One rather unusual boat lift

[rcooled]

"A timelapse movie (36 sec.) of the Falkirk Wheel in Scotland, the world's first and only rotating boat lift. At one time these two canals were joined by a series of 11 locks which took half a day to traverse. Now it can be done in 7 minutes!"

[Flat Six]

Well that's just cool . . . .

[Bugsinrugs]

Humans can do some pretty nifty stuff.

[beatnavy]

That is awesome engineering.

Years ago when I was stationed in Germany I got a chance to ride a canal boat in France in the Alsace area. It included this incline sledge. Same concept -- connecting two canals at different elevations -- but this one in Scotland is much cooler!

[bkreigsr]

I don't get it. (OP's tilt-a-whirl)
The boat drops down into the same water level as it left.
Why did they need 7 locks before?

[rcooled]

Originally Posted by bkreigsr

I don't get it. (OP's tilt-a-whirl)
The boat drops down into the same water level as it left.
Why did they need 7 locks before?

The boat is actually lifted from the lower area up to that raised 'aqueduct' by this device. It can be seen moving off the lift and down the flume at the very end of the clip. The locks were probably spaced out over some distance and gradually lifted the boats from the lowest point to the highest, a little bit at a time.

[dad911]

That is way cool. Must feel weird to ride that motion in a boat, even at the normal rate(not time lapse)

[Seahawk]

Great stuff.

If I ever get back to Scotland that is on the list.

[bkreigsr]

That pic 'splans it mo betta.
Got it now.
Bill K

[flatbutt]

That must be some serious torque.

[71T Targa]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

That must be some serious torque.

The beauty in the design is that it's perfectly balanced.

The two sides weigh the same even when one side has a boat in it.