Not much has changed in the last 180 years or so. Not on the Rideau Canal, at least. Sure, there are shorepower ports these days, and electric lighting, and the lock staff have even started carrying short-range radios. But the lock gates are still winched open by hand, the water flow is still controlled by hand-cranked valves, and boats are still coaxed into position with rope, muscle and a bit of shouting. Even in the chaos of the August long weekend, it's a tranquil throwback to a simpler age.

Well, most of the time.

There were eight boats here in the top lock at Jones Falls. This is a flight of four locks, so getting from lock to lock was a bit of fun. The runabout at front centre would pull ahead and take a spot on the wall, and the speedboat she's rafted to would trade places with her in the next lock. Then the cabin cruiser at front left would pull ahead, the runabout in the middle would push off to port, and the cruiser at centre right would move to the right wall of the next lock (made all the more challenging by the fact that the lock walls clear the water by only a few inches at high water and are not visible from a big boat's helm- thankfully, there are plenty of strong summer students waiting to grab your lines). The (now drifting) runabout would reclaim its spot rafted against the centre-right cruiser, and the larger motoryacht on the left would pull ahead. Then we'd push off to port and grab the left wall, the cabin cruiser we're rafted to would pull ahead and claim the last bit of wall space in the next lock, and we'd head into the remaining centre spot to raft up again. Ignition off, blowers on. Rinse and repeat. Four times.

All of this was surprisingly orderly, and with remarkably little yelling and screaming from the lock staff. Canal boaters are, by and large, a rather civilized lot.

Sunset Chaser was, not surprisingly, one of the smallest boats that would be locking through. There was that one canoe beside us on Saturday, though.... there just for the experience, as they'd be able to do it in a fraction of the time by portaging.

The lock gates are solid wood. They were rebuilt in the late '80s out of gigantic timbers, using essentially the same design as the early 19th century originals. The gates seal remarkably well, thanks to the slight flexibility of the soft wood and the carpentry skills of the 1989 repair team.

Here's the top gate at Jones Falls....

And here's the flight of three locks in the lower part of that station (the fourth lock of the flight is separated from these three by a turning basin).

It's wise to figure on an hour and a half to lock through at a flight of four- no matter what time you arrive, there will be a crowd on the blue line, and they will be one lock into the cycle in the direction you want to go. Thankfully, there's plenty to do while waiting for the flight to cycle down and back up- there are other boaters to chat with, fish to chase, and dangerously addictive fast food and ice cream at the bottom of the hill.