Woods Hole Selects Rapp CTD Winch
Posted by Irina Tabakina
Rapp Hydema provided Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) a CTD winch for its new research vessel R/V Alucia, which is being managed and financed by Beta Maritime. Rapp’s TBW-520E-T90 winch accommodates 7,000m of .322 Rochester Fiber-Optic cable, plus 100 ft. of 2.25-in. synthetic tether. It has Active Heave Compensation (AHC) set for optimal use at 3000m of deployed line. Rapp’s unit is compliant with UNOLS’ Research Vessels Safety Standard Appendix B: Overboard Handling Systems Design Standard, a rigorous requirement that is only now in the process of implementation fleet-wide. The Rapp winch develops five tons of line pull in Speed Step 1, on the bare drum, while retrieving at 60m/min.
Despite the presence of Active Heave Compensation, the Rapp winch has a power requirement of 70 kW with 3000m of line deployed. Rapp’s electrically-driven, electronically-synchronized T90 level wind—popular in various other research vessel applications—is also used.
www.rappmarine.com
(As published in the October 2014 edition of Marine Technology Reporter - http://www.marinetechnologynews.com/Magazine)
August 2026
