Boats at Lower Nicholsons and Upper Nicholsons

Lower Nicholsons and Upper Nicholsons lockstations, each with one lock, come after Burritts Rapids in the Rideau Canal. They can be accessed on the east side of the Rideau River from Burrits Rapids Road or on the west side from Heritage Drive.

This boat secured to the waiting pier at Lower Nicholsons while the people travelling on it had a meal at a picnic table in the shade. The blue line on the edge of the docking platform tells that it is for boats waiting to go through the lock.

Lock 18 at Lower Nicholsons has a lift of 2 metres (6.5 feet). There is a 300 meter channel from Lower Nicholsons to Upper Nicholsons, with another 300 meters beyond that, where there is a weir and dam on the west side. All the channels in the Ridea Canal system were dug by hand, i.e., men with shovels.

Visitors to Lower Nicholsons and Upper Nicholsons can walk the length of the channel on the west side. Here you can see the boat that has left Lower Nicholsons approaching Upper Nicholsons, which has a swing bridge on Andrewsville Road.

Visitors to Lower Nicholsons and Upper Nicholsons can walk the length of the channel on the west side. Here you can see the boat that has left Lower Nicholsons approaching Upper Nicholsons, which has a swing bridge on Andrewsville Road.

The swing bridge at Upper Nicholsons has been rebuilt three times since the canal's completion in 1832. Each time it has been rebuit exactly the same as the original. Just like the origninal a canal operator swings it open and shut by pulling or pushing it into position, all eight and a half tons of it.

October 2019 Meeting

Capital Marine Modellers' Guild will meet on Tuesday October1, 2019 at 7 p.m., at the Nepean Museum, 16 Rowley Avenue, Nepean. Bring out your show and tell items.

Dragon Boats at Hog's Back & Boats at Clowes

Here are three pictures of dragon boats south of Hog's Back lockstation followed by some boats going through the locks at Clowes.

The Hog's Back lockstation has locks 11 and 12. Locks are numbered progressively from 1 at the Ottawa lockstation to 49 at Kingston Mills. The total lift at Hog's Back is 4.4m (14.5 ft.). (I have seen Hog's Back written 'Hogs Back' and 'Hogsback.' Most Parks Canada signs and literature use 'Hogs Back,' though I have seen them use the possessive. I'm pointing this out in case you feel an urgent need to correct me.)

The Clowes lockstation is southeast of Burritt's Rapids, accessible when travelling westward on Heritage Drive  (County Road 2) by taking the first left turn after Andrewsville Main Street – the road number is 495; there is a very small sign across the road that says 'Clowes) with an arrow pointing to the dirt road. The bridge at Andrewsville over the Rideau River is closed in the winter. Lock 20 at Clowes has a lift of 2.3m (7.6 ft.) An unmaintained foot path to the north that crosses private property leads to the weir (small control dam) for the Lower and Upper Nicholsons lockstations.)

Caribbean Maritime Museums

Here is a selection of photos of ship models in various Caribbean maritime and historical museums taken in December 2012.  John Clerarwater