Can you put a combination of a float to provide buoyancy and a chain of precise weight/ft with end lengths touching the bottom?

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.msn.com

I have no experience in this, but although this fact and that the technical data are somewhat scarse:

I'm gussing that the pure mechanical conditions must alter when the barge rises. Either more or less of the hose submerged (hose updrift up from water - and yes, I'm aware that the vessel is riding at eqaul dept at all times, if it doesn't sit at bottom for the low tide ) or hose more or less resting on bottom (support of pipelengthlength from seabed) combined with altered/unfavourable angles resulting from fixed lenght of pipeline and fixed endpoints as barge alters position.

I've seen intake lines supported by outreaching booms, lines hung up with slacks (loops) to give better balance at altered length. An idea to look into this perhaps?

You'll have to be a bit more cleaver than me.  This was what was running through my tiny little mind at the time.  As you can see, I still don't have the geometry right.  If you moved the float out a bit and left more of an arc of chain at high water going back to the pier base, it would tend to pull the hose in towards the pier a bit more as the water went down.  Might work better.  If the water gets any higher than that, it looks like it would work ok, given enough hose slack on the floating dock side.

You know how your hose is kinking up better than me, your water levels and distance to the floating dock too, so do a better job than I did.

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.msn.com