this device is meant for close shore work/ primarily; because it is considered too weak for rough water: keep it in mind. It consists of micro-laminated plywood or some other form of composite woods glued together to create at least a thirty foot span, capable of sustaining a straight line over that distance with a total weight of under 300 pounds at the center point. A variety of products can do this, including those made from steel. Make your own, by putting together what you believe will hold, and then raising the ends 4 inches or so, and placing 2 people in the middle to see if it can hold. BUT BE VERY AWARE, YOU WILL GET HURT/ IF IT FALLS OVER, so tie it to a car or tree on each side ( do something, to insure this will stand).  You have plenty of left over debris from Katrina, etc: BUILD SOMETHING for yourself! There will be four such beams creating a square/ OR if your plastic tarp or whatever it is has a different shape: build accordingly; find this first.  At each corner of these beams will be a 55 gal drum, or whatever is realistically available.  The displacement of these drums is 55 gallons of water/ water weighs 8 pounds per gallon= 440 pounds of displacement minus the weight of the drum or 400 pounds of float {BEFORE ITS UNDERWATER} per drum/ 4 drums = 1600 pounds of floating capacity, minus whatever your beams weigh.  IF you have made heavy beams, either more barrels creating a center joint which will have limited swing, by the addition of controller arms, alternate floats, or more barrels in the corners; etc. Now that you have a floating square, with beams strapped ( by means of a perpendicular steel or braced piece of wood  to distribute the load/ or in parallel with one beam by cutting holes and strapping accordingly: WITH additions to make sure the barrel stays under the beam) to the drums from one direction and the other perpendicular beams hinged (swing all directions) to that beam from the other direction.  It takes a quarter inch cable to hold it all together in an x pattern from corner to corner. Guy wires can be strung creating a truss on the beams with small cables to challenge and control tilt.  Structure all done. A hinged corner “for SMALL SEAS” would be something like a trailer ball hitch, one on top of the other, to create a top and bottom link. [FOR HEAVY SEAS; you must have working link arms both top and bottom with an appropriate swing assembly included (up and down, and side to side).] This can be done with loose fitting pins and cleaves, etc.  It can also be done with rope, lacing the corners so long as you have a support mechanism/ and a rub plate where the structures will slide.

Next is the plastic tarp, or whatever you have that will function to hold oil and water.  In a size 30 by 30 or whatever size your square is.  In the middle of this “sheet” it is necessary to put a two inch hole for a suction line.  Glued swimming pool suction line fittings will work well, for most materials; but be aware this sheet must be sealed or you will NOT be able to separate the oil and water..  A suction line is up to you/ but it must not collapse which means not soft, preferably glued to the sheet with straps for strain relief.  This line goes to something like an agricultural style 2 inch transfer pump/ they sell for about $300 new or less. BUT BEWARE, oil pumps harder than water (so reduce the volume to make up the difference, and this style pump may not work: it depends, I DON’T KNOW; THEREFORE  Find out, before you invest. Most water pumps will NOT work for long, because of the increased power requirements. In any case, those pumps which are powered by “outside sources” such as an external gas engine can be driven to work/ a geared pump, such as is used in hydraulics will work.
Pump Mounted to a drum corner in some fashion onto the beam. A flexible line to move water and oil, to the transfer tank.  Choose a size sheet that is realistic with your ability to transfer the oil.  “It does not make any sense to have a tanker full of oil, and a pickup to load it into.”
The sheet is attached to one beam, pulleys are attached to each of the three other beams on top, and a small cable is run through each pulley, then down into a small pulley attached to the sheet grommet/ then back through another pulley, then down into the next sheet pulley grommet, and so on.  Once strung a 12 volt electric winch is used to tighten the cable/ or just crank it.  (you can replace the common cable in these winches with an eighth inch cable as this is plenty of strength for this job and lift the entire sheet on all three sides thereby creating a containment area for oil and water. Three winches will work better, a more even lift/ but should not be necessary. It is NOT necessary to lift the weight collected, simply raise the curtain to establish confinement of a specific amount of water and oil.  The water is sucked out from your two inch hole and suction line, a weight in the center of about 50 pounds will provide you a sump.  When the water is gone, all that is left will be oil.  In the case of “froth: oil and water mixed”/ you just have to transfer it all.

