Had a cutterhead jam on the Ohio River that took three days to clear

We hit a huge, buried log cluster about 15 feet down that wrapped around the head and stalled the whole pump. It took my crew three full days of diving and cutting with torches to get it free, when I figured it'd be a half-day job at most. What's the longest you've been stuck on a single snag?

3 comments

3 Comments

parker2462mo ago

Ever think about just leaving it there and telling the boss the river now has a modern art installation? My record's a two day tangle with what felt like a sunken barbed wire fence. By the end we were just taking turns swearing at it.

oliverw462mo ago

Two days? That sounds like actual torture. I can't imagine dealing with a snag that stubborn, especially one that felt like barbed wire. My back hurts just thinking about it. You must have been ready to throw the whole boat in after that. Honestly, leaving it as art sounds like a perfectly reasonable plan after that kind of fight.

pat6392mo ago

My buddy once spent a whole weekend on a single line wrapped around a submerged car axle. He said it felt like wrestling a metal octopus. They finally cut it loose and just went home.