Method and apparatus for laying pipelines

A method of and apparatus for laying on the floor of a body of water a pipeline wound on a reel mounted on a movable floating vessel, such as a barge. The reel is rotatably supported on the vessel to enable the pipeline to be unwound from the reel toward the stern of the vessel and into the body of water as the vessel is moved forwardly. Also, the reel assembly is movable along the deck of the vessel so that the reel can be positioned adjacent the stern of the vessel in which position the pipeline can be unwound therefrom and advanced into the body of water in a substantially straight line until it nears the floor of the body of water. The portability of the reel assembly relative to the vessel enables it to be conveniently and suitably positioned on the deck of the vessel so as to prevent excessive deformation of the pipeline when it is laid in shallow or deep water. Straightening rollers are positioned to reverse bend the pipe as it is unspooled from the reel to remove substantially all of the permanent curvature in the pipeline caused by winding on the reel.