From the archive, originally posted by: [ spectre ]
http://www.tritonlogging.com/engineering.html
Triton Logging is an integrated resource manager committed to providing
the world’s preferred environmental wood choice. Using its proprietary
Sawfish™ technology, it recovers high-quality timber from forests
flooded by dam reservoirs. This wood is suitable for a wide range of
industrial and specialized uses and holds a unique environmental story
– and certified credentials – that appeal to the rapidly-growing,
eco-savvy consumer segment of the worldwide wood economy.
Triton holds long-term underwater timber harvesting licenses and is
actively harvesting year-round on various large reservoirs in British
Columbia.
BC holds an estimated five billion board feet of merchantable,
submerged standing timber, which represents as little as five percent
of the world’s inventory. While focussing on its BC operations, Triton
continues to develop the numerous international opportunities to
harvest underwater wood.
An Eco-Friendly Wood Choice
Using the patented Sawfish™ technology, Triton’s harvesting team
carefully cuts and raises pristine Douglas Fir, Western Red Cedar,
Western White Pine, Lodgepole Pine, Hemlock, and other species from the
bottom of hydro dam reservoirs flooded over the past century.
The timber is in extremely good condition since it has not been exposed
to oxygen and wood-decaying fungi. In fact, it often has superior
attributes to much of the living timber now available from land-based
harvesting.
All wood is certified SmartWood Rediscovered by the Rainforest
Alliance.
After being cut and surfaced by The Sawfish™ system, the trees are
transferred to a landing on the lakeshore where they are cut into logs
and made ready for transport to the mill. The wet logs are milled into
beautiful timbers and high quality lumber suitable for a wide range of
uses. While the moisture content of freshly cut wood is higher than
regular wood, it soon dries in the open air or is easily dried
mechanically in a conventional wood kiln.
Triton’s Sawfish™ Underwater Harvester represents the first true
arrival of viable marine technology in underwater forests. Developed
and manufactured by Triton, it is the world’s only deep-water logging
machine, combining proven elements from timber-harvesting and submarine
vehicle technology on an innovative platform.
Competitive Advantages
Deepwater Access The Sawfish not only navigates precisely by a remote
pilot, it can operate to any depth. Alternative systems (grapples or
divers) are limited to approximately 25 m, even though 80 percent of
submerged timber resources are found at greater depths.
Economical and Efficient
While alternative systems use the same mechanism to cut and retrieve
trees, The Sawfish achieves significant efficiencies by de-coupling the
cutting and surfacing processes, enabling it to perform multiple cuts
without returning to the surface. And with no new roads to build and no
fires or pests to control, Triton system becomes even more economical.
Safety Triton harvesting operation does not involve falling trees or
working with heavy machinery in tight spaces or sloped terrain. And by
removing hazardous trees from reservoirs, Triton creates safer
environments for recreational and commercial use.
Specifications + Attributes
7000 lbs on land and slightly buoyant in water
Fully remote with 8 video cameras and sonar
Powered by a 40-75 HP electric motor, using biodegradable and vegetable
oil-based hydraulic fluids
Feller grapple and 55-inch chainsaw
Handles larger trees than any land-based mechanical harvester due to
water buoyancy
37-50 inflatable/reusable airbags to float trees to surface (one bag
per tree)
info [at] tritonlogging [dot] com
media [at] tritonlogging [dot] com
Wood Sales
wood [at] tritonlogging [dot] com
Sawfish™ Engineering
engineering [at] tritonlogging [dot] com
Triton Head Office
6675 Mirah Road
Saanichton, BC
Canada
V8M 1Z4
+1 (250) 652-4033 (phone)
+1 (250) 483-1955 (fax)