Remember when we used to eyeball the cutter depth by feel alone?

Back when I started on the Mississippi in '98, we didn't have those fancy digital depth readouts. Now my new rig has a screen telling me exactly where the cutter is... and I still catch myself reaching for the old manual lever out of habit. Anyone else find it hard to trust the tech after doing it by touch for 20 years?

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matthewp522h ago

You ever find yourself second-guessing a number on a screen when your gut says otherwise? I spent fifteen years on the Ohio River cutting by feel alone, and now this new barge has a laser guide. Last week I let the machine do its thing but still stuck a hand under the deck to verify. Modern gear is nice, but it doesn't replace the instinct you build from years of close calls and miscalculations. The tech hasn't earned my trust yet, not fully.