dredging greenhorn

[scottpankey]

i am looking to bild a dredg for nome

 

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[AK_Au_Diver]

hahahaha spelling never put a single speck in my stash

I'm not really a stickler for spelling of grammar. When someone is adding to the conversation, like you do Hoser, I don't even notice poor spelling because the content outweighs it.

But when someone is looking for help and they don't spend any time proof reading their one or two sentence questions then it reduces my desire to be helpful. Because they seem either not capable of following advice or too lazy to actually follow through.

 

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[KevinInColorado]

^^^what he said^^^

 

[munkirinch]

huh you spelled grammer rong lulz

 

[Jason in Enid]

Before you try to design your own dredge, you need to use a pre-built one to see how it works. You will waste a lot of time and money trying to do this blind. All the video watching and internet reading won't give you the knowledge that operating a real dredge can.

 

[KevinInColorado]

huh you spelled grammer rong lulz

Google results for "grammer": Did you mean: grammar
...no e in grammar, sorry dude

 

[AK_Au_Diver]

i am looking to bild a dredg for nome

To repeat advice from my other posts on this and other forums:

The best way to learn about dredging in Nome is to spend $4,000 on a trip on there during the summer for 2 or 3 weeks to check it out, make contacts, get some ground truth, and try to find someone to let you try out their dredge at least to ride along, hopefully dive.

Once you find out how little most dredgers actually net, I think you will be able to figure out how much you can commit to such a venture.

There are a dozen or more worthless dredges already in Nome for sale. Some could be fixed up into ok dredges for about $10K to $15K.

 

[LDamm]

Sounds like the best way to leave Nome with a million dollars is to arrive with 2 million.

 

[kazcoro]

Sounds like the best way to leave Nome with a million dollars is to arrive with 2 million.

You know the easiest way to double your money? Pull it out of your pocket, fold it in half, and put it back in your pocket!

 

[fowledup]

There is a 10" already up there for sale, there only asking $249k for it. Saw it in the ICMJ this month, says it's turnkey and ready to roll.

 

[AK_Au_Diver]

There is a 10" already up there for sale, there only asking $249k for it.

That is the Dola Mae, she is the second slowest diver dredge in the fleet. A very good platform, the brothers are old school and take very good care of their stuff, from what I've seen. They have been up there for about 6 years, which according to the ad, at 1200ozt so far, that is about 200ozt per year. This has been operating on the same lease that the Eroica was on in 2013.

I don't know, it might be a good deal for the right person. $250k might be about right.

The cabin is real nice, two story.

It can only run on a lease, since it is over 8", so there goes 20% to 30% off the top. It is slow, so it cannot venture too far away from harbor; but it is very large and safe, so it can stay out in chop, even if it's too rough for a diver to be down, it can stay on station. 200ozt for an experienced crew minus 20% is 160ozt, minus 6% State taxes and royalties, is 150ozt per year or about $155k/yr. Fuel, insurance, moorage, maintenance fluids, is about $25k/yr.

So $130k/yr for three equal partners, if owner operated, that is two years working for free just to pay off the boat, then $40k/yr each after that.
If hired divers are used, and you can find good divers to work for a low wage or percentage, then there goes $90k to them; so the owner would net about $40k/yr, so in the 7th year the dredge would be paid off.

No thanks. But this is still probably one of the best deals out there.

 

[fowledup]

Owner makes $40k until something breaks, then he makes minimum wage, lol.

 

[AK_Au_Diver]

then he makes minimum wage, lol.

The real truth is that most dredge owners do not even make minimum wage. Most would be better off working at a McKingwich. The serving staff in Nome restaurants make more than most dredgers.

 

[KevinInColorado]

I make about $4 an hour after expenses in metro Denver creeks with just a sluice and I get to sleep in my own bed every night! Better plan on AK as a fun adventure...not as a real gig I'd say.

 

[scottpankey]

thank all of you for the info i am not good at hunting things on hear . some things have ben hard to hear but thay are true and i do nead to walk first.

 

[Lanny in AB]

thank all of you for the info i am not good at hunting things on hear . some things have ben hard to hear but thay are true and i do nead to walk first.

It's part of the learning curve. We've all been there to have our eyes opened.

All the best,

Lanny