TOW IT DEEPER WITH
THE DDW-1 DIVE WING
One of the problems in towing an
instrument underwater, is the long length of cable required to
get the device down to depth. A typical ratio of cable length
to tow depth is 4 to 1, which means 400 feet of cable is
required to tow at a depth of 100 feet. Increase the tow speed
and even more cable is needed to get to depth. To overcome this
problem a depressor wing is used. With the wing, the ratio is
cut in half which means the equipment can be towed at a depth of
100 feet using only 200 feet of cable. The advantage is
obvious; no more piles of cable on the boat deck and smaller,
less expensive cable handling systems can be used.
In the past, many of these depressors were custom made
to fit specific equipment. This meant the wings were expensive
and had limited applications. JW Fishers saw the solution to
these problems as a universal wing that could be used with any
type of equipment, and developed the DDW-1 deep dive wing. The
DDW is assisting a variety of users from government agencies and
universities, to police departments and marine service
companies. The list of government groups using the wing is
extensive and includes the U.S. National Marine Fisheries
Service, the Argentine Navy, and the Maritime Administration of
Latvia. Institutions of higher education employing this device
are as geographically diverse as their applications for the
wing. They extend from the Univeristy of South Carolina to
University of Alaska. The collection of marine services
companies using the DDW-1 cover a broad spectrum, from giants
like Ireland’s Korec Group to privately owned civil engineering
companies like Isreal’s Merterre.
Taking advantage of the wing’s diving ability is a
broad range of equipment in a variety of applications. The
Fisheries Service is using their wing in conjunction with the
TOV-1 towed underwater camera system to survey reefs and other
marine ecosystems. The Office of Emergency Services in
Fairfield, California and the Buffalo Police Dept. in New York
also operate a towed camera with the DDW-1. They use it to
search for deep water drowning victims. The Argentine Navy and
Varna Diving Company in Bulgaria both use their wings with a
proton magnetometer to search for sunken vessels. Sources
Equipment LLC in the United Arab Emirates also use the DDW with
a proton mag, but their primary mission is to locate and track
oil pipelines. A number of law enforcement agencies are using
the depressor wing with the side scan sonars to search for
drowning victims, submerged vehicles, and capsized boats. These
departments include the Allegan County Sheriff in Michigan and
Suffolk County Police on Long Island.
One of the most interesting projects involving the deep
dive wing is the search for a historic shipwreck being
undertaken on the north east coast of England. A consortium
made up of members from the Filey Town Council and the Filey
Underwater Research unit are using the wing with an underwater
metal detector in a hunt for the remains of the Bonhomme
Richard. Commodore John Paul Jones of the American Continental
Navy fought a battle from this vessel which has been described
as “a brilliant action at sea of classic proportions”.
For more information contact Chris Combs at info@jwfishers.com or go to www.jwfishers.com.
