Shoutout to the old-timer who said slow and steady wins on the Mississippi

Guy named Dale, been dredging since the 80s. Told me to stop rushing the suction swings on the Barge 7 job near Baton Rouge. I was pushing too hard, clogging the cutterhead every 45 minutes. After I slowed down by 20%, we ran clean for a full 8-hour shift. Anyone else get humbled by a simple tip like that?

2 comments

2 Comments

grace_bailey22d ago

Did that old timer have any other tricks up his sleeve for keeping the suction steady?

wesley_martin22d ago

You mean like that old guy down at the docks? My buddy Tim worked with a guy like that once. He said the old timer would dip the suction hose in a bucket of warm water before firing up the pump. Claimed it made the rubber seal tighter and kept air from sneaking in around the edges. Tim tried it himself and said it actually worked for about an hour before the hose cooled off again. Another thing he did was wrap a strip of old bicycle inner tube around the connection point. Real low tech stuff but those old guys knew their business.