Wooden Floating Docks in the Port of Quebec from 1827 until the 1930s

Type of resource
Author/collaborator
Title
Wooden Floating Docks in the Port of Quebec from 1827 until the 1930s
Abstract
The expanding timber export trade, stimulated initially in 1806 by Napoleon’s blockade of the Baltic, saw a huge increase in ocean-going shipping visiting the port of Quebec. The author points out that this gave rise to a demand for ship-salvaging and repairing facilities and led to the establishment by 1825 of sixteen shipyards, none of which had dry-docks. In 1826 the wooden Canada Floating Dock was constructed at Montreal, but financial difficulties led to it being transferred to a Quebec shipyard. The author maintains that this appears to be the very first successful commercial floating dock and was to be followed by between eight and ten others constructed in Quebec City by 1878, mostly located at the more spacious shipyards fronting the St Lawrence River. The author describes the design, operation and varying sizes of these floating docks. She notes that their long life reflects the ready availability of timber for their construction and maintenance together with the fifteen foot-fall in the tide that made pumping the docks largely unnecessary. The remains of one floating dock, constructed in 1844, can still be seen at low tide.
Publication
The Mariner's Mirror
Volume
Vol. 81
Issue
no. 4
Pages
448-456
Date
1995
Language
en
Citation
Reid Marcil, Eileen. “Wooden Floating Docks in the Port of Quebec from 1827 until the 1930s.” The Mariner’s Mirror Vol. 81, no. 4 (1995): 448–456.
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