Building a Spud Barge

[roddyo]

I have been looking for a spud barge and can't get one bought.

I have a large supply of sheet steel and have been thinking about building one.

Has anyone seen the framework inside of a barge? An idea of what I'm looking at for framework would be a big help.

As far as size I'm thinking 12' wide and 32' long maybe 5' high. Maybe something along these lines.

 

[chewbacca]

I've been thinking about spud barges for a while now and have several good images saved on my computer. I'd like to attach them to this post but for some reason in the little box at the bottom of this page that lists "posting rules" it states "you may not post attachments". I'm guessing this is because I'm a newbie? Anyway, I'm very interested in what everyone has to share on this subject (spud barges). Also, if anyone can figure a way I can post pics let me know.

 

[Squizzy246B]

Archimedes might be a good place to start...or at least a Naval Architect. In the Land Down Under, anything that floats for commercial purposes must be designed and built to codes recognised by the State or Flag State. Even then, barges, pontoons and work platforms will usually have to undergo either an inclining experiment or a stability afloat report prepared by an international recognised Classification Society...not to mention all the other Class Survey stuff.

If its for anything other than private use not on recognised waterways then there is a whole lot more to it than bangin some plates together. The USL Code is our starting point http://www.nmsc.gov.au/index.php?MID=16&CID=100
and I know first hand that the US has some doozies of regs for this stuff.

 

[shoreline]

barges

Hi guys i'm new but I work on our barges every day. We have two sectional spud barges that we use. I have our bobcat 341 on our smaller and our 315 or 330 on our larger one. If you have any questions just ask, i will try to figure how to post some pictures

 

[shoreline]

16'x32' barge

 

[jayboy]

looks like i am goin to try to build a barge for my john deere 690d to drive pilings off of did u complete this project? i am trying to find what size barge i need

 

[jayboy]

its a old thread i know

 

[capnkev]

Barge

its a old thread i know

A 690 is about 50000 lb so a 20'x40x4' would be marginal if you want to haul any materials. I have a 20x40x4 with a 120 at 27000 and it works fine they say 50000 is working load at 24" draft.

 

[old-iron-habit]

Not sure if you need to transport them. We moved a lot on the bridge jobs in my early life. We used mostly 10' X 50' sections that we pinned together every 4 ft with two inch by 4 ft long pins. They were 4 feet deep. We could pin up as many as needed to safely support the crane and leads we were using. Easy to move by truck. Another advantage was we could use a couple of sections for a transport barge and to store the piling on. We had spud holes on opposite corners of each section but never used them all when coupled up. They had a pretty heavy framework inside but I do not remember the member sizes. They were tall and slender top and bottom. I would guess a I-Beam about 4" wide and maybe 16" tall. No idea anymore what the weight per foot was. I just remember when the kid (me) had to crawl into one for any reason they were real shin biters.

 

[joispoi]

looks like i am goin to try to build a barge for my john deere 690d to drive pilings off of did u complete this project? i am trying to find what size barge i need

Those words don't inspire much confidence about your barge building skills. That said, I'm no barge-builder myself. However, I'm currently working at a company that owns several barges which are mainly used for pile driving work. We work in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. We haven't done any projects in the US, so I don't know exactly what hoops you have to jump through in order to be legally allowed to use it.

My advice is to forget the idea of building your own. You're better off renting one if you're just starting off in this line of work.

What size piles are you planning to install?

 

[jayboy]

6x6 posts as big as 10x 10 posts mostly resedental bulk head and dock work

 

[boaterri]

Look up "boats and harbors". It is a newspaper with nothing but ads for boats, ships, etc. They have an online version as well.

Rick

 

[Turbo21835]

I would be looking for posiden modular barges. Get enough for your purposes, and modify as needed