I have been dredging as a hobby for several years and have loved every minute of it. I own a new 5-inch Keene with a three stage sluice and I'm very satisfied with its performance, but on some occasions I need a light weight dredge to get some of the remote areas where my 5-inch dredge can not go.

Recently I visited Keene Engineering, and was explaining to Pat Keene that I wanted a dredge that was large enough to move a large quantity of material, and light enough for one man to pack. Pat mentioned that Keene Engineering, and a good friend Dave Knowlen, have been working on just such a project. We call this new dredge the "Ultra-3", and it is nearly ready for field testing. Dave Knowlen has already done some preliminary testing at his home in Washington.

This new design is especially for dredgers needing a lighter and more productive dredge for remote and challenging areas. Pat says its extremely lightweight for a 3-inch and easy to assemble. We walked into the factory and he showed me the prototype. I was impressed with its appearance and asked when would it be available? He replied, "Not until we have completed all of our testing". I asked how long that would take and he said maybe a couple of weeks. I mentioned I was going out that weekend and offered to help field test it, as I was interested in buying one. Pat agreed, providing I picked up the dredge the following morning and test it over the weekend.

The following morning I was at keene Engineering's loading dock and ready to start my adventure. Pat met me and had the new dredge ready to go, complete with a 4hp Honda engine, P100 pump and T-80 air compressor.

I was impressed with how lightweight and compact it was as we loaded it into my truck. The next morning I headed to the East Fork of the San Gabriel River, a popular place to dredge in Southern California. I hardly recognized the area due to the recent record rainfall this ear.

The Campgrounds were washed away and little of what I remembered still existed. The river was still raging and freezing cold. However, with my Henderson Gold Core wet suit I had purchased from Keene, I was warm and comfortable. I found an area up the stream that looked promising and carried the dredge down to the river. It only took a few trips to get the dredge and all my tools to the dredging area. The small 4 HP engine was easily carried into the remote location. I was able to carry nearly the entire dredge in one trip consisting of, the floats, frame and sluice with ease. It would have taken several more trips and most of my energy just to get my 5" down the river. It only took a few minutes to set up the dredge and place it in the water.

When I set the dredge in the fast current I noticed it was a little unstable*, so I moved into a calmer water where the flotation was adequate. I found the dredge was easy to maneuver with its large handles mounted on the sides of the floats, and the new oversized jet and quick coupler kept the rocks from jamming throughout the trip.

After working several hours, I checked the sluice box for traces of gold. I found a surprising amount of gold just under the classifier screen at the front of the sluice box. I must have hit a good spot. After cleaning the sluice box, I panned my concentrates and was amazed at the amount of fine gold the sluice box recovered. Not bad for an afternoon of dredging. This little dredge was just what I was looking for.

I brought the dredge back to Keene Engineering Monday afternoon and discussed my experience with Pat. I told him that the only problem I noticed is that the dredge needed to be a little more stable in rough water. I suggested adding some additional flotation.

Pat said they were aware of the problem and are currently building a new mold for a little larger float. I was so impressed with the performance of such a lightweight and compact dredge that I placed a deposit on the first one. ~