Turning a shipping container into a barge...? Plz don't laugh :-)

Looking around, but this is about as close to turning a shipping container into a barge as I can find. It's basically a landing craft/barge made with short containers in mind.

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N

 

On the other hand , here's another proposed container solution to Africa's problems.

http://www.combatreform2.com/chinookhelicopter.jpg

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N

 

Here's a start...

http://images.google.com/imgres?img...firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&sa=N

 

The most usefull part of a container when rebuilding them into other uses is the twist-lock corner castings, where all the design strength terminates.
You can buy fasteners to join them together but if the purpose is a single trip down a river you can easily weld them together. The corner castings are fully weldable.
The wooden floors are very strong, they will support loaded forklifts, although they rot through time. Any container that has just come off a ship should still have a solid floor as they would have been in cert.
To check the door seals and walls for holes, stand inside and get someone to close the door, just make sure that he doesn't owe you any money . You will see any faults in the seals, we use rubber strip with glue on one side to repair any gaps here. Chop up damaged containers for patches for any leaks that will be below the waterline.
Weld three containers together, at the corner castings only, side by side and cut hatches in the top. Slide it into the water and load up the centre one first. You should be able to add some cargo to the side containers as well.
How you recover them at their destination is your next problem and what do you do with them once emptied? Do you tow them back up-river to do another run?
I would still prefer to use a few containers to build a cheap barge to carry one fully loaded container, and once proven as a concept, buy some steel to add a strong skin to the bottom and sides. You could then set up a production line and build your fleet .

 

I think I'm with the build-a-barge-and-add-a-container proponents.

One of the best uses I ever saw for ferro-cement/reinforced concrete was barge hulls. These can be very cheap (plywood or even container-based molds--Heck, the mold could be a simple hole in the ground), very low steel content (thus probably "reinforced concrete," not true "ferro-cement"). The material can be extremely tough (easily bullet proof), cheap and can use recycled or low-grade steel, sand, even gravel. Concrete barges do not rust and can run without maintenance indefinitely.

Smallest barges would be single container, unloaded by an external crane (or by hand, for less than container-sized loads). Larger barges (maybe 6-container?) could begin to profitably mount a self-loading crane. Limit to 20' containers and you'll need smaller crane(s) for load/unload.

FWIW, the Navy is working to build self-directed and self-powered containers--actual robotic containers that can be shoved in the water, find their own ship, and then do it in reverse onto foreign soil. These will be ungodly expensive, but, in 20 years or so, should hit the second-hand market...

Dave

 

How are you planning to move your "barges" ? Under tow or self-propelled ?

 

Hello

Do you still have thoese containers?
It's not a silly idea at all. Any Genisuses out there prepared to have a go at designing a modular barge?
I need one soon and have an Idea. it can be done. Just need to quickly get the fesibility out of the way.
We have material,brains,need,desire to make money and bugger all income after the market crash.
Real Thinkers and Doers Only. No blog dills reply.

 

take a bunch of containers, and lay them on their "sides."

if they have plywood bottoms you will have to put real bottom on them.

fill the containers with huge inflatable large bags with remote fill tubes.
Link these laid over containers to make the "barge."

Set cargo containers down on top of the "barge."

you will have steel protection for the inflatable bags. you have redundency with multiple bags per container. you can check and change inflation with the remote tubes.

 

shipping container into barge

Turn container upside down. Fill with USCG approved foam and bouncing balls. ( leave space between balls ). Pin together to make a barge.
Can be reinforced with PVC pipe fiffed with concrete and rebar. Precut sections of pipe are glued together into a frame.
Multipal uses;
1. 20' container into personal water craft. Turn upside down, remove doors. The solid back becomes the front. Cut through along the front bottom edge, then up the sides 3', then from the front bottom edge cut through on the sides back 4' Then give those 4 points 1/2 cuts to fold into a bow. Cut out, frame in area for retractable wheels.( for towing ). Cut down one of the doors to complete stern. Add ballast, fill w/ foam & bouncing balls for a total 4'. Lay down deck, cut out/ install windows. The basic shell. Pin 2 together and get a 16x20 houseboat shell, or as big as you want
2. How to build a gyrocopter around a shipping container? easy
3. How to build a warehouse using containers? easy

 

4. And add four years.

Old thread...

 

Take the containers apart and hammer or roll the sides flat. Build a virtual navy of small craft by cutting and welding the sheet metal back together into usable shapes.

 

There are certainly times to build a proper boat and times to just make something that works. I think that this is a time to just make something that works.

If anyone in Africa or another less developed part of the world is thinking about this, I'd suggest that you ballast well, and be careful not to overload, and always load in bags rather than piling in loose grain, so you can avoid the free surface effect.

 

The above design is an idea I played with for light hauling, like a party boat. A serous barge would use the full height of a shipping container.
Each container is self contained with internal propulsion, fuel and GPS. Linked together across for stability. A modified coupling bow and stern will allow the barge train to snake the river.
Sounds like a job for CSX. Does anyone out there want to set a speed record on water?