Annotation by Tom Rickenbach from a Google Maps image, 2022

Photo by Tom Rickenbach, October 2001

Drydock Operations

 James Rickenbach operated the drydock with his sons Wilson, Curtin and Edwin until James' death in 1891. His sons then took over the business. Here's a link to a transcribed article in the Reading Eagle from April 15, 1894 describing details of Rickenbach boatyard operations and history, featuring an interview with Curtin Rickenbach. A month after Curtin painted that rosy picture, an extensive spring flood in late May of 1894 combined with competition from the railroads and coal miner labor unrest was the straw that broke the camel's back for the drydock's viability. Tragically, that same storm system claimed Ed's life. He was struck by lightning and killed while his canal boat 'Mars' was towed in a convoy on the Delaware River near Philadelphia. By 1898 Curtin and Wilson had shut down the drydock and relocated to Cramer Hill (Camden), New Jersey to start a shipbuilding company called Noecker Rickenbach and Ake  with their brother-in-law Morris Noecker. 

 The photograph below, from the late 1880s or early 1890s, shows the construction of a canal boat in the drydock. According to Ed's son John (1883-1948), when building a boat at the drydock, the keel was first laid down, along with the stem and the stern. Then, bottom planks and ribs were placed, which were made of oak. The elbows were cut from oak roots and laid next. The side ribs and spacer beams for dish flanking followed, and side planking were placed from the top. Square iron spikes were used in the construction of the boats. The hatches and cabin were caulked to keep them watertight. The wood was planed and pitched while mounted on props, like the boat shown above. James purchased the hardware, oakum, pitch, tie rods and other materials from Stichter's Hardware Store in Reading. In the wintertime, boats were built in the drydock as the canal was drained of water. Construction took place on land during the summer, but boats were brought into the drydock for repair when filled with water. The drydock was 150 feet long, but the limiting length of a boat that could be handled in the drydock was 100 feet. Therefore, boats longer than 100 feet had to be built in two sections, as appears to be the case in the photograph below  of a canal boat under construction at the drydock in the late 1880s. 

Below from left to right: Curtin Rickenbach, William Freeman, Yorett Noecker, John Noecker, Morris Noecker, Adam Rickenbach.

The photograph above is another view of the drydock from about the same time. 

Above is James Rickenbach's house along Duncan's Canal, about a half-mile south of the drydock. The view is to the west across the canal, likely in the 1880s.   Photo from private collection of Tom Rickenbach.

Above is a canal boat on Duncan's level of the Schuylkill Navigation Canal in front of James Rickenbach's house in the early 1890s, about a half-mile south of the drydock, and across the strip of land between canal and river known as Duncan's Island. close to the canal bridge. 

From right to left:  Katie Rickenbach Kahn, Curtin Rickenbach, Ed Rickenbach? (on boat), James Rickenbach Jr., unknown. All of these Rickenbachs are siblings, adult children of James and Eliza Rickenbach. Photo from private collection of Colleen Rickenbach Schulze

Boat Launch

A daughter of James Rickenbach, Beckie, wrote in 1936 a first-hand description of the drydock. Here is her description of a boat launch from the drydock into the canal:

The launching of a new boat from the stocks into the canal was an “event”. It was a day of anxiety, great activity more or less confusion, taxing the men's nerves. So many little things had to be done the last day, anyone of which being forgotten might have caused trouble, loss of money danger even the loss of the boat if everything were not just right and she had slipped off onto the land at one end instead of the water, evenly and smoothly as she was supposed to do.

So the launching was usually done on a Saturday to give the men a rest over Sunday from the strain. So many things depended on a successful launching. Word was usually given out several days ahead and people came for miles to see the launching. So it was always well attended with an appreciative audience. It gave the launching an aspect of a picnic and holiday cheer. The spectators standing about in groups, with an air of expectation. The working men hurrying here and there, anxiety written on their faces.

Suddenly some one would call out "Ready." All action was stopped. Several men stood with ropes in their hands, the other end fastened to the boat. Three men were kneeling under the boat. One at either end and one in the middle. At a given signal the three as one man, with a heavy sledge knocked out a wedge between stock and boat.

A silence that could be felt, fell upon all present. So much hung upon this moment. The boat quivered from stem to stern. A rasping sound broke on the air as the heavy boat sank from her long-held position on to the slanting, slippery planks that were to carry her into her permanent home. Swiftly and smoothly as a bird she slid down into the water, throwing out a great wane over the towpath opposite, the men with ropes holding her back from floating against the towpath herself. 

And one more boat was successfully launched at Rickenbach's “Navy Yard".

Reference: Rickenbach, T.: James Rickenbach’s ’Navy Yard’ Along the Schuylkill Canal, Historical Review of Berks County, Vol 68, No. 4, 172-178, Fall 2003.

Schuylkill Navigation explained

In this excellent video from the C. Howard Hiester Canal Center produced by Berks Community Television, navigation expert Glenn Wenrich discusses canal boats, the Hiester boatyard, and how the Schuylkill Navigation system worked.