Saw a cutback dredge working the old Erie Canal channel near Rochester

I always thought ladder dredges were the only way to handle that kind of muck and debris. But this crew was running a small cutter suction unit, and it was chewing through the silt and old timber like nothing. The foreman said they switched after the ladder kept jamming on submerged logs. It made me rethink my go-to gear for historic waterways. Anyone run a cutter head in a similar spot with a lot of hidden junk?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavinhunt2mo ago

Cutter heads can be surprisingly tough on junk. We ran one through an old mill pond full of scrap metal and it held up fine. Sometimes the right tool is the one you wouldn't pick first.

grant.richard2mo ago

Totally get that. Saw a crew use one on a demo site full of buried rebar and concrete chunks. Thing just chewed through it, sounded awful but never quit. Makes you rethink the whole "gentle" idea for some tools. Sometimes brute force with the right head is the actual finesse move.

noahclark1mo agoMost Upvoted

@gavinhunt has it right, that mill pond story is rough but proves the point.