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A lesson from an old hand on the Columbia River
Years back, I was running a small cutterhead dredge near Portland and kept fighting with the suction line clogging. An older operator named Ray, who was watching from the bank, just yelled over, 'Kid, you're digging too fast for that silt. Let the river do the work.' He came aboard and showed me how to read the water color and feel the pump vibration to find the right speed. I still think about that every time I'm in soft material. What's the best piece of simple, hands-on advice you ever got on the water?
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emmasmith5mo ago
That whole 'let the river do the work' thing reminds me of what happened to my buddy Mike on the Snake River. He was running a small dredge near Lewiston and kept overheating the pump because he was trying to push through gravel bars too fast. An old-timer on a towboat told him to slow his swing speed and let the current help pull the material in instead of fighting it. Mike said after he backed off, the pump ran cooler and he actually moved more yardage per shift. He still brings it up anytime someone complains about a tough spot.
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