The Freycinet gauge (french: gabarit Freycinet) is a standard governing the dimensions of the

locks Lock(s) may refer to: Common meanings *Lock and key, a mechanical device used to secure items of importance *Lock (water navigation), a device for boats to transit between different levels of water, as in a canal Arts and entertainment * ''Lock ...

of some canals, put in place as a result of a law passed during the tenure of

Charles de Freycinet Charles Louis de Saulces de Freycinet (; 14 November 1828 – 14 May 1923) was a French statesman and four times Prime Minister during the Third Republic. He also served an important term as Minister of War (1888–1893). He belonged to the Opp ...

as minister of public works of France, dating from 5 August 1879. The law required the size of lock chambers to be increased to a length of , a width of and a minimum water depth of , thus allowing 300 to 350 tonne barges to pass through. Consequently, boats and barges, such as the péniche, built to the Freycinet gauge could not exceed in length, in breadth and a draught of . Bridges and other structures built across the canals are required to provide of clearance. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries many French canals were modernised to conform to the Freycinet standard. By 2001, of navigable waterways in France corresponded to the Freycinet gauge, accounting for 23% of waterborne traffic.

European Classification

The Freycinet gauge corresponds to the

Classification of European Inland Waterways The Classification of European Inland Waterways is a set of standards for interoperability of large navigable waterways forming part of the Trans-European Inland Waterway network within Continental Europe and Russia. It was created by the Europea ...

class I gauge. {, border="2" cellspacing="2" cellpadding="2" style="margin:1em auto; text-align: center;" !colspan=5, European Inland Waterway Boat Classifications , ---- !Class, , Capacity, , Length, , Width, , Draught , ---- , , 0, , Under 300 Tonne, , N/A, , N/A, , N/A , ---- , , I, , 300 Tonne (the péniche), , 38.5 m, , 5.05 m, , 2.5 m , ---- , , II, , 600 Tonne, , 50 m, , 6.6 m, , 2.5 m , ---- , , III, , 1000 Tonne, , 67 m, , 8.2 m, , 2.5 m , ---- , , IV, , 1350 Tonne, , 80 m, , 9.5 m, , 2.5 m , ---- , , V, , 2000 Tonne, , 95 m, , 11.5 m, , 2.7 m , ---- , , VI, , 3000 Tonne and over, , N/A, , N/A, , N/A

References

External links

* The French article from which this article was translated Locks (water navigation)