AU Grabber explained

The AU Grabber (pronounced as: Gold Grabber;^[1]) is a self-propelled barge excavator dredge used to mine Bering Sea placer gold deposits in the region around Nome, Alaska, USA. It is owned and operated by Richard Schimschat and featured in the Discovery Channel USA mining reality TV show Bering Sea Gold.^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]} It cost $600,000 to buy.^[7] In 2017 a 120-lb two-week-old seal was found on the dredge.^{[5] [6] [8]} Hank Schimschat retired from mining in 2019, and hired out the AU Grabber. Though no longer part of the show, in 2020, the dredge once again appeared on Bering Sea Gold, still mining in the Nome region.^[9] At the end of the 2020 season, while pulling out the dredge, it was improperly supported, bending the boat, ending its journey. The equipment of AU Grabber was moved to a new barge, the Mistress (stylized as Mistre$$), for the 2021 gold season.^[10]

Specifications

^[2]

Vessel 1031061

• Launch date: 1995
• Length: 78.8feet
• Width: 28feet
• Depth: 5feet
• Net tonnage: 92short ton
• Gross tonnage: 92short ton

See also

• Myrtle Irene
• Tuvli 160
• Christine Rose (dredge)
• Viking Dredge 1
• Viking Dredge 2
• Bima (dredge)

External links

• Boat Database (boatdb.net) Nome, AK port boats

Notes and References

1. "Au" is the chemical symbol for gold
2. Web site: AU GRABBER (1031061) . boatdb.net . Boat Database .
3. Web site: Discover series 'Bering Sea Gold' aims for pay dirt. 22 January 2012. The Seattle Times. Rob Owen.
4. Web site: Reality Check: 'Bering Sea Gold' plumbs the depths for TV drama. Anchorage Daily News. 6 May 2015. Emily Fehrenbacher.
5. Web site: Two-week-old walrus calf rescued from Nome and brought to Seward. Sean. Maguire. KTUU. Gray Media Group. 19 June 2017.
6. Web site: Walrus calf found stranded on Nome gold dredge. 23 June 2017. The Nome Nugget. Maisie Thomas.
7. Web site: Hank Schimschat. 6 February 2014. Discovery.
8. Web site: Miners Were Dredging The Ocean For Gold When They Discovered An Astonishing 120-Pound Stowaway. 14 August 2018.
9. Bering Sea Gold . Discovery USA . The Gold, The Bad, & The Ugly . 12 . 6 . 5 June 2020 .
10. Web site: What Happened to Hank Schimschat? Exclusive Interview! . 1 September 2022 . Bering Sea Paydirt .