Development of a value-engineered NOMAD buoy

Since the mid-1970s, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Data Buoy Office (NDBO) has used Navy Oceanographic Meteorological Automatic Device (NOMAD) buoys as part of their ocean data gathering network. These U.S. Navy-built, 20-ft long, boat-shaped hulls, have proven to be extremely seaworthy buoys. The hulls are reliable, easily transportable, and for many applications, they are an attractive alternative to the conventional 40-ft and 33-ft diameter discus-shaped buoys. As a result, NDBO, in early 1979, began actively pursuing the idea of designing and constructing a second generation, value-engineered (VE) version of the NOMAD buoy. A consulting firm was contracted to redesign the NOMAD hull, and in June 1981, construction was started on a series of five new NOMAD buoys. This paper describes the design and construction of the VE NOMAD buoy, and details the efforts of industry and government working together to produce a reliable, cost effective data buoy.