A Quick Look at Global’s X-Wave Facility Nearing Completion!
Along With SeaDog’s Newly Restored Commercial Pumps…

… Located In the Middle Of the X-Wave Pool …

After almost a year of restoration and equipment upgrades, SeaDog Systems’ Pumps are almost ready to test at Global’s new X-WAVE pool facility. The facility has gone through an intense rehabilitation.

The pool is nearly online and with its new state of the art actuator system, it will be capable of producing waves ranging between 6 inches to a projected maximum of 7 feet. This will facilitate the requirements for testing the SeaDog Wave Pumps before their open sea trial in the Gulf of Mexico. 

After almost five years of abandonment in over 10 feet of stagnant pool water, the three SeaDog Wave Pumps were almost completely covered in a thick layer of aquatic slime and rust. The entire structure and the buoyancy blocks required complete cleaning, inspection and restoration.

Over 250 man-hours went into removing the standing water and cleaning the slime off the pumps. Once clear and pressure washed, all components of each pump were thoroughly inspected to ensure no structural damage was present. This evaluation revealed only cosmetic damage to the buoyancy blocks and rust on the framework. Having found no significant structural damage, restoration began.

A specialized crew was hired to take on the task. All the rollers were removed, inspected, cleaned and adjusted along with all the anchor cables. The pump was hand sanded removing all rust and the entire system was treated with Slumberger blue and white marine grade, Acrylithane, 2-part industrial epoxy. The next step of the renovation will be the removal of the entire PVC piping system and its replacement with industrial stainless steel piping. This new piping system will support the pressures required to test the pump’s maximum capacity.

The original SeaDog Wave Pump was also abandoned just inside the gates of the property. This wave pump prototype started it all. It was severely weathered and covered with rust due to exposure to the elements. The same crew tackled the task of this renovation. They pressure washed and sanded every element of the structure. All rollers were cleaned and all anchor cables were readjusted to stabilize the pump on its base.

Additionally, the same marine grade, 2-part Acrylithane coating, in white, yellow and red, was used to preserve the pump and bring it to museum quality. This rehabilitation process will create a long lasting exhibit that will resist weather damage for years to come.

A piston, a piston cylinder, and rod, along with its new commemorative plaque recognizing this pump’s successful operation in the Gulf of Mexico, will complete the restoration. The rejuvenated SeaDog Wave Pump will continue to be on display at Global’s X-WAVE pool testing compound in Willis, TX.

SeaDog Systems, Inc.
To Use Global’s Wave Testing Facility 

In late February of 2016, SeaDog Systems, Inc. became aware that the abandoned INRI wave pool facility would be sold at auction at the Montgomery County Courthouse.  The property was purchased at that auction by a family trust and Kenneth W. Welch, Jr. acting in his capacity as President of Global Oceanic Designs, Inc. negotiated a lease to purchase agreement with that trust.

One week later, the contents of the abandoned wave pool facility were sold at auction on the property.  At that time, Kenneth Welch purchased all items that were deemed to be useful to the operation and maintenance of the wave pool and property.  Steve Keinath purchased the three SeaDog Wave Pumps that were, and still are, located in the middle of the wave pool.

Once all of the auction attendees had left the property with the items that they had purchased, Global Oceanic Designs found itself left with a lease to purchase agreement on 7.6 acres of land, a $1.5 million wave pool, a 2,500 square foot metal building and an elevated, 30,000 gallon, water tower and water well that were all suffering from the ravages of almost five years of complete neglect and utter abandonment.

Vegetation in the lawn and gravel drive areas had grown completely out of control, up to twelve feet high in places.  The red metal building was in desperate need of a paint job and new roof and the interior was being used as home for a variety of wildlife.

Then, there was the wave pool…

It, too, needed a paint job inside and out, but first over half a million gallons of stagnant water had to be removed and a thick layer of aquatic slime had to be power washed from the walls.  And, over three hundred trash bags worth of slime and sludge had to be shoveled up and removed from the floor before it too could be power washed and cleaned.

The wave pool’s connected, below grade bunkers were also filled with several feet of filthy stagnant water that had to be removed before their interior walls and floor could also be power washed and cleaned.  The wave makers at the west end of the wave pool and the SeaDog Pumps in the middle got the same power wash and cleaning, then an exhaustive inspection.

Fortunately, the result of that inspection indicated that all of the equipment in the wave pool only required cosmetic repairs; some minor rust removal in spots, lubrication of rollers, some primer and a new coat of marine-grade acrylithane coating will put them back in showroom state.

Global Oceanic Designs has expansive future plans for the wave pool facility, but it came to a two year service agreement with SeaDog Systems, Inc.  Global has agreed to rehabilitate the property, buildings and wave pool.

Global Oceanic and SeaDog Systems will share exclusive use of the entire facility for the next two years.  During that period, SeaDog Systems will make improvements to the operation of the wave makers; test some modifications of the existing SeaDog Wave Pumps and then build install and test a Bi-Pyramidal, directional buoyancy block.

