Ever since the beginning of our dredging operations, we have attempted to use a winch to ease the workload on our tired backs, however we weren’t really sure of its effectiveness until this week. With the simple addition of a beaver stick, our opinion quickly changed.
For those not familiar with a winch, it is a mechanical device that is used to wind up, wind out or adjust the tension of a rope or cable. It primarily consists of a spool and attached hand crank. Our winch was purchased at Harbor Freight for around $30. Several components, including the bag it came in, are already showing signs of wear, however it is still going strong.
How we use it:
The winch is used when we find a cart that is almost entirely buried in the bank or bottom of the creek. We locate a tree with a diameter of at least 8” and that is within 5-15’ of the cart. Using ratchet straps, we secure the winch to the tree, and using a wedge (in our case, a beaver stick) we adjust the angle of the cable for better leverage. This simple modification has made the winch all the more useful.
If we are lucky, several cranks on the winch will do the trick, however this is rarely the case. Usually both of us will shovel out part of the cart and then vigorously rock the cart back and forth until it is free from the sediment. In any case, the winch is here to stay and we highly recommend this device for the manual dredging of urban waterways.
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