Curious on what it takes.....

[Scuba_Smurf]

So I came on this forum to throw an idea around and hope i can get some experienced people's advice on Alaskan dredging in the winter. I know that there is a boom off the coast of places like Nome and such.Besides being ex military as an infantryman, I have worked in Alaska as a commercial fisherman before for awhile so I understand the cold of the winters as I also lived in Fairbanks for a bit. I currently live in Oregon but am debating doing a trip to Nome in about a year (save up cash). Here is my idea:

With alot of crews out in the area mining I don't know if there is many that do ice dredging or not. I was going to handle it like an oil job or the old sschool fishing jobs, back in the day. Figure go to Nome with enough cash and get a room for 2 weeks or 3. Hit up the bars in town and just mention that I have multiple scuba certifications and can do upkeep on gear and see what I can land. My expectations are that I will have a fun couple of weeks in Nome. Not sure what the reality of the situation is yet as I am just looking into this. I dont care about the tv show stuff so if anyone has any info from seeing the show I aint really interested. I figure the real crews there are the serious that are there for work. Thanks in advance and I really appreciate any knowledge you can pass to me.

 

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[Hoser John]

There are many AK posts on this forum-all you have to do is invest a little time to seek and you will easily find the info-John

 

[AK_Au_Diver]

If you do a search for my posts, just click on my handle on the left side of this post and choose "view forum posts", I cover dredging offshore Nome including ise mining.

The best time to come to Nome for your plan would be March, unfortunately the hotels are normally packed full during that time for the Iron Dog and then the Iditarod. About the earliest that the ice is stable enough is late January, depending on the year.

The best time to visit Nome in the summer to try to get a quick education in offshore dredging is early to mid September (right now). There are many ads of dredges for sale and people wanted. Especially if you say you will work for free in exchange for room and board.

Not much good comes from going to the bars, very few of the good dredgers spend any time in there, but they can be a good place to get some (questionable) info.

 

[Mr.T]

If you do a search for my posts, just click on my handle on the left side of this post and choose "view forum posts", I cover dredging offshore Nome including ise mining.

The best time to come to Nome for your plan would be March, unfortunately the hotels are normally packed full during that time for the Iron Dog and then the Iditarod. About the earliest that the ice is stable enough is late January, depending on the year.

The best time to visit Nome in the summer to try to get a quick education in offshore dredging is early to mid September (right now). There are many ads of dredges for sale and people wanted. Especially if you say you will work for free in exchange for room and board.

Not much good comes from going to the bars, very few of the good dredgers spend any time in there, but they can be a good place to get some (questionable) info.

I really enjoy reading your posts. You are very generous with your knowledge! Hope you are having a great season!

 

[Sick4gold]

It takes balls and money. The end

 

[Scuba_Smurf]

I got the balls. Have worked as a wildland firefighter and was in the army for a bit. The biggest thing I need is the experience. Not afriad of being in the water. If it takes working for a little bit for free then I can save up for that no prob. So if the bars are out of the equation then, where would be the "good social area" in Nome? I know it is not that big of a town.

 

[AK_Au_Diver]

Bars are not out of the question, just know what to expect to find there, I'm not familiar with that scene. The docks and the visitor's center are good places.

Just remember, there are 4 types of "miners" The type that drinks too much, the type that talks too much, the type that builds too much, and the type that gets gold.

 

[Scuba_Smurf]

If there is a better route to go then the bars I am all for it. I was debating checking the docks out more then anything. I aint much of a drinker myself so bars was just a thought. Thanks for the info by the way AK. Any help I can get to be setup well helps. In your experience do you think coming up there with a ton of scuba certifications helps out at all or not if your trying to find a dive spot. Thinking about doing my rescue diver cert course and was just wondering.

 

[NeoTokyo]

Very few make it, have back up funds and a back up plan.

 

[Scuba_Smurf]

Yeah I completely understand that few make it. I am honestly expecting that I am going to go up there and not find a crew to get on and simply come home after looking. If I can get on a crew i will work 110% all the time, but I figure if i keep the expectations realistic it helps. I am a new father to twin babies so I am not doing this half cocked. Why I am waiting a little bit so I can save up some cash and make sure that any and all funds i go through are from savings so my family can survive while i am up there.
My main plan was to see about getting a room up there for a couple weeks and see what I can manage to get. While I know this is not cheap that is why I am saving up. my backup plan is a ticket back home to my family .

 

[AK_Au_Diver]

Basically no one will care that you have scuba certs, and those that do care would be ecstatic if you just had PADI Open Water. But since you have training and standards, you might be the one balking at what some of these guys are doing underwater and using to breathe.

The dredgers mostly work in 15 to 25 feet, on surface supply air. Good ones actively dredge for 6 to 9 hours a day, every day, which takes 8 to 12 hours to do, including breaks and setup/packup time.

My comment about working for free; even if you are on a crew and expect to get say 10% to 15% of gross gold, work as if you are working for free on a fun adventure. For most of these operations a 15% cut gets you 2 months of hard work for under $1k in total pay. There are some good ones, I'll PM you some contact info but I don't know you so I can't vouch for you.

Winter is not the time to come up if you are trying to figure stuff out and explore if Nome dredging is a good fit for you. Mid August through mid September is good, you can get people when they are burnt out and need a hand, or college kids left for school and they are short, or people just get on a plane and leave everything behind (this happens more often than I realized).

Nome is dwindling a bit, the gold is getting harder to find and the small operations are drying up. The 10" operations are even fewer in number this year. New big operations are not finding much success, some are folding. As for me, I want to either go bigger or go do something else (I'll find out Nov 4th if I get that State job I've applied for, but we can't discuss that on this forum so see safonatt.com if you want to know about that).

 

[Scuba_Smurf]

Yeah to me that is exactly what this is. An adventure that while it will be hard work will be fun for me. My expectations at the least is to enjoy visit to Nome. My best expectations is to have a hell of a fun time while pulling gold up from the sea floor. Any help in any form is appreciated fully AK. With the time frame you laid to me I figure I can hit it up next year. How are the Hotels up there that time of year? Wondering if I should call up and reserve my room asap heh. expecting it to be a pretty penny.Hell I expect everything up there to be expensive.

As far as looking at anything there funny, I figure if it is working for those folks then it will work for me.

 

[AK_Au_Diver]

No need to book a room so soon. It's not that bad here, hotels are either slow or overwhelmed. But I don't know much about the hotels here. Often there are options for housing.

The best operations provide housing, although most of those accommodations are not suitable for a family of 4, they might get you by for a week or have connections that could.

I'll send that info in a day or few; these 13-hour work days are tiresome. Ten more days, then I'm done; after that the gold will have to wait until next year. Others will go into late October or November, but they live here your-round.

 

[Scuba_Smurf]

Heck man 4 walls put up with a roof and floor can sustain me. Figure if your using much more then that then your not working enough

Ak, if you thought that I was bringing my family up there then my mistake. This is something that I am doing on my own. Got a super supportive wife that is pushing for me to go.

 

[Hoser John]

One point i believe is still correct-only laundry mat in town is in a bar hahaha so getting your clothes clean will not keep you sober John