Remember when we had to guess the depth by feel of the cable?

Back in 2008 on the Mississippi job, I was running an old hydraulic dredge with no digital readouts. You had to watch the cable tension and feel the vibration through the cab floor to know if you were digging too deep. Now I got a monitor that tells me exact depth, suction pressure, everything. My old timer foreman woulda laughed at the screens. But I still catch myself looking at the cable more than the screen. Anyone else trust the old feel over the new gadgets?

2 comments

2 Comments

rileyp4917d ago

Did you ever try running a dredge on the Cumberland River in 2010? I used to be all about the new digital readouts and thought the old timers were just stuck in their ways. But one night my screen went dark during a tricky cut near an old bridge pier. I had to go completely by cable feel and the hum of the engine to get through without snagging. After that night I understood why those guys trusted their hands and ears more than a monitor.

lane.cameron16d ago

@rileyp49 That cable feel thing is real. Reminds me of the time I was trying to tune an old outboard motor by ear and a buddy kept telling me the spec sheet said it was fine. Took it apart anyway and found a cracked reed valve. Sometimes the hands just know stuff the numbers don't catch.