Data Buoy as example for low cost seastead

Syndicate replies to “Data Buoy as example for low cost seastead” topic Thu, 09/04/2008 - 13:51 — vincecate

Starting from this URL you can pick what part of the world you want to see a buoy in, then click on a particular buoy:
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/rmd.shtml

For example, here is one buoy:
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=41048

The NDBC uses up to 12 meter buoys (so 39.4 feet) like in the picture below that are anchored to the sea bottom and survive hurricanes.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/images/stations/41048.jpg
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/images/buoys/12m.jpg

Now these don't have people on them during storms (there are people in previous pictures), but there is equipment inside. It seems like there is plenty of height to walk around inside. One of the issues is that with several miles of cable to the sea floor they can move over a several miles wide area of ocean surface. Looks like they have plenty of bumpers so that ships can just pull up to it.

Drawings of some different buoys:
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/mooredbuoy.shtml

Wonder if you could get paid to live on one of these so you could fix things.

Next URL says "complete replacement cost" is $2 mil. This probably means all of the electronics, ballast, batteries, anchor, cable, etc. Wonder what it costs for just the hull. http://www.fbodaily.com/archive/2002/04-April/20-Apr-2002/FBO-00062164.h...

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Thu, 09/04/2008 - 16:24 — Carl Pålsson

These seem to roll quite a

These seem to roll quite a bit even in calm seas (based on pictures). Not surprising perhaps since it looks to be just a circular barge floating on the surface. It´ll probably follow the smallest movement of the sea. I don´t think these would be very nice to live on board.

And you would probably be rather limited legally/politically if you lived on board the property of the US government...

Interesting to see a price tag on something like this though.

Fri, 09/05/2008 - 10:26 — Eelco

Its moored at 5 km depth:

Its moored at 5 km depth: that is probably a large chunk of the price tag. Further, the combination of government and acedemics isnt know to optimize for cost too much. I dont think the price tag tells us a lot.