News Release

A new canal boat is making its way to Georgetown

Date: July 9, 2021
Contact: Christiana Hanson, 301-491-6265
Contact: Scott Walzak, 203-915-3592

WASHINGTON — A new canal boat is making its way to Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park in Georgetown. The National Park Service (NPS) and Georgetown Heritage are excited to be bringing a canal boat back to Georgetown after nearly a decade! 
 
The boat will be delivered in two pieces to Canal Road and will require the closure of Canal Road from the Reservoir Road intersection to the Foxhall Road intersection from 7 p.m. on Friday, July 9 to 7 p.m. on Sunday, July 11.  
 
Over the weekend, the boat will be lifted into the canal via crane from Canal Road and then floated to a dry dock within the canal near the 31st Street Bridge. The canal will be dewatered to allow boat builders to join the two pieces of the boat and apply fiberglass to the hull. The canal will then be rewatered and the boat will be floated to its permanent location near the NPS Visitor Center near Thomas Jefferson Street NW.  
 
The NPS and Georgetown Heritage can’t wait to celebrate the arrival of the boat with you—but please wait to visit the boat until we’re finished with construction. The boat delivery area in Canal Road will be an active construction zone and will not be open to the public. We’ll share an announcement when construction has been completed. Photos and video of the boat deliver will be available at www.georgetownheritage.org. 

This project is part of a multi-year effort to revitalize the C&O Canal in Georgetown. The Georgetown Canal Plan was prepared in partnership with Georgetown Heritage with support from the District of Columbia and the Georgetown Business Improvement District. 

-NPS-

Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historical Park is one of America's 422 national parks. Preserving America's early transportation history, the C&O Canal began as a dream of passage to Western wealth. Operating for nearly 100 years the canal was a lifeline for communities along the Potomac River as coal, lumber, and agricultural products floated down the waterway to market. Today it endures as a pathway for discovering historical, natural, and recreational treasures.

Learn more at www.nps.gov/choh.

Georgetown Heritage is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization working to revitalize, activate, and interpret the National Park Service assets in Georgetown into inviting, inclusive, and inspiring destinations, with an initial focus on the C&O Canal National Historical Park.   

Learn more at www.georgetownheritage.org.