Sequoia Yacht Club

Sequoia Yacht Club Racing Buoy Construction February 2010

Overview The marks used by Sequoia Yacht Club for its club races include both government and SYC maintained marks. The SYC maintained marks are ‘S’, ‘X’ and ‘Y’. The preferred format for these marks is a foam-filled plastic 55-gallon drum attached to a concrete anchor using 3/8” galvanized anchor chain. This document describes the construction of a new racing buoy. This process evolves with the deployment of each new buoy.

Materials List The following is a list of materials used for the construction of a new racing buoy. The prices listed here are approximate only and for planning purposes. This list generally reflects the costs at the time the new ‘S’ mark was constructed in February 2010. Qty Description Price Total Where 1 Plastic Drum (yellow, orange or white) $75.50 $75.50 www.ebkcontainers.com 1 X-30 Expanding Foam Kit $127.85 $127.85 Tap Plastics (1 gal. each, A side – B side) 1 ½-13 x 6 HDG Carriage Bolt (Pkg 3) $3.06 $3.06 Orchard Supply 1 ½ HDG Flat Washers (Pkg 30) $3.93 $3.93 Orchard Supply 2 30’ HDG 3/8” Chain $91.30 $183.60 Home Depot 2 3/8” HDG Anchor Shackle $2.69 $5.38 Home Depot 3 60lb Bag Sakrete $2.67 $8.01 Home Depot 10 1’ Rebar 3/8” $0.57 $5.70 Home Depot 1 16 gal. Galvanized Wash Tub $13.70 $13.70 Home Depot 1 12’ Fiberglass Cloth (per foot) $2.40 $28.80 Tap Plastics 1 Fiberglass Epoxy (1 pint) $25.95 $25.95 Tap Plastics $481.48 Total

The cost is reduced if material from previous buoy builds is available, or if club members have access to, or are willing to donate the materials required to support this effort.

Preparing the Barrel The preferred mark is a plastic 55-gallon drum. A standard 55-gallon drum is 22.5” in diameter and 33.5” high, with a total volume of 7.7 cubic feet. The circumference of the barrel is 6.25’. There are two types of barrel, open top and closed top. Only the closed top (also known as closed head or welded top) should be used for constructing a new buoy. Standard barrels have two bungholes on the top for access to the interior of the barrel. If at all possible a barrel that is already the color of the intended mark should be used. Some paints do not adhere well to plastic, especially when affected by the heat generated by filling the barrel with foam. Filling the barrel with foam worked well using a three-person assembly line team. The first person pours equal amounts of the A and B solutions into paper cups. The second person mixes the two parts and stirs the combination for 15 - 20 seconds (as per product instructions). The third person pours the mixed and stirred solution into the barrel. The foam is used to add buoyancy and to ensure that the buoy doesn’t fill with water and sink. X- 30 polyurethane foam from Tap Plastics is used for this purpose. This is rigid polyurethane foam that expands up to 30 times its original liquid volume to add strength and buoyancy. It comes in two parts: Part A-Resin and Part B-Catalyst (hardener). X-30 is not affected by petroleum products and can be used in boats or for floats.

The foam is prepared by mixing equal parts of TAP X-30 resin and catalyst. A supply of 8 – 12 ounce paper cups is used for this purpose (12 ounce preferred). Be sure to cover the surface on which the mixing is to take place, and to wear gloves to avoid getting this material on hands and arms. The two parts are then combined into a larger container and stirred for 15 – 20 seconds as per product instructions (review instructions prior to starting). A 1-quart deli container was used to hold the mixture and wood sticks were used to mix the two solutions once they were combined. Over time expanding foam will fill up the mixing container. At this point the mixture should be removed from the container, or a new container should be used.

