A digger floating? I don't know whether to call this a backhoe or an excavator. I assume this is for breaking up ice jams. ?? I sure wouldn't want to be there if the water really starts flowing or the ice starts jamming. Any suggestions? More info? More pictures?
There was a show on discovery which was called Heavy Metal Task force which featured this machine. You are spot on that it breaks up ice jams as the thaw begins. It was interesting to watch it work because basically hovers. When one side of the ice gives way the arms keep the machine from tipping. It pulls itself along with it's bucket if I remember correctly.. Sorry that was all coming from memory...what little I remember of the show, that is.
There called an Amphedex. The priovince I live in has 2 for sure and maybe 3. They actully have a jet propulsion system in there for moving on the water. They are used for breaking ice jams only occasionally. Most of the ice jams we have here would turn any machine into hamburger. More used for actully breaking up ice to allow water to get flowing. They use the hoe for pulling the machine onto the ice and then the weight of the machine breaks the ice under it. It is painfully slow to watch but it does break ice. Where we are the ice can be from 2 feet to 4 feet thick so it takes a lot of work to break through that ice. There made by a company out of Qubec.
Yeah that's called the Amphibex, they are also made for dredging work too and doing underwater excavation work like for pipelines, fiber-optic and such. The province and a couple of municipalities own them jointly as they cost brand new somewhere around $700,000. Towards the end of February beginning of March they go out with a couple of remote control bobcats and Amphibious Argo vehicles. The Bobcats are equipped with wheel saws and help "weaken" the ice so its easier to break up with the Amphibex's. The amphibious Argo vehicles are equipped with some kind of router bit and do pretty much the same thing. Then the Amphibex's come in and pull themselves on to the ice and use they're weight and tough hull to crunch up the ice and get the Red River flowing. They usually start near where the Red River empties in Lake Winnipeg and work they're way south towards Winnipeg. They are pretty fascinating machines but I think the province should try and make some of its money back and use them for dredging work or other related river work. Here's a link to the manufacturer's website. http://www.normrock.ca/