 This machine is maneuvered into place with the three sides of the sheet lowered into the water/ if necessary, weight it down by gluing bricks in place; primarily at the front edge/ once water and oil are on top it will stay where you put it.  The cable keeps it from sinking.  Once under the oil to be picked up, the curtain rises, and containment is made. the alternative is to establish 3 sides up at all times and simply lower the leading edge to push it under the water and oil to be contained.  Keeping close to the sides in marsh land means you can use poles to move it, with simple planks on top for standing: BUT REMEMBER, IF YOU FALL INTO THE OIL, it will be very hard to breathe or get out/ use a life vest, so you can breathe/ fencing as necessary; no children.  Otherwise use your head, a sail could take it out, or a tide, and you can pull it back with a truck, etc.
Demand the same price as per gallon of oil delivered as “the experts/others get”: per actual gallon of collected oil.  Use your media/ your public/ your whatever.  And DON’T let anyone tell you, this is theirs!  First come, gets whatever they get.  This is about oil/ not you, unless you choose to create trouble by lying, cheating, stealing, or whatever criminal activity can arise.  ITS A FREE OCEAN, don’t forget it.  ITS OUR ENVIRONMENT to preserve, don’t let some shithead tell you to go away; the oil must be collected.  It is an act of terrorism to interfere with someone who is doing their best to protect and defend this nation.  That includes some piss-head college student who believes they are “gods, or learned from gods”.  THROW THEM IN JAIL, (let the public participate:   is this NOT “WE THE PEOPLE”?) and continue working.
The reason there is sludge, or tar consistency oils is: they are using dispersants to remove the volatile components.  The reason the oil is not together/ but distributed in tiny globs everywhere is dispersants, which cause the cohesion to be disassembled in oil.  Stop the dispersants.

 

The poor fisherman’s oil retriever is again as described in an alternate link in this oil spill category:   as a trawler net, enclosed by fine netting (less drag) if in heavy sludge to gather it up.  Or a rubber inlay to stop water from running through the net in lighter oil, WITH tubes sticking through the netting (creates a flow through the net, which then carries, what is pushed into the net, the oil) at its center most point, whereby the oil being gathered is then forced to that center, and the tubes will bring it to the surface, with the possible aid of a pump, driven by water forces from the vessel pulling.  This is particularly used wherever large amounts of “light oil” exist; or for underwater plumes of oil, if they are flow-able:   which means you must be able to adjust the net to the depth required, with underwater sail planes, or some other means: including floats that can be filled or emptied with a signal from the vessel.

The poor mans ocean barge for under water plumes is simply a flexible hose that can be lowered into the water/ thereby directly into the oil plume itself, and oil simply pumped up.  Its not complicated.  Fill the barge, get towed in.  However if the oil is too stiff and hard due to the use of dispersants/ it will be necessary to dip it instead.  A cable elevator, as is shown here allows for quick adjustment as to depth, link size is determined by cable clamps, add a piece of cable with the proper link placement, and you lengthen or shorten “the cable chain”.  The spokes of a wheel pull on the cable clamps.  A simple weight and pulley pendulum at the bottom serves to keep things in line. It may or may not be advisable to drill small drain holes in the buckets, dependent upon the oil,  you are trying to lift. The water must be drained, but how that is done depends entirely on the oil/ tar, to be picked up/various methods must be tried.  The buckets need to be anchored both top and bottom to the cable for oil, in this case; as oil is pour-able, while tar is much harder to dump, which means the bucket must aid dumping by being able, or made to tilt harder.  The use of  non-stick materials is required for buckets, and tapering is necessary for dumping.