James Alexander O'Kon
Engineers in Atlanta, GA

3962981, Jun 15, 1976

Jan 20, 1975

5/542489

James O'Kon - Atlanta GA
William Magness - Jackson Heights NY

Shoreline Precast Company - New York NY

B63B 3528

114 5F

A floating factory for the manufacture of structural and other large, heavy components of buildings and other products comprises a multiplicity of floating barges positioned adjacent each other to form a continuous work area and are connected together as a flotilla in a manner that allows controlled movement of the flotilla under wave action, wind loads, the transfer of live loads about the work area by distributing forces among the barges. The connecting system between barges includes (1) shear plate connectors for transferring vertical forces between adjacent barges and maintaining the edges of adjacent barges at the same elevation while allowing the barges to move toward and away from each other and to slide parallel relative to each other, and (2) cable ties between the barges for transferring horizontally acting, tensile forces from barge to barge. Each barge has several separate ballast compartments distributed along its length and width, and a ballast control system for selectively filling and emptying the individual compartments to maintain the deck of the barge in an essentially horizontal orientation. The ballast systems of all barges are, moreover, monitored and controlled to maintain the decks of all of the barges in substantially the same plane.