Method and apparatus for erecting offshore platforms

Abstract From the Canadian patent

A method is disclosed for installing an integrated deck on a platform substructure located in a body of water. The deck is supported on jack-up means which, in turn are mounted on a rigid, pontoon raft having a U-shaped configuration. The jack-up means is capable of raising and lowering the deck to and from respectively, the substructure and for raising the composite platform from one position and lowering it to another position offshore. The U-shaped opening in the raft is oriented so that the jack-up means on the barge straddles the structure below the deck. Piles may be driven through the base from the raft and from the platform itself when the raft has been removed from the deck once …