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The caisson lock is a type of canal lock in which a narrowboat is floated into a sealed watertight box and raised or lowered between two different canal water levels. It was invented in the late 18th century as a solution to the problem posed by the excessive demand for water when conventional locks were used to raise and lower canal boats ...
The key distinguishing feature of a narrowboat is its width, which must be less than 7 feet (2.13 m) to navigate British narrow canals. Some old boats are very close to this limit (often built 7 feet 1 + 1 ⁄ 2 inches or 2.17 metres or slightly wider), and can have trouble using certain narrow locks whose width has been reduced over time because of subsidence.
The society aims to preserve wooden working boats, and its fleet of six wooden boats is moored at Portland Basin at the confluence of the Ashton Canal, the Peak Forest Canal and the Huddersfield Narrow Canal, known to boaters as Dukinfield Junction. The society's oldest boat is Lilith, a working boat which was 100 years old in December 2001.
Now the town can begin work demolishing the old dock, which is at least 40 years old, and constructing a new one, Willis said. State lawmakers have contributed $900,000 for the dock redevelopment.
The American canal packet boats were typically narrow, about 14 ft (4.3 m), to accommodate canals, but might be 70–90 ft (21–27 m) long. When the Erie Canal opened in New York state in 1825 along the Mohawk River, demand quickly rose for travelers to be accommodated. Canal packet boats included cabin space for up to 60 passengers.
Originally canal boats were horse drawn. The boats used on canals were usually derived from local coasting or river craft, but on the narrow canals the 7-foot-wide (2.1 m) narrowboat was the standard. Their 72-foot (22 m) length came from the boats used on the Mersey estuary, with their width of 7 feet (2.1 m) chosen as half that of existing boats.
The puffers developed from the gabbart, small single masted sailing barges, which took most of the coasting trade.The original puffer was the Thomas, an iron canal boat of 1856, less than 66 ft (20 m) long to fit in the Forth and Clyde Canal locks, powered by a simple steam engine without a condenser, since as it drew fresh water from the canal there was no need to economise on water use.
The company started in 1837 when James Fellows, an agent for a canal carrier, decided to start his own company. [2] James was 32 and based in West Bromwich. His first boat was called "Providence". In January 1839 he was allowed toll credit on the Warwick and Napton Canal as his boats were working down to London so frequently.
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