# Reef hauling barge



## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

I'm looking at buying a reef hauling self propelled barge. I'd like to rent it out to offset the cost. Should haul 8 coops at a time, maybe more. 1. Any interest by PFF members renting the barge? 2. What would be a good daily rate for me to rent it for?

It should be economical to run, has 4 stroke outboards.


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## atlantacapt (Oct 2, 2007)

Is this going to be Destin based or Pensacola? I'm certain that I'd be game at some point next year...I'd guess you'd be booked up good on weather windows in the winter. As for costs, I am not sure what a good day rate would be. ALso, how would you load the coops? would you be renting a fork lift?


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

Destin based. I'm sure if there's enough interest, it could be taken by ICW to P-Cola for a few days.
At this time, I have no way to load. It shouldn't be too hard/expensive to hire a lift.


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## Rampage (Apr 10, 2008)

atlantacapt said:


> Is this going to be Destin based or Pensacola? I'm certain that I'd be game at some point next year...I'd guess you'd be booked up good on weather windows in the winter. As for costs, I am not sure what a good day rate would be. ALso, how would you load the coops? would you be renting a fork lift?


x2 I would be intrested also.. Would you just rent the boat or boat and driver??


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

At this point, I'm looking at the legality and liability before I invest the bucks. Seems to be two ways to go, 1. just haul my own reefs, or 2. get a license and buy heavy duty insurance and haul for the public. Feedback indicates there is a market for a rig like this.

In any event, renter/user would have to have a captain's license or be a close friend before I'd let them loose with the barge.


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## Dynamic (Oct 3, 2007)

I'd be interested for sure......It would be nice if you had a nice steady supply of coops.....That seems to be one of the hardest parts of the equation these days.


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## polar21 (Nov 5, 2007)

I would be interested as well. Sounds you are talking about a legit barge (I read your other thread and was thinking it would be a pontoon boat type of rig). I think there is a market but I am hard pressed to think you could compete with the local guys that do this. I believe there is a boat down by Patti Shipyard that hauls coops out. 

I have often thought of buying a ~$2k pontoon boat and hauling reefs out. Seems like it would pay for itself in a couple of years and might could even rent it out vs. the barge idea...


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

Dynamic said:


> I'd be interested for sure......It would be nice if you had a nice steady supply of coops.....That seems to be one of the hardest parts of the equation these days.


I have an almost unlimited supply, but the freight is expensive.


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## Kim (Aug 5, 2008)

That's the problem I have getting them here from Georgia.


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## Rastaman (Oct 5, 2007)

Why don't you just buy my barge? It's sitting at the shipyard collecting dust....I mean rust. We hauled coops until the gas prices and fishing regulations killed the demand in the pensacola and orange beach area. We did a few county jobs and then Bp hit. Since then its been hard to find a cost effective way to get the coops. The boat needs a few repairs but otherwise is ready to go. I don't have the time to get it running, find materials and then run some trips. 

As for making a business out of it I am not sure you can. The actual real demand is limited. Permitting is a pain but robert turpin always went out of his way to assist us and support reef building. at the same time the rules are strict and he very carefully follows them. Because of this it is best to haul standardized materials. Otherwise you will be measuring metal thickness and defining chemical composition on each new product. 

Insurance and fuel are expensive. Crews are unreliable when you can't offer steady everyday work. The trick is volume as the run out cost the same. I don't think we ever made a profit, but then again all I wanted out of it was to build a few of my own spots with each load which we did. I guess you could say we were paid in fishing spots. 

Seriously, I have about six years of data on sales and cost of this business in my file cabinet. You are welcome to review and make your own business decision. You can rent mine and give it a go. I would be happy to see it working again. 
Good luck with the idea.


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

Rastaman, you have some good points about reef deployment as a business.

Mostly, I'm getting tired of procuring reef material, and "sharing" the numbers with the charter/head boat guys I team up with, when they deploy the material. I'd like anything that I deploy to be 100% mine, at least until it's found.

If I can rent the rig out enough to cover my insurance, license, etc., so much the better. I'm a member of the Emerald Coast Reef Association. We have rented a deployment boat (very expensive) a couple of times each year. It would be really nice to have an in-house rig available.

And dang, this would make a killer house boat if the reef thing falls through! :yes:


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## polar21 (Nov 5, 2007)

I am pretty sure I have cleaned the props on Rastaman's barge. I would say that his boat is the perfect set-up for doing this. I am curious though, what is the fuel burn of running the barge out to one of the LAARS areas?


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## Lyin Too (Aug 31, 2009)

Sea-r-cy said:


> I have an almost unlimited supply, but the freight is expensive.


Where are they coming from and how much do they weigh?


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

Around 600# each. Weight is not a problem. The distance is, around 600 miles. I have hauled 14 at a time when I still had my 1 ton and gooseneck trailer. A typical semi can haul 24 or so at a trip.


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## jspooney (Oct 2, 2007)

Sea-r-cy said:


> Around 600# each. Weight is not a problem. The distance is, around 600 miles. I have hauled 14 at a time when I still had my 1 ton and gooseneck trailer. A typical semi can haul 24 or so at a trip.


How much are the coops without the hauling? Are they available to anyone or just you through a special deal?