Once the two parts have been combined and the mixture has been stirred it is poured into the barrel using a disposable funnel. A paper cup with a diameter close the size of the bunghole works well. The bottom of the cup is removed to create the disposable funnel. Both plugs should be removed to allow the foam to expand. Some heat will be generated during this process, so the barrel should be checked periodically to ensure that it doesn’t overheat. Using one gallon each of parts A and B should be sufficient to fill the drum completely with foam. The foam has an approximate 30:1 expansion factor, so 2 gallons should expand to 60. The documentation also states that one-gallon each of parts A and B fills 8 cubic feet, which exceeds the 7.7 cubic feet of a standard 55-gallon barrel. Care should be taken not to overfill and potentially burst the barrel. Once filled with foam, the chain is attached to the barrel using a combination of bolts and shackles. See the materials list above for details. All hardware should be galvanized due to the corrosive nature of salt water.

Two 30’ lengths of 3/8” galvanized chain were used for the ‘S’ mark replacement.

The amount of chain required depends on the depth of the water where the mark will be set. The maximum tide range and swell height should be taken into account when determining the amount of chain required. Sufficient chain should be deployed to ensure that that the buoy can rise and fall with the tide and surface wave conditions. Current SYC racing buoys have the mooring chain wrapped around the barrel. The chain initially is installed loosely to allow it to be moved to the side.

A fiberglass band is installed in the center of the barrel to assist with keeping the chain from sliding off the buoy. Once the fiberglass band is in place the chain is relocated to the center of the buoy and a resin is brushed onto the chain to provide some measure of bonding of the chain to the buoy. At this time one or more bolts also are used to cinch the chain around the drum to the point the buoy is slightly deformed. This further assists in keeping the chain from sliding off the buoy. The initial attempt to attach the chain to the new ‘S’ mark was to wrap the chain around twice and then cinch it down. It was found, however, that two wraps made it difficult to ensure a uniformly tight fit. This led to the use of a second short length of chain that was wrapped around the barrel to provide a second, independent method of securing the buoy to the anchor chain. The second chain was attached to the first using galvanized bolts. Preparing the Anchor A cement anchor of 180 – 240 pounds is used to keep the buoy in place. A 16 gallon galvanized washtub is used to form the buoy anchor.

The chain is positioned in the drum and several pieces of rebar are run through the chain links. The rebar is used to strengthen the anchor and to distribute the load of the chain pulling on the anchor. The goal is to reduce that chance that the mooring chain will pull free of the concrete anchor.

Three to four bags of cement are mixed in a wheelbarrow. Once the concrete has been mixed it is transferred to the tub using a shovel.

Four 60 lb. bags of cement will fill the washtub, although it becomes increasingly difficult to transport and deploy the anchor as it gets heavier. Three bags are probably sufficient, although the picture shown above contains four. The cement needs to sit for several days to ensure that it hardens before it is deployed. Deploying the New Racing Mark Once the barrel has been prepared and the concrete has set, the buoy is ready to deploy. At this point the barrel and anchor have two separate lengths of chain. Keeping the chain separate assists in moving the buoy to the vessel used to transport it out to the bay.

The anchor and buoy were placed on a hand truck and wheeled down the dock. By backing the boat into the slip it was easy to slide the anchor and buoy onto the swim step for transportation out to the bay. Here the new racing mark is lashed to the swim step on the stern of the boat. At this point the two lengths of chain are attached using a shackle. All shackles should be tightened and seized using seizing wire or nylon tie wraps. The chain is coiled such that once the package is cast overboard the chain freely unravels as the anchor sinks. The buoy should be deployed in the early morning. The ideal conditions are light winds and calm seas. The coordinates for the position of the mark should be entered into a GPS receiver and then used to navigate to the correct location. Once the boat is within 5 to 10 feet of the intended location, the buoy is launched by simply pushing the anchor and buoy overboard in one operation. Deployment is the most dangerous part of the process and great care should be taken to ensure that the chain does not get tangled or wrapped around someone’s foot, legs or arms. Care also should be exercised to avoid damaging the boat when the buoy is cast into the bay.

The new ‘S’ mark after deployment in late February 2010.