not enough attention is being paid to the drunken stumble into the canal that drowned someone! /s

The barges were just a little less than a few meters wide. The manpower to build a 100km long canal that is 2.5-3 meters wide is substantially less than what it takes to dig one 8 meters wide in the era before steam shovels.

Gooned*

from the Olde English "guined" —an easy mix-up