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

We pay market scrap steel price at the time of pick up. At one time we were getting them for $10 each, but the higher-ups realized they could get more by selling them for scrap metal. My buddy in Texarkana has the contact information. The manager calls my buddy whenever they get enough junk coops for a load. I don't know if anyone else can buy from the companies.


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

Update: I ended up buying the barge, we have it in dry dock doing some fiberglass work on the bottom. Hope to have it ready in a few weeks.


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## MrFish (Aug 21, 2009)

Did you ever get an estimate on price per coop? Or what you would charge to drop a reef that someone else built and got permitted?


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

I've not gotten that far yet, kinda working on the barge itself now. I'll have to do some research into the cost of running the barge, permits, etc. I do think it will be reasonable.


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## johnboatjosh (May 19, 2008)

Nice! Looks like it'll do a fine job. Now, if we just had a govt that would let us fish....


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## wld1985 (Oct 2, 2007)

If not put lights all around it,and take a handful of folks on a Flounder Gigging trip... you'd cover a wide area quick..


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## spinfactor (Sep 22, 2013)

Just curious, how will you launch reefs from that barge?


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

I'm going to fix a trolley system with a Ramsey winch. It will push the two coops to the front of the barge where they will tip forward off the bow. This will be done safely with the operator sitting at the helm. I've been on some deployment trips with the load being pushed by hand. Very dangerous, all too easy to get hung up with the load.


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## spinfactor (Sep 22, 2013)

Too bad the city of Pensacola doesn't deploy these reefs up away from and all along side the length of new fishing bridge. Folks would love that I'm sure, tourist would appreciate it as well. I remember when the old three mile fishing bridge was up and seeing it packed with tourist and locals fishing, especially those who don't have a boat or afford a charter. Tourist used to come back year after year for relaxing and fishing the bridge. Hell, my entire family fished it for many years, folks from outer lying areas such as Crestview, Baker, Milton and so on would too, especially on gulf breeze side for mullet right next to shack. 

Having coops down there would increase fish population along side bridge. Naturally, coops would need to be far enough away to keep tackle free but close enough for fish to recon for food around bridge. Maybe you should try selling a package deal to city, maybe a slogan like "The True Fishing Capitol" or something alone those lines. 

Anyway, let me know when in operation and costs, may deploy a few myself. Depending on costs of course.


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## chris a (May 21, 2008)

I'd love to rent it. 334-514-two six eight 7 Chris


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## Rastaman (Oct 5, 2007)

Not trying to be a hater but are you sure that barge is sufficient to go into the gulf with a load of coops? Our barge is 65 ft long, steel, 54 Gvt with a 5 ton crane and its a challenge to load and deploy 1200 lbs of coops chained together. I don't follow your plan for loading, getting the back stacks to the front to push them off, or how to keep the load balanced. 

Again, not throwing stones, just concerned that the boat looks a little low on freeboard even sitting on land. Good luck and feel free to give me a call with any questions.


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## The Maintenance Shoppe (Nov 5, 2007)

I would be concerned about going out of the pass on a 2' day, just saying, I would run it into the gulf before putting any money in it. Call me a wuss if you want.


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## panhandleslim (Jan 11, 2013)

spinfactor said:


> Too bad the city of Pensacola doesn't deploy these reefs up away from and all along side the length of new fishing bridge. Folks would love that I'm sure, tourist would appreciate it as well. I remember when the old three mile fishing bridge was up and seeing it packed with tourist and locals fishing, especially those who don't have a boat or afford a charter. Tourist used to come back year after year for relaxing and fishing the bridge. Hell, my entire family fished it for many years, folks from outer lying areas such as Crestview, Baker, Milton and so on would too, especially on gulf breeze side for mullet right next to shack.
> 
> Having coops down there would increase fish population along side bridge. Naturally, coops would need to be far enough away to keep tackle free but close enough for fish to recon for food around bridge. Maybe you should try selling a package deal to city, maybe a slogan like "The True Fishing Capitol" or something alone those lines.
> 
> Anyway, let me know when in operation and costs, may deploy a few myself. Depending on costs of course.


With a new 3 mile bridge coming, the existing bridge should be converting to a fishing bridge. I haven't heard what the plan is for the existing but I'm not sure somebody is going to go for deployment of a lot of coops since there is already the low portion of the pilings plus debris from an old bridge there. Logically, it would only make the fishing better but it's going to be a hard sale.


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## capt mike (Oct 3, 2007)

*Deploying reefs*

I've been deploying reefs in the Gulf Of Mexico for 17 years. Looking at that pontoon boat I have to agree with Rastaman. Its going to be a very touchy deployment to say the least. Another boat should be close alongside to lend assistance. I've deployed from barges,Charterboats about anything flat and buoyant over the years and that looks like trouble to me. Deployment is very dangerous even with the proper equipment. Don't crucify me thats just my opinion.


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## Sea-r-cy (Oct 3, 2007)

So far, I haven't put the barge in the water. So, obviously I don't know how much freeboard I'll have, either loaded or unloaded. 

I did measure the hull from bottom of hull to top, it was 32". My 26' Twin Vee, from bottom of hull to top of the side rail, is 36". 

The specs on the barge show that it sets 4" lower at full load (6,000#).

Getting the load off is not a problem.

If it doesn't work as a coop hauler, it will make one nice house boat! :yes:


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