CUMBERLAND — A replica of a canal launch boat will be coming to Allegany County, possibly in the spring of 2012, according to Rita Knox, a National Historic Park ranger with the C&O Canal.
A launch boat was recently tested by the National Park Service in Williamsport, according to The Associated Press.
The boat is 30 feet long by 10 feet wide and is electronically powered, explained Bill Justice, C&O Canal chief of interpretation. The launch boat is reminiscent of electric launches that were used for business and recreational purposes to shuttle wealthy people down the canal.
“The hull is fairly simple. There is a canopy over the top. It has a very 1890s feel,” said Justice.
The launch boat is smaller than an actual canal boat and can be transported easily by using a trailer, according to Justice.
“The smaller launch boat gives communities that would like to have a replica a chance,” said Justice.
Justice noted that the boat would be good to use in places like Big Pool, where it was being tested Wednesday, and in Widewater for educational programs. The four to five launch boats will be used in Pennyfield and Hancock as well. After the boat is finished at Big Pool, it will then travel to Great Falls to be tested. The launch boat will remain in Maryland until late May before it goes back to the manufacturer for changes and retrofitting, according to Knox. The launch boats are being made by Beckmann Boatshop of North Kingstown, R.I., according to the Martinsburg Journal.
The launch boat needs a crane to lift it into the canal. The boat will be used for festivals and Knox is unsure at this point if it will become a permanent fixture.
In accordance with testing the boat, changes will need to be made by a local contractor, explained Justice. For the launch boat to be fully operational in the canal, some infrastructure needs to be changed.
“We have a year before it happens. We have time to get all our ducks in a row,” said Justice.
There may be some issues with using the launch boat in Cumberland because the canal isn’t fully re-watered. The quarter-mile that is rewatered may not allow enough space for the boat to be turned around and because the canal is not uniformly wide, it would make turning it around difficult, according to Knox. The continued re-watering of the canal is waiting on the funding of a tunnel that would be built under the train tracks.
“We don’t have the funding and I have no time frame in which we will receive that funding,” said Knox. “I don’t anticipate that we will be done by next spring.”
“For years now, the WMSR and CSX have been negotiating an off-site location to maintain this connection without any resolution,” said a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers fact sheet dated January 2011 in reference to the Western Maryland Scenic Railroad.
Oldtown is also being looked at as a possible location for the launch boat replica, according to Knox. The canal there has 4.5 miles rewatered and the canal is wider.
The re-watering of the canal has not been discussed at any recent Canal Place Preservation & Development Authority meetings.
Contact Elaine Blaisdell at eblaisdell@times-news.com.
Local News
Related Photos
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A replica of a canal launch boat is seen floating on the C&O Canal in Georgetown. One of these boats will be coming to Allegany County, possibly in the spring of 2012.
Replica launch boat coming to C&O Canal
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