C&O Canal Boat to Arrive Sunday (We Hope)
By • July 8, 2021 0 1346
“We are hopeful the boat will arrive in Georgetown on Sunday,” Georgetown Heritage Board Chair Jennifer Romm told The Georgetowner today.
The arrival is the long-anticipated C&O Canal Boat is “weather dependent,” Romm added. “Then, it needs to be fiberglassed and some other odds and ends to have it canal-ready. All of that should be completed and water back in the C&O Canal (have to lower the water level to do the work on the boat in Lock 4) by July 19.”
“As you can imagine, there are a number of factors that impact the specific arrival date that are being finalized as we speak, including putting finishing touches on construction, operational logistics, as well as most recently, the incoming weather,” said Scott Walzak, Director of Planning & Project Management for Georgetown Heritage.
With repairs to Locks 3 and 4 completed and the canal wall near Grace Street and Wisconsin Avenue stabilized, the canal is being cleaned and awaits its boat.
According to Georgetown Heritage, the nonprofit that works with the National Park Service to improve and promote Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historical Park, the motorized boat was built at the Roudebush Yacht & Engine Works shipyard outside of Baltimore. It is more that 80 feet long. Its two halves will be put together after delivery to Georgetown.
Other canal projects await completion. Those include towpath upgrades and expanded lighting as well as a floating dock near 34th Street for launching kayaks and canoes. The towpath mules are expected to return in 2022 for old-fashioned propulsion of the canal boat.
C&O Canal near 33rd Street. Courtesy Georgetown Heritage.
C&O Canal being cleaned near Potomac Street. Courtesy Georgetown Heritage.
