User:Guamboy76/USS APL-31

Happy Acres (APL-31) Happy Acres (APL-31) was an APL-17 class barracks barge used to temporarily house the off-going crew of ballistic-missile submarines of the United States Navy during crew changes.

From 1981-1984 (and probably beyond) she was assigned to Submarine Squadron 16 in Kings Bay, GA,being finally stricken from the US Navy's Vessel Register in 2000. She was turned into an artificial reef in July, 2001.

She had berthing areas for 205 enlisted personnel and 19 officers, a galley and a mess deck, and a crew of 8-10 enlisted personnel whose job it was to maintain the barge to ensure it remained in a safe and livable condition.

The barge was flat-bottomed and had no means of propulsion or steering. It possessed an emergency generator which was used to supply power to vital systems when the barge was moved or when shore power was unavailable.