The boat-lock, a caisson-like lock system and one of the great inventions of the Charentais arsenal, will be reborn thanks to the restauration of this system as a part of the rehabilitation of the old arsenal and the reconstruction of the Hermione. Watch the video: click here.

In 2011, the construction of two of these boat-locks, the traditional closing device of the dry docks, was entrusted to a company in the Netherlands. The first one will close the double drydock “Louis XV” where the Hermione is actually built and will allow to fill the dock gradually at the time of the launch. The second will close the entrance to the dry dock of the 19th century, known as "Napoleon III" which will host the frigate from July 2012 on.

The boat-locks of the drydocks were destroyed during World War II and have been replaced in the early nineties by a concrete wall. During the preparation and cleaning of the “Napoleon III” drydock, the wreck of its boat-lock was discovered, hidden under the mud since the 1944 bombings.

The work done by the City of Rochefort and accompanying installation of boat-locks also include civil works, desilting around the drydocks, the dredging of the riverbed, and the construction of an intermediary door in the “Louis XV” drydock.

More information about the boat-locks can be found on the site of the City of Rochefort.