Old timer on the bank told me to 'listen to the mud'

I was running a 10-inch cutterhead on the Mississippi near Baton Rouge and this guy with 40 years in just stood there for 20 minutes, then said my pump was fighting the bottom. Has anyone else had a random stranger save them a shift of troubleshooting like that?

4 comments

4 Comments

susanm5623d ago

Hold up, I've seen just as many old guys give bad advice based on some superstition they heard 20 years ago while you waste time listening. Trust your gauges and your own ears before some random stranger on the bank.

the_emery7d ago

Trust your gauges and your own ears" is spot on. Had a guy swear I was gonna punch a hole in my hull based on a vibration I couldn't feel, turned out it was just a loose bolt. You been burned by a bad tip like that before too?

norab217d ago

Wait, did he actually describe what he meant by "listening to the mud" or just leave it at that? Like, was he talking about the sound it makes through the hull or feeling the vibration in the controls?

rubys8023d ago

Oh man, that reminds me of a buddy of mine who was dredging in the Gulf. Some old salt just walked up, pointed at his intake, and said "you're sucking air not mud." Saved him half a day of guessing.