Switched from a manual tugger to a hydraulic dredge arm last fall

Ngl, I ran a manual tugger for almost eight years on the Missouri River near Kansas City. Last September I finally swapped to a hydraulic dredge arm after a buddy kept telling me 'your back will thank me later.' First week with the arm felt weird, like I was driving a boat instead of wrestling it. But after three months I can run twice as much material per shift with way less strain. Anyone else made a similar switch and felt like you were learning the trade all over again?

2 comments

2 Comments

harper_singh1812d ago

First week with that arm I felt like I was steering a forklift with oven mitts on.

ivan4012d ago

lol that's a perfect way to put it man... I had the same issue at first. What finally clicked for me was practicing slow controlled movements in the shop before trying to do real work. Like just picking up a 5lb dumbbell and setting it back down over and over again while focusing on keeping my elbow tucked in tight. After about three days of that nonsense the muscle memory kicked in and I got way more accurate. Also made sure I wasn't gripping too hard all the time, that was killing my speed.