Canal Boats

Canal Boats (HM1MIW)

Location: , PA Bucks County
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Country: United States of America
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N 40° 34.783', W 75° 11.816'

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Inscription

Delaware Canal Lock 21

BoatbuildingAmerican canal boats met standards as unique as their canals. Here, the preferred boat met Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company's specifications of 87 ½ feet long, 10.5 feet wide and 7 ½ feet tall. The wooden "hinge" boats carried up to 100 tons of cargo.
Private boatyards built and repaired boats along the Delaware Canal at Uhlerstown, Erwinna, Upper Back Eddy, Point Pleasant, New Hope and Bristol. The major Company owned boatyards operated in Weissport and Laury's Station on the Leigh Navigation.
Hinge Boats
Boat captains liked the flexibility of the "hinge boat" boat. They separated the two sections easily by removing center connecting pins. This boat effortlessly turned in the narrow Delaware Canal and handily hauled two types of freight. The two sections traveled on the inclined planes of New Jersey's Morris Canal eliminating the need for load transfers.
Passing Rules
In 1833, rules established by the Canal Commissioners allowed the "light" (unloaded) boat the right of way when two boats met. The loaded boat steered to the side opposite the towpath and stopped their mules. The tow line sank to the canal bottom. The lighter boat, traveling higher in the water, passed over the line. Both then continued on their way. When boats approached each other, difficulties sometimes arose. Fights often began when a faster boat could not pass a slower boat. After all, they made money by the load...and time was money.
Details
HM NumberHM1MIW
Tags
Placed ByFriends of the Canal
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Wednesday, August 5th, 2015 at 10:02am PDT -07:00
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Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)18T E 483332 N 4492121
Decimal Degrees40.57971667, -75.19693333
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 40° 34.783', W 75° 11.816'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds40° 34' 46.98" N, 75° 11' 48.96" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Closest Postal AddressAt or near D&L Trail, PA , US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

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