Generally, small canals cover everything from concrete lined irrigation ditches with bottom widths (BW) as narrow as 30cm (12 in.) up to branch / distributary or even small main canals up to a maximum size of approximately 2.43m (8 ft.) deep and 2.0m (7 ft.) bottom width. Typically canals of this size range are built on a prepared and compacted fill (berm) built with conventional earth moving equipment. Canals of this size are built full section / span in a single pass and typically have side slopes of 1:1, 1 ¼:1 and 1 ½:1.

Small canal cross sections are excavated / trimmed in one of three ways:

• Using a conventional excavator / backhoe with a trapezoidal bucket matching the canal cross section and carefully digging the canal cross section with laser guidance. The fine grading is done by a digging chain attachment to the front of the concrete lining machine. This is a low production solution.
• The most efficient / high production means to excavate and trim a canal cross section is by using a special trapezoidal trencher where the canal cross section can be excavated and trimmed in a single pass.
• On the upper end of the small canal sizes it may be possible to use a bucketline trimmer configured into a small cross section.

Small canals up to 1.2m (4 ft. deep) are machine lined using one of two means:

• A subgrade guided, “towed boat” concrete liner: Generally the smaller “towed boats” are towed by a grader or front end loader required on the site anyway. They are light enough that they can be easily moved and quickly lifted out of the canal using towing equipment such as a front end loader. No automatic line or grade control is required as the towed boat is subgrade guided.
• A small self-propelled canal liner equipped with a canal mold: Depending on the canal size the liner will either be mounted on three or four crawler tracks. The separate canal mold is typically removed for moving and transport. It is also equipped with an automatic line and grade control system in reference to a single grade wire. A single charge conveyor is used to feed concrete to the concrete mold.

Small canals ranging 1.2m to 2.4m (4 ft. to 8 ft.) deep are machine lined using one of two means:

• A subgrade guided, “towed boat” concrete liner: Generally the larger “towed boats” have their own power unit and winch rather than being towed by a grader or front end loader. Larger towed boats are heavy enough where a crane is needed to lift it out of the canal and around structures. A larger towed boat liner is typically supplied with a concrete distribution system including a charging conveyor to evenly distribute concrete across the front of the machine.
• A larger self-propelled canal liner: This full span canal liner is mounted on either two crawler tracks or four. It is also equipped with an automatic line and grade control system in reference to a single grade wire. A larger canal liner is typically supplied with a concrete distribution system including a charging conveyor to evenly distribute concrete across the front of the liner.

CLICK HERE FOR A QUOTE ON SMALL CANAL EQUIPMENT

Trapezoidal Trenchers	Small Canal Liners
Eagle 6300	Towed Boat Liner
Max. Depth: 7' (1.1m) Max. Bottom Width: 4' (1.1m) Horsepower: 250 HP (223 kW)	As a low cost and practical option for concrete lining watercourse size canals a Subgrade Guided Towed Boat Liner can be used.
Eagle 7300	Self Propelled Canal Liner
Max. Depth: 8' (2.44 m) Max. Bottom Width: 8’-6” (2.60 m) Horsepower: 350 HP (261 kW)	Full span Canal Liners for small canals such as watercourses, distributary, and small main canals.