Barge-a long flat-bottomed boat for carrying freight on canals and rivers, either under its own power or

towed by another.

The term crane barge is used to denote an offshore barge equipped with a sheer-legs crane or fully
rotating crane.

A sheer-legs crane can pick loads and luff but not swing.

The sheer legs consist of an A-frame made up of two heavy tubulars or trussed columns held back by

heavy stays to the bow.

The sheer-legs barge is maneuvered by deck engines, tugs, or mounted outboard engine propellers.

The crane barge positions its stern at the side of the cargo barge, picks the load, and then moves as
necessary to set the load in exact position.

Modern torque-converter deck engines and propellers with variable pitch allow a high degree of
accuracy in positioning to be obtained, for example, of the order of 50 mm.

One of the advantages of a sheer-legs crane barge over a fully revolving derrick barge is that the load is
always picked over the stern end, hence preventing list from the swing of the crane.

The sheer-legs crane is also much less costly than a full-revolving crane, both in first cost and in
maintenance.

Because of the need to move the entire barge to proper position to set the load, its operations are
slower than those of a fully revolving derrick barge.

Further, it cannot choose its heading to minimize motion response to the sea.

A sheer-legs crane barge is normally capable of ballasting down by the bow, to offset the trim induced
by picking of the load over the stern.

The barge must, of course, be designed to resist the hogging moment, which then occurs when the load
is picked.

The ability of a sheer-legs barge to lift a module or other large spatial load to a height (for example, in
order to set it on a platform deck) is limited by the necessary length of slings and by the interference
between load and the sheer legs themselves.

The load cannot be allowed to swing into the sheer legs or boom or it may buckle them. Swinging of the
load due to pitch will, of course, increase this danger. To prevent such fore and aft swing, tag lines
should be used to suck the load slightly in toward the stern; this will prevent it from swinging in this
direction. Swinging transversely can be snubbed by the use of tag lines as well.
Tag lines are controlled by air or hydraulic hoists. Care must be taken to prevent their chafing as the
load is moved to new positions in three-dimensional space. Softeners should be provided as necessary.

To pick loads from a barge at sea and then set them on a platform, the sheer legs are usually fixed at the
appropriate orientation to serve both.

Luffing of the sheer legs under load, that is, raising the sheer legs themselves, is awkward and slow and
should normally be avoided.

The load should be hoisted from the barge at the top of the heave (of the barge) so that six seconds
later, on the next cycle of heave, the load will be clear of the barge.

The operator (and foreman) will watch and try to catch a relatively higher wave on which to start the
pick. Hoisting speeds depend on the number of parts of line in the blocks and, of course, on the rated
speed of the engine and the amount of wire on the drum.

When it comes to setting the load, the problem is reversed. The load will tend to first make contact
while the barge is near the bottom of the heave cycle; three seconds later, before the hoist engine can
overhaul to slack the lines, the crane barge may lift the load up again. Under any significant sea state
and pitch response, the load becomes a battering ram. Therefore, the crane barge should be fitted with
a free overhaul capability to allow the load to remain seated once it has landed. In any event, the skillful
operator will try and set the load during a period of minimum motion and as close to the top of the
crane barge’s heave cycle as practicable, to give time for overhaul.

The slings used to lift typical modules and other heavy loads are very heavy and awkward. A whip line,
single-part, is run over a sheave at the boom head to help lift the eye of each leg of the slings over the
hook (see also Figure 6.21).

The deck engines of a sheer-legs crane barge must be adequate to control the barge’s motion in yaw,
sway, and surge to a very close tolerance despite the state of the sea.

This requires an excess of power as well as torque-converter controls or equivalent.

Fairleads must be carefully laid out to ensure a proper fleet angle from the winch and to ensure that

they will properly follow the changing position of the barge (see Figure 5.13).