Georgetown Canal Boat Gets a Reprieve, Thanks to Sandy

The Georgetown canal boat received a one-month reprieve from its planned demolition thanks to an odd source: Superstorm Sandy. The boat will not be moved until some time in mid-December; its demolition at Fletcher's Cove was previously scheduled to take place around Thanksgiving.

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Though the D.C. region was relatively spared Sandy's damage and destruction that walloped New York and New Jersey, the National Park Service National Capital Region was affected by the storm's aftermath, according to Brian Carlstrom, the deputy superintendent for the C&O Canal.

Four staff members, who would have been involved in transporting and demolishing the canal boat, were dispatched to parks that were impacted by the storm.

Once the equipment operators return with their tools, the boat will be removed.

Carlstrom said the plan is to raise the water in the canal to move the boat along the canal and then lower it so it can be demolished. Mules will guide the boat out of Georgetown because the towpath is too narrow for any other sort of vehicle.

The Georgetown Canal boat is a replica of an 1870s boat. NPS determined that necessary repairs were "cost prohibitive" and that the boat should be scrapped. This summer, supporters of the boat program hosted a farewell party for the familiar fixture on Georgetown's section of the C&O Canal.