Saw a dredge in Gulfport sucking mud with a 12 inch cutter, but the operator swears by a 10 inch for his sand

Mary Wells · 2026-10-15T20:40:03.053297+00:00

I was down in Gulfport checking out a job site by the marina when I saw two dredges working side by side. One had a 12 inch cutter head chewing through mud, and the other was a 10 inch unit moving sand like it was nothing. The operator of the smaller one told me he gets less wear on his pump and fewer clogs, but the bigger one was clearing twice the volume in the same time. Now I'm stuck wondering if I should downsize my own setup for sandy jobs or stick with the bigger head for everything. What do you all run when the material switches from mud to sand mid project?

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Saw a dredge in Gulfport sucking mud with a 12 inch cutter, but the operator swears by a 10 inch for his sand | Dredge Operators - Guest Forum