Whole Lotta Dredgin’ 13

Here was 12.

Terrapin Island was in the sixth boro during parts of 2012 and 2014, the KVK above and Raritan Bay immediately below.

I’d wondered what the helm looked like, especially given the shape of the glass

directly behind that exhaust stack.  Well . . .

our good fortune is that my friend JED, a frequent commenter on this blog, was invited aboard last week.  Although extreme weather might stop the  dredging process up north, it continues apace down his way . . .

So –thanks to JED, here is that bulge in the glass from inside.  Note the upper and lower seat.  Upper seat controls the vessel movement through the water, whereas the lower seat controls the dredging operations.

Click here for a great time-lapse youtube shot on Terrapin Island a few years ago in the Lower Bay;  trailing suction arms lower to sculpt the seabed, and at about the one minute mark, you see the hull split at the “hinge” to discharge the spoils.

Note the port side trailing arm–looks like a vacuum cleaner– in the raised position here.

Here’s one of the huge pumps that provide suction.  How huge?  Some hint of the diameter of this pump can be gleaned by scrolling through this post I did on another dredge.  Clearly the pump in my photo was disassembled at the time.

When it’s time to discharge, the

hull “splits,”

and then recloses, maintaining a level of water

at all times.

According to JED, Terrapin Island operates with a crew of around 20, one of whom is an eco-observer whose role is to record any large marine life caught in cages like the one you see starboard side inside the hopper in the photo above.  Here’s more on that job.

Any errors in reporting are mine.  Many thanks to JED for sharing the photos.  I took the top four photos.