When the property was abandoned, the wave pool’s wave makers were powered by an air driven actuator system that was difficult to control and only capable of sustaining three and a half foot waves.

SeaDog Systems has already contracted to have a greatly improved actuator system created and installed.  In the near future, the wave makers will be powered by three brand new, electrically powered, state of the art, screw-driven linear actuators.

This new actuator system, powering the wave makers, will be controlled and monitored by a computerized control panel that will also monitor and control all inputs and outputs of the entire system; such as flow rates and direction, pressures and kilowatts used and produced.  Most importantly, this new actuator system will be capable of driving and sustaining between six to seven foot waves.

SeaDog Systems, Inc.
Prototypes & Prototype Testing Over Nearly a Decade

The prototype testing conducted at Texas A&M University’s Offshore Technology Research Center (OTRC) wave pool confirmed that the SeaDog Wave Pump had practical uses and justified ocean trials. The second SeaDog Wave Pump, a one-fifth scale prototype was designed, built and placed off the east jetty in the Gulf of Mexico south of Freeport, Texas. As one of the largest ports in the country, the surrounding community paid attention as Mr. Welch and his crew dared the elements to take daily measurements and inspect the instrumentation.

The second one-fifth scale SeaDog Wave Pump performed continuously for 32 days providing a magnificent glimpse into the future of wave technology. In fact, the testing culminated in the first “bucket test” in a natural environment. A jack-up boat was rented, and Mr. Welch and the development team were overflowing with excitement. Ironically, the seas quieted to six inches of wave height during the 48-hour window in which this testing could occur.

Remarkably, the second one-fifth scale SeaDog Wave Pump functioned well despite the lack of stroke length for the pistons due to the minimal wave height. Nevertheless, it pumped seawater up the 3-inch flex line to fill the 55-gallon drum hanging 118 feet above water level to the amazement of the jack-up boat crew. The captain proclaimed that the 60-foot vessel did not hold a diesel or electric pump capable of such a feat.

As an added visual display for future plans of the SeaDog, the water was released from the suspended drum through the line to a Pelton-wheel turbine on the deck of the jack-up boat suspended 90 feet above the waves. Water splashed as the micro hydro-turbine converted the energy into usable electricity to light the first light bulbs by the SeaDog Wave Pump, using ocean waves.

There was no notable environmental impact, prediction of large-scale SeaDog installations came back with positive reports such as the creation of artificial reef structures that provide breeding grounds for a variety of local species of marine life.

The media drum had begun to beat as national networks started to run the SeaDog Pump story. Articles appeared in notable publications such as Popular Mechanics, Ocean Engineering Magazine, and the Houston Chronicle. Television programs such as Fox News would not be left out of the mix, and an entire circuit of radio interview requests from organizations such as WCCO in Minneapolis, Minnesota flooded the representatives of the SeaDog.

The third SeaDog Wave Pump prototype at one-fifth scale was developed and deployed in the Gulf of Mexico one half mile south of Galveston, Texas for formal third party testing in a real-world ocean environment. Dr. Frank Warnakulasuriya of Texas A&M University – Galveston was chosen to lead the independent study of the second ocean trial. He and his team attached a number of sensors and monitors to record pressures achieved and volumes of water pumped.

Mr. Welch was given permission to place the upgraded version of the SeaDog Wave Pump one thousand feet off the historic Galveston Pier. It shot water up into the air through a one-way check valve with the passing of every wave and drew the curiosity of everyone along the beach.

The SeaDog Wave Pump was the talk of the town during its 90-day, third-party sea trial testing/demonstration. By the end of that summer, the testing crew enjoyed much attention from the community. The group was known for a collective “SeaDog” cry that would often be bellowed before leaving a local establishment. Restaurant and bar patrons would almost always respond in kind to show support and have some fun with Mr. Welch and the crew.

After its successful deployment, testing and demonstration, the SeaDog Wave Pump prototype was proudly displayed for over six months next to the hotel marque in the parking lot of the Hotel Galvez as a commercial-ready alternative to fossil fuels.

When the 90 day ocean trial was complete, Dr. Warnakulasuriya and Texas A&M University – Galveston fully endorsed the SeaDog as the most efficient wave- energy converter/pump. Using the same methodology, it can be concluded that the SeaDog Wave Pump is equally capable of pumping both liquids and gases at nearly any volume and pressure to be connected to end-user applications.

Such applications could include a turbine for electrical generation, a reverse-osmosis membrane for water desalination or a series of long-distance fluid lines or aqueducts to be powered and fed by the incremental push generated by the waves flowing through the SeaDog Wave Pump.

SeaDog Systems, Inc. has identified a vast array of applications for the SeaDog Wave Pump, Fulcrum Wave Pump and Fulcrum Pond Pounders, along with its Artificial Head Systems ranging from low to high pressure fluid pumping, hydroelectric grid energy production, saltwater desalination, irrigation and drainage systems along with many others valuable applications.