The release works only with mushroom- shaped m.ale conical catches pre- 

 installed on a payload. The conical skirt forces the hooks to stay 

 closed in release mode as long as tension is maintained in the lift 

 line. Both the release and the catch can slide along a guideline. 



Payload. The payloads for the sea tests were a sphere and a block, 

 both fabricated of concrete. Test load LI, the sphere, was 5 feet in 

 diameter and weighed 9,260 pounds in the air and 5,560 pounds in sea- 

 water. Test load L2, the block, was 4 feet square, 2 feet high and 

 weighed 4,500 pounds in the air and 2,760 pounds in seawater. 



Winches. A hydraulic traction winch was used to handle the lift 

 line during testing. This winch did not have any motion-compensation 

 capability. For the guidelines, two large-capacity, air-operated winches 

 were used to deploy the guideline anchors and to maintain constant ten- 

 sion in each guideline. 



Procedures 



Throughout the shallow-water tests, the surface ship was spread- 

 moored to three buoys to maintain position. 



The anchor block with guidelines attached was first lowered to the 

 seafloor to establish a guideline system. The guideline tension was set 

 at approximately 2,000 pounds. The guide frame and payload were then 

 rigged to the lift line and, for the shallow-water tests, lowered to 

 depths of 50, 150, 300, and 500 feet. At each depth, the payload was 

 stopped and allowed to stabilize for about 3 minutes. For the return 

 trip, the guideline tension was reduced to 800 pounds. The payload was 

 again stopped at each depth for 3 minutes.* The self-recording current 

 meter attached to the guide frame and guide cone recorded current speed 

 and direction and the orientation of the guide frame. After the payload 

 reached the surface, the payload or the guide frame was changed for the 

 next test run. The amount of drift of the surface ship after the guide- 

 line was established was determined by a transponder system on the sea- 

 floor for the shallow-water tests. 



For the deep-water and the anchor-mating test runs, no stabilizing 

 stops were made during the lowering or raising of the payload. Lorac B 

 navigation was used to help the surface ship maintain station. A taut 

 buoy system was established at the test site to provide visual aid to 

 the pilot. 



*The procedure was slightly different in tests 7 and 8: the lowering 

 used the same technique, but the system was raised to 150 feet without 

 pausing, the tension was reduced to 800 pounds, then lowered to 500 

 feet with the normal 3-minute intervals. Finally, it was raised to the 

 surface without stopping. 



