To help barge go into water and pull ship out of water are two big applications of marine airbags, seperately called ship launching and hauling out or upslipping. Ship launching marine airbags are made of rubber, can carry heavy loads and protect himself from sharp stones, rocks scratch, which are often employed in shipyards, ship repairing companies for work of launch, lift, rescue, salvage and refloatation like pontoons. Besides diversification of airbags diameter, length and advantages of working heights adjustabilities, number layers of marine airbags can be 6, 8 or further, and his capacities gradually higher. Ship launching marine airbags sometimes perform same working principle with tires, so are referred to pneumatic intense tires and roller bags or air bags also.
Airbags for launch
Marine airbags are used to launch barges, ships, cargo vessels or tugboats and they save big part of cost, time and labors for shipyards. It’s one convenient and economical launch tool. During production, material of ship launching marine rubber airbags are required to meet qualified tear strength test and hardness, bigger elongation inspection. Sometime, their performance are better than iso 14409.
Simply how to launch with marine airbags
Prepare necessary equipments except for ship launching airbags, like winch, air compressor.
Test airbags. Inflate airbags over-pressured, check the airtightness.
Clean the launching slipway, in case any puncture damage.
Fasten the winch with ship and closed all valves on ships, fix helm and propeller.
Then insert airbags at ships’ bottom till the ship is fully lifted. Remove supporting blocks.
Adjust inner pressure of ship launching airbags to lower the vessel to suitable height. All airbags should be centered and uprighted to launching direction.
Start the winch and then release ship slowly.
Pick up all airbags after launch.
Rubber airbags for upslip
Upslip a barge or ship is to pull him from water first and then land it.
Use winch fasten ship tightly with cables or guy ropes.
At bottom bow of the ship, insert one or more airbags as the fulcrum for winch to pull the ship. Also, engineer can insert more airbags at proper position at low sea tidals and pull the ship at high tidals, then inflate airbags to lift the ship.
When the ship bow is lifted, start winch and pull ship to land. Insert more marine airbags after the ship is landed upon slipway.
Inflate airbags further to lift ship bottom higher, fill in wooden blocks and remove airbags.