Portable Winches and Handling Systems
Photo courtesy of Dan Naber
Portable winches or handling systems brought aboard R/V Sikuliaq shall be tested after installation and before its first use begins, per Appendix B in the UNOLS Research Vessel Safety Standards Manual. Systems shall be tested to 125% of Maximum Permissible Tension (MPT). Systems shall be tested on every new installation/use. If the system has been used and tested on Sikuliaq within the previous two years, the testing shall be confined to proper function and shall not require a load test. Tension members must be load tested after each new termination.
Tests shall be recorded in both the component and system test logs to avoid unnecessary retesting.
In no case shall the MPT of the host system or the Safe Working Load of the tension member used, be exceeded when using a portable component.
All lubricants and hydraulic fluid that could spill/leak into the sea or that interface with the sea must be environmentally acceptable lubricants "unless technically infeasible".
UNOLS RVSS, Appendix A, Rope and Cable Safe Working Standards
UNOLS RVSS, Appendix B, Overboard Handling Systems-Design and Operations Standards
Sikuliaq Maximum Capacity Documents(MCD)
