Spent the day at Smiths Falls. We were lucky to see the locks in operation allowing a cruiser to traverse the canal. These particular locks are opened and closed manually and at high season, apparently opened and closed as many as 20 times a day! The Parks Canada attendants were so friendly and told us many tales of the building and maintaining of the locks. Apparently in the 1990s, one government official thought it might be a grand idea to permanently close the locks and turn the Rideau Canal at Smiths Falls into an amusement park! Fortunately, saner minds prevailed and it is now a preserved Heritage site. I used to want to do a houseboat tour of Shushwap Lakes, but now I think houseboating along the Rideau Canal might be the new dream! If one wanted, one could go from Ottawa straight down the Mississippi to New Orleans!
In operation, design, and structure, the Rideau Locks are much like the Panama Canal. The gates are 'V' shaped with the point upstream. The pressure of water keeps the gates closed tight until the water levels are equaled for opening. Like the Panama, no pumps are used as the water source is the lake system and tributary rivers of the high ground in the middle of the 202 kilometer lake/canal system. Unlike the Panama, the maximum draft on the Rideau system is five feet, and a maximum vessel length of 60 feet by 20 feet width. So it is only for pleasure boaters.
Did you know??? Wait for it! Smith Falls is also the 'Hershey' capital of Ontario. Yes, we did a tour of the Hershey Factory and did indulge ourselves slightly with a few tastes here and there! After all, we are on holiday!!
