Apparatus and method for removing silt from under a body of water

An apparatus adapted for removing silt from the bottom of a body of water, the apparatus comprising:

• a floatation arrangement operative to float on the surface of the body of water;
• a frame arrangement mounted on the floatation arrangement;
• a silt excavating wheel mechanism having an outermost circumference, an innermost circumference spaced inwardly from the outermost circumference, an axis oriented parallel to the surface of the body of water, a plurality of radially spaced vanes having opposed ends and being located inwardly of and adjacent the outermost circumference and first and second opposed sides connected to the respective opposed ends of the vanes to form a plurality of silt receiving chambers, the silt excavating wheel mechanism being rotatably mounted to the frame arrangement, and operative to extract silt from under the body of water;
• a shield arrangement having an outer arcuate shield arrangement and an inner arcuate shield arrangement, the outer arcuate shield arrangement having a width substantially equal to the width of the respective vanes and being connected to the frame arrangement at a location adjacent a portion of the outermost circumference of the excavating wheel mechanism, the inner arcuate shield arrangement having a width substantially equal to the width of the respective vanes and being connected to the frame arrangement at a location adjacent a portion of the innermost circumference;
• a conveying arrangement operative to convey the extracted silt away from the excavating wheel mechanism;
• and
• a height adjusting mechanism operative to raise and lower the excavating wheel mechanism relative to the surface of the body of water.