Dredging sludge

Here's the sludge, largely clay, splodged on the bank near the planks which were used to stop the digger rolling down the hill.  Since we've moored in Hillmorton, the marina basin has always needed to be dredged.  We have blogged about it a number of times, and it is what we refer to frequently when we mean how nice it is to be floating.  Until last summer when we were out and our little slip was dredged to let a more traditional boat use the space for temporary moorings, we have been sitting on the bottom of the basin when moored in Hillmorton.  

Yesterday the work began and today it continues apace.  Each boat is moved from its slip to the middle of the basin with its bow secured with a line to the end of a jetty.  Each slip in turn is dredged out with the digger for as far and as deep as the digger can reach.  The waste is put into a dumper truck which takes the waste up the hill.  It is amazing to watch the skill of the drivers of each machine.  The finesse and sheer creativity is amazing, from using the digger scoop to gently push stakes in the ground to hold the planks to the digger deftly pushing the digger up a steep slope.  It truly is a wonder to watch people who are skilled at their craft.

So how does digging a deep trench dredge the whole marina?  Yes, the basin is lined with clay, but usually, the top layer is in solution so that the water always looks murky. It was fascinating in the freeze, when the water didn't move, to see through the ice to the very shallow canal bottom!  So the sludge slops about.  Each time it does, it settles in the deepest place it can which means now, the new deep ditch around the outside of the basin.  Each time the centre of the basin slops about as boats move in the basin or water is pushed in as boats pass in the canal, the sludge fills up the edges.  So within a matter of months, the whole basin will be at least a foot lower than it is now.  SO SO much easier for everyone!  

Sadly, though, it will stop the entertainment factor of watching our neighbours and all the assorted marina staff and neighbouring crew trying to push a boat off the mud to go for a cruise...