Top-Side Weight
Top-side weight is any weight mounted on the buoy above the water surface or the buoys’ center of
gravity. Top-side weight located further from the buoys’ center of gravity will cause greater instability of
the buoy. For example, suppose a weather sensor is mounted 36″ above the water surface (Figure 2). In
that instance, the sensor mount will cause more buoy instability than mounted 24″ above the
surface (Figure 3). As a result, the buoy would require more subsurface ballast weight to
counterbalance.
Figure 2: Top-side weight mounted higher
causes greater buoy instability.
Figure 3: Top-side weight mounted closer to the water
surface provides more stability.
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