I've just returned from a holiday on that section of the L+L, hiring from Shire Cruisers at Barnoldswick for a return trip to Skipton.
Although my wife and I are fairly experienced hirers, I had read about previous accidents at Bank Newton, particularly the saga of 'accident waiting to happen' lock 40, so we were exceptionally careful on that flight of locks, although it didn't help that we went down them last Tuesday morning in monsoon conditions, with water overflowing the lock sides as well as the gates!
Regarding the paddle gear on the bottom gates, I found that the 'friction' varied significantly from lock to lock - around 50% had to be wound down manually but the rest could be 'dropped' and would drift down smoothly (the top gate paddles are all ungeared so cannot be dropped without causing damage)
While it wasn't a factor on this occasion, a big problem on the L+L is that a lot of the hire boaters are first timers, hiring from Silsden/Snaygill/Skipton with no lock tuition beyond a DVD and/or model of a lock; in contrast, Shire cruisers insist on accompanying all hirers, first timers or not, through the three Greenberfield locks, pointing out potential dangers, which I think is a great idea.