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Vent: Dealing with unexpected clay layers in our bay dredging project
We hit a thick clay layer that's slowing things down. Any tips for breaking through without damaging the equipment? Our schedule is tight.
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mason_jenkins102mo ago
Our crew in Tampa Bay hit clay like that two months ago. We tried going slow with ripper teeth, but it just dragged out the work. Pushing the equipment hard gets you through quicker. The cost of waiting is worse than fixing some parts. We used standard buckets at full power and finished on time, even with some part replacements. Better to risk damage than miss the deadline.
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robin_lee2mo ago
Going slow with ripper teeth can save parts and time, @mason_jenkins10.
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lee.kelly2mo ago
On the Galveston job, we hit clay that stalled the dredge for a week. Swapping out the standard buckets for ripper teeth attachments let us chip through without overheating the hydraulics. Go slow and let the tool do the work, even if it feels counterproductive with a tight schedule. We also kept a water jet on standby to loosen the clay ahead of the cutter.
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