TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale's Launch Boat
Assists Sparton Electronics
Sparton Electronics recently wrapped up another charter with TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale. They chartered the 46' Winninghoff, and a rigid hulled inflatable tender in order to conduct tests on their prototype array systems. The operation in June 2009 was the latest in a series of tests that have been conducted by this team over the past several years. The array is an electronic underwater device that gathers sound waves and interprets the direction and distance of the object making the sound.
On each of the charters the team included five Sparton engineers, two TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale crew members for the Launch Boat and one for the tender. TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale also provided a 2 man dive team for the operations. The launch boat and the tender mobilized at their home dock at Lauderdale Marina and departed Port Everglades for the ops site which was located offshore in 100-200 foot depths.
Sparton engineers deployed the array by hand which is stored, shipped and deployed in a 5' tall black metal tube. The divers stood by in the water in order to film the deployment; upon deployment, the black tube drops away and five metal arms with long thin wires connecting them start to expand. The divers provided video footage and first hand reports as to how the array performed and assisted in retrieving the equipment. Once back on board, the equipment was adjusted and reassembled by the engineers on the aft deck and deployed again until they dialed in the array for the desired results.
TowBoatU.S. Ft Lauderdale's Safety diver, Brad Cunningham, had this to say about the operation; "The Sparton Engineers made this operation a success. Their professionalism, expertise and friendly demeanor made this job productive and enjoyable. Our final test of the day was a complete success and the customer reported that the underwater video footage of the deployment was very valuable for fine tuning the array."
TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale owns and operates 12 vessels from 3 locations in Broward County Florida; each of these vessels is available for hourly, daily or long term charter. For more information call TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale at 954-783-7821. Sparton Electronics is a broad-based provider of electronics to technology-driven companies in diverse markets, to learn more about the company log on to sparton.com.
