Cheap steel barge builder around the world ?

[philgib]

Does anyone know who are the known cheap steel barge builders in the planet ? Philippines ? China ? Canada ?

[Kay9]

Fred Whals here in Oregon USA is pretty cheap.

K9

[philgib]

Thank you. I cannot find them on Google. Would you have any Internet site in mind ? Is the family name spelled correctly ?

[MikeJohns]

Barges are very simple and can be succesfully built by any decent steel fabricator. They will also take on the work happily since its within just about every fabricators experience, although they may need to see the drawings first to be convinced that it is not a boat.:)

cheers

[SolomonGrundy]

http://www.usbarge.com/

[Landlubber]

China makes millions of the little suckers, a 150 footer would be about US$150K.

[philgib]

Well I only need 18 feet ones :-) There seems to be a consensus with Queenstown, Australia.

[rwatson]

Queenstown, Australia.
are you sure you have the right address??

There are only two of those in the whole of australia, and neither are particularly "barge" experts - esp[ecially the little old Zinc mining town on the rugged tasmanian west coast

[Thai]

Why don't you think about your barge to be build in Viet Nam ?

[philgib]

I would consider Vietnam is the job is well done. Any Internet site you would recommend please ?

Thank you

[Landlubber]

as the barges are so small, local production is the most economic answer mate, freight costs would blow out any savings from foreign manufacturing.
As Mike says above, forget the boat business, just call them boxes that float and they will be cheaper.

[philgib]

OK I will buy www.floatingbox.com :-) No offense, I actually completely agree with you.

Still, there are still some notions of solidity, stability and waterproof welding quality I have to figure out, even for a floating box, that's why I am here in this forum

Sending a 20' container over the atlantic from Mexico to Europe costs 1000 dollars, this is not so much actually.

[Landlubber]

plus Customs clearence and brokers handling fees, for an 18 foot boat with world parity steel pricing i still fail to see how you can save much mate

[colinstone]

weiliang.chen@usb2china.com
made an ugly barge and deliverd to europe
Good quote in US$ for a 22m dutch style barge.

[rickthorn]

Hello philgib....everyone,
I am not so much looking for a builder for barges, but I am looking for a REASONABLE, competent design person. My direct interest is inquiry for plans as follows...
SEAGOING POWERED barge design, MUST HAVE 30'/9.14 M BEAM (important for outdoor gathering area/recreation), minimum 80'/24.38 M LENGTH, it will be a full time & permanent liveaboard for family & friends.
Power considerations are....TWO BIO DIESEL ENGINES, BOTH WITH TWO ELECTRIC MOTOR BACKUP, possibly small masts and sails. MAIN ELECTRICITY supplied by solar and wind generation, BIO DIESEL GENERATOR backup.
EXTENDED RANGE FUEL TANKS AND WATER TANKS A MUST
Main concern and overall, for safety of all involved is as follows...
MAIN DESIGN MUST BE AS CLOSE TO ABSOLUTELY UNSINKABLE AS POSSIBLE, IN ANY STORMS, SELF-RIGHTING DESIGN.
Even so, barge would be piloted to reasonably safe and affordable country to live on, and other than probably one-time voyage, will probably not be at sea afterwards.
I have looked at a few barge designs and the small "canal" type or "river" barges would not work and would be dangerous to attempt what I wish...I have also looked at some large barges which would be beyond cost allowances to purchase and then convert, even to purchase used.
I would appreciate constructive ideas, no flaming, etc please. If you are not a designer, you are welcome to comment also, and those who know of competent, AND REASONABLE barge designer...(both to talk to and concerning cost, etc) your comments and advice will be appreciated.
Costs of registration, licensing (if applicable), insurance, matter may be quite prohibitive also.


Thanks,
rick

[Stumble]

Rick,

Do you really need it to be this seaworth or is it just an issue of getting it to where you want it to be? You may want to look at a less seaworth vessel that could be carried on a ship carrier to its final destination.

