamic resistance of the towing hawser. Bollard pull can be maximized by propeller and nozzle design, but at the expense of towline pull at towing speeds. This adversely impacts free-running speed and fuel usage. Most tug designs, however, are optimized for towing.

Tugs generally are expected to operate in the 4- to 8-knot speed range. Modern tugs usually use propeller nozzles so that bollard pull still is quite high, but with a significant disadvantage in tug speed and fuel consumption. A tug optimized for rescue towing probably would not employ nozzles, being most concerned with high speed running to the casualty, and accepting some loss in efficiency of the tow itself.

The foregoing aspects of tug design and owners’ claims demonstrate that a tug should be considered as a balanced design, with some being more suitable for some tasks, others for other tasks. The balance extends to the task as wellChartering a 20,000 IHP salvage tug to tow a 200-foot barge would be just as inappropriate as sending a 5,000 HP platform supply ship, with no tow hawser or winch, on a rescue tow mission.

source: Integrated Publishing