Canal boat back in water; set for Haunted boat ride events

CANAL FULTON – After being sidelined this season, the St. Helena III canal boat will be back in the waterway this weekend for the city's second annual haunted boat rides.

The city also will host Haunted Canal Fulton Festival on Saturday ― a celebration of scary fun for all ages that includes inflatables, a spider web maze, food, a pet costume contest and zombies dancing to Micheal Jackson's "Thriller."

The haunted canal boat rides are at 7 and 8:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, and 6:30, 8 and 9:30 p.m. Saturday. The ride is about 55 minutes.

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The 30-year-old St. Helena III canal boat has seen better days. The replica of a historic canal freighter is filling with water.

City officials spent the summer trying to figure out how to fix the problem.

"Its maiden voyage was May 2, 1992, and there has been a lot of wear and tear being on the canal," Bucher said. "Sometimes (the water) is not deep enough to hold the boat and it drags along the bottom hitting rocks and tree branches that have fallen."

What's the problem with the St. Helena III?

The canal boat has a double-hull concrete bottom. Two layers of concrete are separated by what officials dubbed a void of wire mesh and rebar.

The void is what appears to be the problem, Bucher said. It's holding a lot of water.

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The problem kept the boat in dry dock during this summer.

During that time, they tried several things to remedy the problem, including drilling holes in the concrete to allow water to escape.

They coated the cement bottom with hydraulic cement ― something they used for repairs in the past, but when they put the boat in the water, it began immediately filling up with water.

While the repairs are not a permanent solution, their efforts have made it "good enough" to get through the haunted boat rides.

The city even spent more than $10,000 to purchase material from a West Coast company to rubberize the boat. It didn't work out.

One of the best solutions right now is to sandblast the bottom to get it down to the original concrete to examine the cracks and holes plaguing the boat. Over the years, different groups have tried different things to fix the boat, including spraying it with a truck bed liner coating. Bucher said chunks of the liner remain throughout the surface.

A quote puts the sandblasting at $13,000, Bucher said.

The original canal boats did not contain concrete but were made of wood. The Canal Fulton Heritage Society, which owned and maintained the boat in the 1990s, decided to construct the boat using a cement bottom so that it would last longer as the wood would rot quickly and flood the boat.

"They thought this was a more long-term solution," Bucher said. "It has been for 30 years but it was wrecked the very first ride they did. They hit a rock causing a hole that still causes some problems."

Bucher is excited for the return of the haunted boat rides, as well as the festival planned for Saturday.

He said tickets are still available for the boat rides but are limited.

During the ride from St. Helena Heritage Park, 123 Tuscarawas St. NW, to Lock IV, participants will experience about 10 to 15 costumed characters and scary scenes along the canal and on the boat, Bucher said.

"Last year we had some younger kids on the boat and they had a lot of fun," he said. "Parents will have to determine if their child can enjoy the ride."

Tickets are $25 per person.

Haunted Canal Fulton Festival planned Saturday

The city will host the Haunted Canal Fulton Festival from 2 to 9 p.m. Saturday in the St. Helena Heritage Park. The free event features various food trucks, a coffee and hot chocolate stand, autotune karaoke, games for kids and a spider web maze.

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The city purchased the 32-by-32-foot maze made from wood and string from Olmsted Falls, Bucher said.

There will also be inflatables and laser tag.

Bucher is excited for the performance of Michael Jackson's "Thriller."

Twin sisters Jennifer McGraw and Julie Maldonado used to participate in Massillon's Zombie Walk and were bummed when the organization that hosted the event decided to forgo it.

"We were part of the 2018 Zombie Walk in Massillon and we love it so much," McGraw said. "When they disbanded, we tried to find another group. The closest is Wadsworth."

The sisters decided to partner with Canal Fulton, which McGraw calls home, and bring the "Thriller" dance to the historic city along the canal.

The group has about 14 people participating in the inaugural year, McGraw said.

"We have a Facebook page with 107 members. I just wish we had 107 dancers," she said.

She hopes to grow the group and continue to bring the fun dance to Canal Fulton for years to come.

The funnest part about participating is choosing a costume and applying the makeup, McGraw added.

"We are having a blast," she said. "Canal Fulton is a great little town and we can all come out and support our businesses (during the event)."

Bucher said they are still looking for volunteers, noting it takes a lot of people to make the event happen. Anyone interested can call City Hall at 330-854-2225.

Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com

On Twitter: @aknappINDE

This article originally appeared on The Independent: Canal Fulton hosting haunted boat rides, festival