Old timer told me to run the cutter at 75% throttle and I thought he was crazy

Been operating on the Mississippi near Baton Rouge for about 8 months now. This guy Frank who has been dredging since the 80s kept telling me to slow the cutter head down to 75% and focus more on swing speed. I ignored him for weeks because I figured more RPMs means more material moved, right? Well after three days of burning through teeth and getting nowhere on a tough clay section, I finally tried his way. The cutter lasted twice as long and we actually cleared more yardage that shift. Felt stupid for not listening sooner. Has anyone else gotten advice that went against what you thought was standard practice?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_elliot12d ago

Funny how those old timers always end up being right. Reminds me of a time back in the late 90s when I was working on a tugboat up near St. Louis. Old deckhand named Charlie told me to stop fighting the current and just let the boat drift a bit when we were lining up for a tricky lock. I thought he was nuts, figured full power was the only way to hold our position. First time I tried it, we slid in smooth as glass and saved about twenty minutes of grunt work.

bettywilson12d ago

Jumped right on board with that advice after fighting a sticky bottom in the Atchafalaya basin last spring. Had an old timer named Ray tell me to drop the pump speed and increase the swing rate, same as your Frank did. I thought he was pulling my leg (you know, the classic "new guy" prank) but I was desperate because my teeth were getting eaten alive. Once I finally tried it, the whole operation smoothed out, we stopped wasting time replacing bits, and the material actually flowed better through the pipe. Funny how the old guys seem to know things that aren't in the manual, isn't it?