This is a Source Sought Synopsis only. The purposed of this synopsis is to obtain capabilities information from all size and types of firms to determine the degree of competition. Information received will be used to make a determination regarding the use of full and open competition or to set aside the procurement. No solicitation exists at this time; therefore, do not request a copy of the solicitation. If a solicitation is released, it will be synopsized in FedBizOpps. The anticipated contract will be an Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity type contract with firm fixed-price delivery orders issued for mooring line. The proposed contract will be for a base year and 2 one-year options. NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Lab has a requirement for mooring lines used to moor DART 3 and PICO systems in the open ocean for multi-year deployments. Some moorings will be deployed in areas of potential fish bite and will require protection. The line shall be a single conductor wire constrained within the braid and running through the Top Section or throughout the entire line on some lines (different configurations will be required). Individual line segment length tolerances and overall mooring length tolerances shall be provided when ordering the line. Top Section: 1. Length will nominally be 700m (not counting the blended splice region). 2. On the upper 650m of the Top Section, the fibers shall be wrapped with a PTFE (Polytetrafluoroethylene) tape and over wrapped with fish bite protection (wrapped in a counter direction to the PTFE tape). The fish bite protection shall be wrapped with Mylar, and the whole assembly encapsulated in a polyurethane (PU) jacket. The addition of the fish bite protection and the PU jacket shall not reduce the RBS of the blended top section line. 3. The PU jacket shall be extended 20m beyond the termination of the fish bite protection to 670m. The PU jacket shall taper to near zero thickness to spread the change in bending stiffness over the last 20m of jacket. 4. The Top Section shall be manufactured from a 12-strand Vectran / Spectra 3.41 ppi Cortland Cable BOB™ (Blend Optimized for Bending), or equivalent line construction. The blended line shall be of a construction optimized for cyclic bending, and shall be treated with a wear resistant coating. 5. The Top Section line shall be under a tension of 50 to 150 lbs. during wrapping and jacket encapsulation operations. 6. The PTFE tape shall be 1 inch x .003 inch or equivalent. 7. The fish bite protection shall be a non-conducting material over the Vectran/Spectra blend with a proven capability to withstand "random" strikes by 4 to 6 foot typical warm water sharks without damaging the fibers of the line. The fish bite protection shall be wrapped so as to prevent the fish bite protection from separating, and or damaging the line during cyclic loading and bending operations. The fish bite protection shall be wrapped so that it overlaps itself between 10 and 20% of tape width. The tape must not "open" between overlaps when the lines pass over sheaves of 5 inch diameter. 8. The PU jacket shall have NOAA/PMEL external Ridges for Strum Suppression (RSS). The RSS shall be a 9 parallel ridge design, equally spaced around the line (over 360 degrees), with a 36 inch period, and a nominal ridge height of .015 inch (Cortland Cable's shake down extruded ridge or equivalent). The jacket shall be manufactured from Texin 9-90R shore A 90 durometer black polyurethane. 9. Top Sections may contain a conducting wire which will be passed through the center axis of the line. Weighted Polyester: Shall be 12 strand polyester. The weighted section will add between 75 and 100 lbs., air weight. Weighted section must distribute the weight along a significant section of the line (>260 meters), to aid in the prevention of shock loading and enhance the catenary shape of the mooring. The added weight must not foul or chafe the polyester line fibers over millions of wave and strumming cycles. The weight should be added without requiring an additional line segment to be spliced into the polyester and shall be manufactured such that it does not have a significant impact on the line's overall bending stiffness. The beginning of the weighted section will be located 800m down from the top of the mooring. Buoyant Co-polymer: Co-polymer line for buoyancy in the lower section of the mooring, shall be Cortland Cable's 12-X Co-poly or equivalent in manufacture and shall have a specific gravity of ≤ 0.94. Two required configurations will require a 2/3 co-polymer and 1/3 Spectra fiber blended line to prevent stretch under load. 3/4 Inch Diameter Polyester: Two configurations shall have a 12 strand polyester with a nominal diameter of 0.75", for chafe resistance at the anchor. This shall be hand spliced into the co-polymer. Machine Splices: Splices shall be smooth in transition, such that the bending stiffness of the mooring slowly changes as the different line fibers are blended and a minimum of 50 meters in length. The braided splice shall not increase the line diameter or stiffness by more than 2% over a 1 meter length. Conductor: When ordered, the conducting wire shall be an 18 gauge Cortland HiWire™ or equivalent that is designed for cyclic bending, elongation and fatigue resistance. The wire shall be jacketed with a thin (~1/32 inch thick) polypropylene extrusion. Depending on the configuration ordered, the extrusion will either be jacketed over with a ~ 1/8 inch nominal thick polypropylene extrusion which will render the jacketed conductor wire neutral to slightly buoyant in salt water (per meter) at pressures up to 9,000 psi or will not have additional jacketing. The polypropylene over jacketing shall not crack or separate when subject to cyclic bending and loading. Transitions within the conductor jacketing shall be smooth, and blended so as to slowly change wire bending stiffness over at least 10m. Line Label: The upper and lower terminus of the line shall be labeled with length, date of manufacture and manufacturer's serial number. Interested parties should submit: 1) a brief description of their capability to provide the required cable, 2) evidence of experience and past performance (including a contact name and telephone number), 3) intention to submit a proposal as a prime contractor, and 4) business company size, point of contact and DUNS number. The business size shall include any applicable preference program (i.e., 8(a), HUBZone, Service Disabled Veteran Owned, Small Business, etc.) For the purposes of this requirement, the NAICS size standard for small business is 500 employees or less. Questions concerning this notice shall be emailed to
[email protected] . Responses shall be submitted via email or facsimile at 206-527-5875 by COB July 8, 2008. This notice is for informational and market research purposes only. Failure to submit all information requested may result in an unrestricted acquisition.