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Going Through the Locks
- As our neighbor travels into the next lock, we can easily see that the water level
in the lock is much higher that ours.
- Now the water level is the same as ours. They have let the excess water out of the lock,
preparing for us to enter, and the gates are opening now.
- The gates are open and we are entering the lock.
Here are the basics:
They put a ship in the lock. The raise the water level by letting water
in through an 18' diameter culvert. This equalized the water level with the next lock.
They open the gates to allow the ship into the next lock. and the procedure is repeated for
the third lock, and the excess water is let out of the first lock to equalize the level
with sea level if that is the next body of water. If the chamber is on the lake side of the
locks, they let water in to equalize the level with the lake.
We are on our way through the Miraflores locks!
Mule
The roll of the mules is sometimes misunderstood.
Their purpose is to stabilize a ship while it is in the lock.
That is to prevent a ship bumping the sides of the lock and causing damage either to the lock
or the ship. The ships go through the locks under their own power.
They haven't yet attached the cables to this mule, but it will hold our middle in place.
There are 3 on each side of a ship this large, while it's going through the locks.
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