more excitement on the river

I've mentioned the white crane that I see on the river this time of year.  She or he is still here, high-stepping along the shallow edge of the river.  Very pretty, very elegant, but today I saw a different kind of crane on the river.  I'm not actually sure if 'crane' is the correct term for this piece of equipment.  It really looked to me like a steam shovel except for having a 'claw' instead of a scoop at the end of its long jointed arm.  There it sat, when I walked out on my balcony this morning, on a large flat raft or barge (about 30 x 30 feet) with another smaller flat barge pulled up beside.  This is all part of the ongoing process of clearing a lot of dead wood and brush from along the riverbanks but it was my first sight of the process. I was in and out quite a bit today so I only actually got to see the big claw picking up logs and brush and depositing the debris in a big bin on the smaller barge once.  I was amused to notice that every time I walked out to check on its progress, it would be in a different position.  Still just west of the Spy Run bridge but back and forth on opposite sides of the river.  I finally got to see the power that moved it - a little flat bottom motor boat with upright pushing bars attached to the front. All very interesting but I'm left with two concerns. 1. What if it sinks in the river? Will it be like Mike Mulligan's steam shovel that ended up stuck in the basement of the new court house?  Only in this case, instead of becoming a furnace, would this crane become a home for fish and geese?  
My other concern is will it fit under the bridge to get to my side? Or will they need to take it up, out of the river, over the road and down the bank across from my apartment.  I hope I'm around to see that process. Have I mentioned before that I'm easily entertained?