Capt. Ted Augustine orchestrates the dredging of the Royal River in Yarmouth last week from the control room the crew fondly calls the “God box,” where a computer helps mark and track the areas of the navigation channel that have already been cleared. Augustine keeps a tidy cabin and also does most of the cooking for the crew when they’re not on the water.

Gregory Goodwin, front, and William Jedrey walk along the dump scow where mud dug up by the dredge is deposited before the sediment is dropped into the sea about 12 miles out.

A tugboat guides the dump scow down the Royal River in Yarmouth out to sea where it will be dumped.

Gregory Goodwin ties a tugboat to the dump scow on the Royal River where the crew is dredging.

The crew – from left, Armand Berube, William Jedrey and Gregory Goodwin – heads to shore along the Royal River in Yarmouth.

After a day of dredging on the Royal River, Gregory Goodwin prepares to dock at Yankee Marina in Yarmouth.

After a long day of work on the Royal River, the “gentlemen dredgers” arrive Friday at their temporary home in Yarmouth. Before their meal comes the ritual removal of mud-splattered coveralls, waders and boots in the home’s heated garage.

Gregory Goodwin removes his work clothes Friday at the crew’s rented home in Yarmouth, less than a mile from the harbor. When he’s not on a dredging job, Goodwin lives with his wife on Cape Cod.