After looking closely at this photo, I thought it looked familiar.  I looked through my post card collection and sure enough I found a post card that was probably taken the same day and same spot on the old French Canal.  The post card below is taken from behind the dredge for a different view.  The post card is entitled, "Dredges Working on Lock 2, Mindi, during the French Days, Panama".  Evidently, this was a proposed lock site on the French Canal after the French decided a Sea-Level Canal wasn't going to happen.

I  thought at first the tug like boat tied up to the dredge was on the self-propelled hopper dredges called "Clapets" that the French used to haul off the dug spoils.  After studying some photos of Clapets in old report, this boat looks something like a clapet, but I think it was a tug.  So, if there was not clapet, where was all the dug spoil going since the dredge is actively digging?  Maybe it isn't digging, and just awaiting the return of the clapet after it dumps it's load.  You can see the dredge farther down the channel has two clapets next to it.

It is always nice to get two photos at different angles, taken on the same day.

There is a short presentation on my web site that I previously posted you can see by clicking here.

Top photo courtesy of Ron Armstrong, CZ Images contributor.  Thanks so much Ron.

Next week is another super photo from Ron's collection.