New boat makes Corps’ river navigation work faster, cheaper and safer

Photo By Todd Plain | Wing dam buoys, shown July 19, 2011, (left), await replacement at the Sacramento District’s Bryte Yard maintenance facility in West Sacramento, Calif. Bryte Yard maintains 54 buoys on the Sacramento River as part of the Corps’ river navigation responsibility.  

SACRAMENTO, CA, UNITED STATES

08.03.2011

Story by Todd Plain 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Keeping the Sacramento River safe for navigation is faster, safer and cheaper for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers now with the arrival of a bigger boat from its Englebright Lake.

The Corps’ Sacramento District manages its Sacramento River work out of a maintenance yard in West Sacramento called Bryte Yard. One of Bryte Yard’s many responsibilities on the Sacramento River is managing buoys that warn boaters of underwater walls called wing dams. Wing dams act like bumpers in the river, directing the current away from the river banks but speeding it up in the middle of the river - slowing river bank erosion and helping the river naturally dredge itself. The Corps’ navigation role is to provide safe, reliable and efficient transportation on America’s rivers, harbors and waterways.

“The current boat we’re using to maintain wing dam buoys is a small vessel, and it’s a dangerous job. Our new boat will make our job safer and much more efficient because it can carry more in one trip,” said Bryte Yard maintenance supervisor John Gilbert. “The old vessel could only carry two buoys at a time. Our new boat will have more room to safely maneuver the buoys and can handle around 30 at a time.”

Gilbert and his crew maintain 54 wing dam buoys on the Sacramento River between its confluences with the Feather River to the north and the American River to the south. The larger boat lets them move more buoys at a time, reducing the number of trips and saving time and gas.

Bryte Yard’s new boat is called the Landing Craft Utility. At more than 38-feet long, it’s nearly twice the size of the old boat, and can carry four times the load - up to 12,000 pounds. It’s powered by two 190-horsepower motors and has two mounted cranes, each capable of moving 1,000 pounds.

A new name for the LCU is being considered, along with some design changes to better suit it for river work.

“[The LCU] needs a larger battery bank, power winches and some deck modifications, but should work just fine,” said Mike Guidry, lead mechanic and operator of the new boat. “We’ll be putting a diver door in the front so we can swing the anchors and buoys in and out [of the door] instead of having to come over the top of the rails.”

The LCU is scheduled to be fully operational by the end of August.

• Date Taken: 08.03.2011
• Date Posted: 08.03.2011 16:20
• Story ID: 74791
• Location: SACRAMENTO, CA, US