Sucked a rock through the cutterhead on the Mississippi last summer

I was working a dredge near Baton Rouge on a channel maintenance job, maybe 3 miles south of the port. Everything was running smooth for about 6 hours, then I heard this grinding noise that felt like it was coming from inside my skull. The cutterhead just locked up solid, and I mean dead stop. Turns out a chunk of limestone about the size of a football got sucked into the suction side and jammed everything. I had to shut down the whole rig for 8 hours, pull the cutterhead, and cut that rock out with a torch while standing in mud up to my knees. Cost the company around $4,000 in downtime and a new set of teeth. Has anyone else dealt with getting big debris through your pump when the spoiler bar is supposed to catch it?

2 comments

2 Comments

sean_walker451mo ago

Sounds like the spoiler bar was taking a nap that day. Bet that rock is still sitting in someone's garage as a souvenir.

ellis.robert1mo ago

Strange how we all hold onto random stuff like that. Wonder if the universe throws those moments at us just to see what we'll do with them lol.