The Dredger
Dredger skipper, the late
Mark Tanner
Continuous chain of buckets
Mud filled buckets
THOMAS FLETCHER
Built 1981
by Fleming & Ferguson Ltd
Paisley, Scotland.
Powered by a Kelvin 8cyl 225bhp engine.
24 buckets are filled each minute,
each carrying half a tonne of mud.
The dredger filling a motor hopper
Mud and water fill the hopper
Powerful winches control the dredger
THOMAS FLETCHER
The dredger is not self propelled and has to be moved any great distance by a tug.
However, her powerful main engine controls deck winches which in turn manoeuvre the dredger with strong hawsers.
There is one head wire and four breast wires to move the dredger across the dock as her buckets dig into the mud.
Dredging
Gloucester Docks
