Mininess: A Self-Trimming Multiple Opening and Closing Plankton Net Frame Design

Box shaped opening and closing plankton net frames are inherently unstable with respect to roll and pitch. The Mininess plankton net frame design features an empennage consisting of three individually adjustable horizontal foils fixed between two vertical stabilizers. Tow tank and field trial results indicate that this design is stable with respect to roll and pitch and self-trims over a tow speed range of 0.5 to 3.0 m/s. It is suggested that oscillations in pitch and depth observed during open ocean use are caused by oscillations in cable tension, which in turn are a result of the motion of the ship.