How do you get a 100’ barge delivered to a land-locked lake? Learn how sectional barges can be an asset to your project.

Question: When you are awarded a project in a land-locked lake, but need to work from the water on a 100’x40’ barge, what do you do?

Answer: Sectional barges.

Sectional barges are designed to be transported from project to project via tractor trailer. The barges are typically 40’x10’ and 20’x10’ with a couple of depth variations from 3’-2” up to 10’. Once they arrive onsite, they are assembled to make the exact barge size needed for your project.

Sectional barges aren’t limited to land-locked lakes. In fact, they are used in all types of waterways. Due to their versatility, they are extremely useful assets to have in your marine equipment fleet. For example, they can be used as cranes barges, pile driving barges, dredge barges, elevated platforms, floating docks, expedient bridging, ferries and transports, and drilling barges. There are many brands and fabrication shops that manufacture sectional barges. The popular brands are Flexifloat, Poseidon and Shugart.

Flexifloat Barges

Paul Robishaw founded Robishaw Engineering, Inc. in 1956, which is the manufacturer behind Flexifloat sectional barges. The first series was labeled Model J and were 30’ long x 7.5’ wide and 42” deep. Flexifloat developed a unique locking system that is completely self-contained without any loose parts. There’s an upper and lower connection point with male and female connectors that is locked in place by a vertical locking bar which is confined in the structure of the female interlock. As the construction industry evolved, so has the Flexifloat product line. The modern product line includes H-50, S-50 and S-70 series barges. Each product line is only compatible with components from the same product line.

H-50 Series includes Quadrafloat (30’ long x 7.5’ wide x 3.8’ deep) and Duofloat (15’ long x 7.5’ wide x 3.8’ deep) which have a deck bearing capacity of 3,500 PSF and a bottom bearing capacity of 2,500 PSF. Spuds and spud wells come in 12” or 20” diameter options. These barges can transport legally on a flatbed trailer.

S-50 Series includes Quadrafloat (40’ long x 10’ wide x 5’ deep) and Duofloat (20’ long x 10’ wide x 5’ deep) which have a deck bearing capacity of 5,000 PSF and a bottom bearing capacity of 3,500 PSF. Spuds and spud wells come in 20” diameter. These barges require a permit load to transport due to the over-width dimension.

S-70 Series includes Quadrafloat (40’ long x 10’ wide x 7’ deep) and Duofloat (20’ long x 10’ wide x 7’ deep) which have a deck bearing capacity of 5,000 PSF and a bottom bearing capacity of 3,500 PSF. Spuds and spud wells come in 24” diameter or 24” square. The S-70 Series is also the only Flexifloat series that can become a self-elevating platform, sometimes called a jack-up barge. In order to become a jack-up barge, you will need the elevating spudwell and elevating column attachments. These barges require a permit load to transport due to the over-width dimension.

Poseidon Barges

Mid-America Foundation Supply, Inc. was founded in 1986 as a pile driving construction business. After 28 years in the construction business, the piling division closed and the company became known as Mid-America Foundation Supply d/b/a Poseidon Barge. Poseidon has developed barges that are compatible with other manufacturer’s locking systems. They have a product line of Poseidon I, Poseidon P1-L/P1N, Poseidon II, Poseidon III and Poseidon P10.

The Poseidon PI barge comes in 40’ long x 10’ wide x 5’ deep and 20’ long x 10’ wide x 5’ deep which have a deck point load capacity of 20,000 PSF. These barges are pinned together with a hairpin style connector. These barges require a permit load to transport due to the over-width dimension.

The Poseidon P1-L barge comes in 32’ long x 8’ wide x 3’-2” deep. The Poseidon P1N barge can also be transported on a legal flatbed trailer. They come in 30’ long x 7.5’ wide and 4’ deep. Both types come with hairpin connectors, but due to the differing depths, they are not compatible to connect. These barges transport legally on a flatbed trailer.

The Poseidon II barge product line is compatible with the S-50 and S-70 Series Flexifloats. They come in 40’ long x 10’ wide x 5’ deep (S-50 Quadrafloat compatible), 20’ long x 10’ wide x 5’ deep (S-50 Duofloat compatible), 40’ long x 10’ wide x 7’ deep (S-70 Quadrafloat compatible) and 20’ long x 10’ wide x 7’ deep (S-70 Duofloat compatible), all of which have a deck point load capacity of 20,000 PSF. These barges require a permit load to transport due to the over-width dimension.

The Poseidon PIII barge product line is compatible with Shugart sectional barges. They come in 41’-4” long x 10’-4” wide x 4’-11.5” deep and 20’-8” long x 10’-4” wide x 4’-11.5” deep which have a deck bearing capacity of 30,000 PSF. The 41’-4” model is light enough where you can fit two barges on one truck. These barges require a permit load to transport due to the over-width dimension.

The Poseidon P10 barge comes in 44’ long x 11’ wide x 10’ deep and 22’ long x 11’ wide x 10’ deep which have a deck bearing capacity of 20,000 PSF. The deeper section allows for a larger crane on a smaller foot print. These barges require a permit load to transport due to the over-width dimension.

Shugart Barges

Shugart manufacturing was founded in 1962 with a commitment to quality and service. The Shugart locking system is a pin-flange locking system that is designed so the pins will not jam due to corrosion. When the pins are installed, you can slide a standard 2x4 in the recess that will sit flush with the deck. The Shugart product line includes the regular barge, double stack and heavy-duty.

The Shugart Regular barge comes in 41’-4” long x 10’-4” wide x 5’ deep, 31’ long x 10’-4” wide x 5’ deep and 20’-8” long x 10’-4” wide x 5’ deep which have a payload capacity of 37.5 tons at 1 foot of free board (for each 41’-4” section). These barges require a permit load to transport due to the over-width dimension.

The Shugart Double Stack barge comes in 38’-9” long x 7’-9” wide x 4’-3” deep, 31’ long x 7’-9” wide x 4’-3” deep, 23’-3” long x 7’-9” wide x 4’-3” deep and 15’-6” long x 7’-9” wide x 4’-3” deep which have a payload capacity of 20.3 tons with 1 foot of free board (for each 38’-9” section). You are able to fit two of the 38’-9” barges on one truck, which transport on a legal flatbed trailer.

The Shugart Heavy Duty Barge comes in 41’-4” long x 10’-4” wide x 7’ deep, 31’ long x 10’-4” wide x 7’ deep and 20’-8” long x 10’-4” wide x 7’ deep which have a payload capacity of 59 tons at 1 foot a free board (for each 41’-4” section). These barges require a permit load to transport due to the over-width dimension.

Are these the only options?

These manufacturers are not the only option when it comes to sectional barges, there are Rendrags, Unifloats, RPS, B&R Marine and several others. When it comes to sectional barges, the most important thing to remember is to ensure that you purchase barges that have compatible locking systems.

We keep a large stock of all types of used sectional barges from all over North America – check it out today.