The day a 3-inch rock jammed our cutterhead for 8 hours straight

Last month on the Delaware River project, we were moving along fine until we hit a patch of riverbed that felt way too solid. The whole dredge shook and the pump pressure spiked. Turns out a single, smooth rock about the size of a softball had gotten wedged in the cutterhead just right. We tried everything, even reversing the suction, but it wouldn't budge. It took my whole crew and a diver with a pry bar most of a shift to finally clear it. Has anyone else had a small rock cause a huge shutdown like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

danielmason1mo ago

That "single, smooth rock" part gets me. It's always the one stupid thing you don't see coming. A whole shift gone because of a softball. Sounds like a brutal day on the water. Just the worst kind of luck how it jams in there perfect.

tarag281mo ago

Sounds like a pretty standard jam to me. Eight hours seems like a long time for a softball.

victorb741mo agoMost Upvoted

Tell you what, it's always my own fault. I'll be the guy staring at the thing for an hour before I admit I just put it in backwards. Makes a long shift feel even longer.