Bollinger Mississippi Shipyards has awarded Markey Machine a major contract for winch refurbishment aboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown. Markey’s three oceanographic winches have been aboard for 27 years and will receive various upgrades, including alteration of the level wind on the DESH-5 deep-sea winch. The three-sheave original configuration with manual control will be simplified to a two-sheave level wind to extend cable life.

As on other Markey winches, the DESH-5 two-sheave level wind is the single most engineered subassembly on the winch, engineered to six figures. The two-sheave unit simplifies various processes at work in earlier three-sheave units while enhancing safety features. For example, the unit has no reverse bends in the cable path, thereby lengthening cable service life. In addition, the need for a winch turntable (platform) is eliminated by use of rotating flagging sheaves. Mechanical actuation, by use of a hand-wheel directly coupled to the diamond screw, significantly reduces overall level wind cost and complexity in the absence of extra sensors, motors, and VFDs.

Markey will complete the work in 2024.

Learn more here.