Method of excavating to form or enlarge a waterway

Claim 1

A method of enlarging an underwater basin or body of water havinG an earth bank with chippable material such as brush, trees, roots and the like growing at the bank comprising the steps of: breaking up and collecting earth material and mixing it with liquid to form a slurry, and then applying forces to the collected earth slurry to remove it to a remote location; simultaneously forcing the above ground chippable material, such as brush, forwardly toward the above ground material behind it to bunch the chippable material; and reducing the bunched chippable material to chips and fragments and mixing them with said liquid so that said chippable material is removed with said slurry to said remote location.

Claim 2

A method of enlarging an underwater basin or body of water havinG an earth bank with chippable material such as brush, trees, roots and the like growing at the bank comprising the steps of: breaking up and collecting earth material and mixing it with liquid to form a slurry, and then applying forces to the collected earth slurry to remove it to a remote location; simultaneously forcing the above ground chippable material, such as brush, forwardly toward the above ground material behind it to bunch the chippable material; and reducing the bunched chippable material to chips and fragments and mixing them with said liquid so that said chippable material is removed with said slurry to said remote location.

Claim 4

A method of enlarging an underwater basin or body of water having an earth bank with chippable material such as trees, brush, roots, and the like, growing on the bank comprising: moving a material removing cutterhead in a to-and-fro horizontal path of travel to dig and collect material to be dredged at various selected depths; removing said material from said cutterhead in slurry form and transferring it to a remote location; moving chipping disc means, disposed forwardly of and at a higher level than said cutterhead, in a horizontal path of travel to reduce trees, roots, brush, and the like to be dredged to chips and fragments; and deflecting the chipped material expelled by said chipping means laterally and downwardly to a location for removal as a part of said slurry to said remote location.

Claim 5

A method of enlarging an underwater basin or body of water having an earth bank with chippable material such as trees, brush, roots, and the like, growing on the bank comprising: moving a material removing cutterhead in a to-and-fro horizontal path of travel to dig and collect material to be dredged at various selected depths; removing said material from said cutterhead in slurry form and transferring it to a remote location; moving chipping disc means, disposed forwardly of and at a higher level than said cutterhead, in a horizontal path of travel to reduce trees, roots, brush, and the like to be dredged to chips and fragments; and deflecting the chipped material expelled by said chipping means laterally and downwardly to a location for removal as a part of said slurry to said remote location.

Claim 7

A method of enlarging an underwater basin or body of water having an earth bank with chippable material such as brush, roots, and trees and the like growing at the bank, comprising: moving a material collecting and removing dredging element in a to-and-fro, generally horizontal path of travel at various depths; forming a slurry of collected earth and water and transferring it to a remote location; reducing said chippable material to fragments by moving a rotary chipping knife, having cutting edge means, in a horizontal path and presenting said edge means to vertically growing trees such that said trees are cut by said edge means angularly to the vertical plane in which said trees lie when said chipping knife is rotated and moves in said horizontal path; and introducing said fragments to said slurry for removal.

Claim 8

A method of enlarging an underwater basin or body of water having an earth bank with chippable material such as brush, roots, and trees and the like growing at the bank, comprising: moving a material collecting and removing dredging element in a to-and-fro, generally horizontal path of travel at various depths; forming a slurry of collected earth and water and transferring it to a remote location; reducing said chippable material to fragments by moving a rotary chipping knife, having cutting edge means, in a horizontal path and presenting said edge means to vertically growing trees such that said trees are cut by said edge means angularly to the vertical plane in which said trees lie when said chipping knife is rotated and moves in said horizontal path; and introducing said fragments to said slurry for removal.