[rickthorn]

I would prefer to leave it in one ideal place, but with such world instability, this would be an uncertainty. Since this would be a large, very large liveaboard, I would have a large shop area inside also. If we found it necessary to relocate, I would have complete shop for either personal repairs, or as a business at any other location. I would have to build this on my own after getting a suitable design and blueprints/plans, etc. I am retired and on limited budget, but at least it would give me something to work toward in the future if I could get all planned and drawn up competently and correctly.

Thank you Stumble, appreciate your thoughts and ideas.

rick

[Alve]

If you are looking for something cheep and large, may be you should think in modules.
This will of course not be a good solution if you are planning to go out on ruff seas, but it can be a good idea if you want to transport it in parts as containers.
My solution would be as follow:
The upper part can be made out of rebuilt containers. Imagine the containers on the pontoons bellow rebuilt with a good-looking design. You might be able to buy used barracks that have inbuilt container fittings.
As base you can use two foldable pontoons as the ones here below.
Please note that I have the patent for the way the pontoons are transformed into containers, but I can deliver these pontoons. You can decide whether you like the pontoons to have there own engines or if you like to have them towed.
www.containerandboat.com
www.rivertrotter.com

[rickthorn]

I am only seeking design and plans...I am not looking for outside build unless place like Vietnam, India or other EXTREMELY CHEAP build country. I will not consider high wage areas, etc. Also I do not have extremely deep pockets and my funds will be limited, I must work this as a self build endeavor.

I was initially considering something like the following "river barge" type, but first 1) I immediately saw the beam size was nowhere near appropriate, because this beam is too narrow, etc. and second 2) it would be foolish or dangerous to say the least to consider transoceanic voyage in it.

Initial consideration...river barge, very nice but not of appropriate design (draft...much to low, beam...much too narrow, and problems if very rough seas, etc)

http://commercial.apolloduck.com/image.phtml?id=77484&image=3


I am now thinking/considering something like...

http://commercial.apolloduck.com/feature.phtml?id=70886

Thank you for the reply and idea you suggested Alve. :)

[rickthorn]

The problem for me in considering a barge is barges are not designed to be self-righting. Now I am going to consider some other vessel, but cost is still my largest problem.

[Stumble]

Rick,

Something like the Dutch Barge looks pretty interesting to me. But I would make sure to check the mooring costs for a vessel this large. While she may be cheap to buy the upkeep on her could get very expensive very quickly.

Personally I would be willing to take a vessel like this on crossings. The trick is to island hop and check the weather envelopes carefully. By doing your best to ensure that you never get caught out in bad weather you can go a long way toward minimizing the risk of not having a great open water vessel.

The trick is that since you are not on a time schedule it can take an extra few weeks to deliver the vessel without costing a shipper thousands in late fees. This is the trick behind a lot of small vessel cruisig and can be applied just as easily to what you are doing.

If you assume that a weather forcast is good for 24 hours, and that this vessel can motor at say 10kn. Then take a pair of protractors and step it across a map in 240kn intervals. If you can't get to a spot of land in this time frame then you detour to where you can. Then as you run and get new weather updates you can adjust your heading to being you to the next spot of land if 12 hours out your weather window still looks good.

I have used this for small boat deliveries (down to a 22' boat delivered 1,000 miles) all over the US and carribbean. It is slow, and can be tedious, but it is a safe way to bring a not particularly sea worthy vessel across open water. Plus you get to see a lof of small islands you never knew existed at the same time.

[rickthorn]

Thank you Stumble for your thoughts on open water crossings. I live full time in asia and will not be returning stateside. If I get the vessel I hope for, I would be looking to leave here for other islands to permanently "drop anchor". Nowadays there are too many governments that think you do not have any money (or rights), it is all "theirs". Just need to find someplace very remote to head to and hopefully my vessel could keep me comfortable and dry. If I can get a clean shower and some nice food I will be happy enough from that point on. Just need to find someplace remote enough!

[colinstone]

80ft x 30ft - and with that spec - not much change out of $1m I reckon.