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So, another minor run in with volockies today. It seems to happen to us quite often that there is some sort of annoyance or interference created by volunteers. We have decided on a “zero tolerance” policy of reporting every annoyance. Does anyone else report such stuff, or is it just us? Or do people find volockies annoying but just tolerate it? Or do people never find volockies annoying and it’s just us? If we are the only ones, CRT are just going to dismiss us as serial complainers. To be fair, the previous volockies we encountered at Hillmorton were fine, so it is by no means all of them. This is my latest complaint to Christine Mellor. Who is head of volunteering: Dear Christine As I understand it, you are in charge of volunteering on CRT waters including the volunteer lock keepers? Whilst I understand that volunteers are a vital part of CRT’s strategy, unfortunately an element of volunteers who are lock keepers, are spoiling our enjoyment of the canals by their interference with our boating. We have had several run-ins with volunteers bossing us, trying to take control and giving us unwanted “advice” on how to operate our boat. It really is getting us down. We are out on a trip and 4 days in, our first encounter with volunteers at Claydon locks on the S Oxford has turned sour. Having happily come down a couple of locks behind another boat, boats coming the other way, everyone happy and having a good time, at lock 19 we waited on the lock landing whilst the boat ahead locked down. I didn’t go up to the lock because there was a boat coming up. However whilst I wasn’t looking, the volunteer decided to close the bottom gates and start to fill the lock for us. I was puzzled because the elderly lady from the boat waiting to come up was at the lock side. The boat waiting to come up was clearly visible below the lock and the volunteer had “turned the lock” in his face. It was embarrassing and we had to explain to both the lady and the elderly gentleman on the boat - who didn’t look best pleased - that it wasn’t us who had turned the lock in their faces. The volunteer said that when he turned the lock the boat was still in the previous lock, I don’t think that was true but even if it was, the boat ahead of us was waiting for the lock and there is no point in pushing more boats through into a short pound, it just causes boat congestion and doesn’t speed anyone on their way because we just had to wait in the next pound. At the next lock (20) after the boat ahead had gone through, and we were waiting on the lock landing, I could see that there was a boat about to come out of the lock below heading our way, and there were already 3 boats in the pound ahead. So absolutely no point in turning our lock on the boat coming the other way and indeed that is contrary to CRT’s boater handbook. Nevertheless the (different) volunteer started to close the gate. I said “we don’t want to turn the lock on that boat” but he argued, so I had to say “you are not in charge, don’t turn the lock”. He got irate and sulky and stormed off, refusing to give his name and he was not wearing a name badge. I went back to the hut and asked the two of them, (neither of whom were wearing name badges) if there was a supervisor on the flight. There wasn’t. I said they should be wearing name badges, they said they were in the hut. I said they should ask if boaters want help, not to presume to take charge, they said it wasn’t practical to ask. They of course also said “I’ve been doing it for 4 years” etc etc. They did give me the phone number of the volunteer supervisor Paddy, but when I phoned he didn’t take the call. So once again a lovely cruise through a lovely flight of locks encountering lovely people, everything going smoothly, ruined by officious volunteers who seemingly like to hold power over boaters, don’t really know what they are doing, and cause congestion, irritation and resentment. This problem is manifest throughout the system - not all volunteers of course, but a significant proportion who think they “own” a flight of locks and want to rule it according to their whim. As the person in charge of volunteers you are probably the only person who can sort out this problem by ensuring that volunteers stick to their training, because at the moment there is a huge gulf between CRT’s volunteer training material and what actually happens on the ground. Please try! Kind Regards Nick Norman

What a load of bollux. They do it because they want to play at operating the locks - something I pay handsomely for to do myself but they compete with me for that pleasure, and they pay NOTHING and expect boaters to be grateful.

I've just done the equivalent of filling up my original tank at a cost of about £160, which will sort me for a five or six weeks cruise. I can still remember doing the same time for fifteen quid... and, back then, no CRT mooring fees, no boat safety nonsense... It's still a very cheap way of having over a month's holiday. And pottering along at 6am on a misty canal morning, going nowhere in particular slowly, there really isn't much better.

But as I’ve already said, I don’t have a problem with the principle of volockies available to help people who want help or don’t know what they are doing. I only have a problem when some person who happens to be wearing a blue t shirt and life jacket wants to take control of our passage through a lock and generally causes resentment and ill-feeling when it’s pointed out that they are not in charge. The solution is simply that they should follow their training and ask boaters if they would like assistance. You wouldn’t think it would be too difficult!

