Fiber Rope   Email     Print   PDF

• LENGTH: 7,250 meters
• DIAMETER: 48 mm [2"]
• CONSTRUCTION: 12 X 12 [ 'rope made with rope' ] braided and torque balanced.
• FIBERS: Midsection [5,500 meters long] 100 % UHMWPE 'PLASMA (pdf)'
• Ends [750 meters at each end of the whole rope] 50%/50% UHMWPE/VECTRAN blend 'B.O.B. (pdf)'
• At the junctions of these two fiber types, one transitions gradually to the other via a series of 'braider splices'.
• MINIMUM BREAK STRENGTH = 355,000 pounds
• ELONGATION EXAMPLE: 5,000 meters out, 25,000 pound payload, elongation = 2 meters.
• SPECIFIC GRAVITY: B.O.B. = 1.18 PLASMA = .98. By nature of this 'neutral buoyancy' no added mass due to rope weight is accrued when working in full ocean depths [> 4500 meters] which means that all the strength of the rope is available for work, and resistance to elongation.

Enlarge image

The Puget Sound hybrid rope is coated with proprietary urethane mixtures to enhance its coefficient of friction externally. The parent coating for BOB and Plasma were retained so that the transition from one blend to another is visible.

Enlarge image

The 12 X 12 braid is comprised of ‘primaries’ which are stand alone ropes on their own. This ‘rope made with rope’ is field repairable. That is if a strand [primary] is damaged or cut completely, a section of strand can be removed and replaced in such a way to be fully load bearing.

Enlarge image

The strand by strand transition from B.O.B [yellow] to Plasma [purple] is clearly visible in this shot as the ODIM CTCU lowers the long core to the seafloor.