Non-motorized watercraft

Lachine Canal National Historic Site

Before launching your non-motorized boat

Historic canals are waterways; ensure that your boat meets Transport Canada’s requirements.

Always have the following equipment:

• a personal flotation device (PFD) or a life jacket for each person on board*;
• a buoyant heaving line at least 15m long;
• a bailer or a manual pump;
• a pealess whistle or a manual compressed gas horn.

Please consult the Safe boating guide from Transport Canada to learn more.

*If everyone on board a sealed-hull and sit-on-top kayak is wearing a lifejacket or a PFD of appropriate size, the boat needs to have only a sound-signalling device on board.

Your non-motorized watercraft on the water

• To paddle the historic canal, you need a seasonal permit for non-motorized craft. For more information, see the Paddle Sports page.
• Use the public docks along the canal, including the docks upstream and downstream from the locks, to launch your boat. At the Chambly Canal, the natural banks make it easy to launch canoes, kayaks and paddleboards. It is also possible to use the launching ramps along the canal.
• It is preferable for canoes and kayaks to follow the shore. You can then take your time without the risk of blocking motorized boats or fearing a collision.
• At the Lachine Canal, stay away from the weirs. Those structures are often located close to the locks, and are protected by yellow booms. 
• At the Saint-Ours Canal, upstream, follow the east shore to prevent the current from carrying you away into the dam. The downstream undertows are the effect of water continually agitated at the base of the dam; do not get close, as you risk capsizing and being carried away to the bottom of the water.
• At the Carillon Canal, stay far away from the lock’s spillway gate, located downstream. The current is strong there and, suddenly, when the chamber drains, your boat could capsize.
• Swimming is prohibited in the canal. You could injure yourself on submerged structures, be surprised by the force of the current close to the weirs, or be hit by a boat.
• If you fall into the water and are unable to get back on board your boat or reach the shore, grab onto a lifeline and call for help.