"Mabel, quick, cover up the budgie, Nick is coming round."

Nope never had a problem but as a single handed boater I’m just glad for the help tbh

Do volunteer lockies have any 'power'? I was under the impression the person in charge is the boat owner as they have responsibility and can choose to ignore or advise the volunteer their services are not needed?

Cavitation, in a canal boat is almost never going to happen. There is not enough power, the blade loads are too low, and the water is too shallow. Ventilation is common. Swimming better in deep water is hydrodynamics at work. In a canal most water usually has to flow either side of the boat. In deeper water it can take the easier route and go under the boat. That is why sea going craft are shaped to help the water underneath , and canal craft are shaped to force it round the sides, worsened by the need to build a rectangular box for (cargo/living) space reasons. N

A nice chap at our marina spent a couple of years volunteering on the offside vegetation clearing team and did a power of great work. Then unfortunately he “upgraded” to being a volockie. Shame! The odd thing is that he has a nice boat that rarely if ever gone beyond the Glascote locks or Fradley Jn. Instead of taking his own boat through locks, he takes other people’s, which seems a bit surprising.

I would really recommend cruising up the Lee and Stort! I'm a liveaboard, my office is near Liverpool Street and although I don't go there all the time, I have enough times to experience the journey. The railway all the way up the Lee to Hertford and the Stort to Bishop's Stortford follows the rivers, goes directly to Liverpool Street and there are plenty of stations, so the journey is really easy. I've basically moved from one station to the next over the last year or so which is plenty to satisfy CRT (our local CRT checker commented "You actually move like you're supposed to!"). You'll find it easier for parking the car as you get out of London too, the East end of the Regents Canal and the very lower end of the Lee is increasingly covered by Resident Permit Zones. The only limitation might be the cost of train tickets. Additionally, the top of the Lee and the Stort just offer some really lovely places to be... far better for the soul than trying stick to the minimum on the Regents and lower Lee. The Lee and Stort Boaters group on Facebook is a helpful community

I'd stick with the 80 or 70 amp if your only charging one battery, less strain on the drive belt.

But all part of the EU. Scrub that. I meant UK.

There is something magical about "smoke on the water, a fire in the sky"

This year, 2022, the cost of hiring a pilot for the trip from Sharpness down the tidal Severn to Portishead, Avonmouth is £240, but that's not why I didn't take one. Whether you take a pilot or not, exactly the same safety checks/equipment, engine, fuel, anchor, life jackets etc etc are required, because a pilot won't get you out of trouble if the engine stops! A pilot won't set out unless he or she is totally happy that the forecast is for a stable period of light winds of no more than force 3, but this should be the case too if you go it alone, possibly even aim for a force 2 if you can. If you have comprehensive insurance then they will make stipulations that may include engaging a pilot, but if not, there is no requirement for you to have one and I didn't find the trip particularly difficult or demanding without one. My wife and I in fact found the voyage in our NB exiting, exhilarating at times, and most of all, thoroughly enjoyable. The passage is very well marked for navigation with very obvious leading marks that are also brightly lit in gloomy conditions, making steering an accurate course easy. The one thing that makes the services of a pilot far less critical is the availability of chart plotter apps for ones smart phone or tablet. Much like a car's GPS, they show you exactly where you should be and exactly where you are, so you can steer accordingly. The best app (in my opinion) costs about £37 for the entire UK, but you can use it free of charge for a two week trial if you only need it for a single trip. It is simplicity itself to use and removes the mystery from navigating unfamiliar routes. Every skipper must make their own decision depending on their confidence, ability, experience, vessel and conditions, but for me, at no point did I wish I'd taken a pilot and we had a very enjoyable trip, both from Sharpness to Portishead and then up to Bristol. We experienced wind speeds between 6 knots and 18 knots, but they were offshore so wave height didn't exceed about 0.6m. I've included a screen print of the app we used as we went under the 1st Severn Bridge, showing at the top the time taken from Sharpness, our speed over the ground and the distance travelled. The deepest water corresponds to the white areas and our course was recorded with the curved thin yellow line with us being the red arrow at the end of it. It's a fantastic trip, so with or without a pilot, do try it.

New to Boat life - and CRT are not that bad after all.

"Apologises for the delay in responding to your query about the 3 month licence issue. There appears to have ben some confusion between the last licensee end date and the start date for your self. In lieu of this, an extra month has been added toy our current 3 month licence. " Result!