Abstract: 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.