7 replies to this topic

[Osprey]

Spotted this interesting vessel on the east side of 'Inchmore' on Lough Ree. A lot of work went into building it with its crane and spud legs. Don't rightly know what its for but its possible its been used to bring livestock out to the island. Anyone know more??

Attached Files

•  2012-02-04 13.42.30.jpg   2.26MB   51 downloads

[Powerboat]

Looks like a floating pile driver to build a marina?

Kind regards,

Stuart

[fergal butler]

Also looks like it was loaded a bit heavy on one side, that poor outboard is not going to last long.

[OceanFroggie]

Doesn't look like one of WIs. The sub contractors who dredged limerick last winter had a much stronger looking raft with retractable hydraulic legs which was stable enough to support a large track digger on board. To move it simple used the bucket on the arm to push or drag itself forward or back while the legs were retracted from the sea bed. Impressive looking it was compared to the rather home made effort above. On the left of picture there is a white object that looks alarmingly like the cab of a submerged flat bed van!!! I've seen UT video clips of dredgers using digger buckets to paddle unpowered rafts across rivers.

[Osprey]

Id say the crane is for lifting the spud legs alright, with the outboard been used to move about, but i wouldnt like to be the one trying to stop it in a flood of water with that small outboard. Ive pushed and towed a lot of pontoons with machines onboard and when coming to bridges and locks you only get one chance to get it right, especially when the flow is from astern. But i have to admire the work it must have taken to build this vessel.

[fergal butler]

Some guys are pretty good at it