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Locks


Dunworkin

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I lean over to one side and look along the gunwale and line up to miss the lock side by about 2-3 inches. I know I'll miss the other side too doing this as the lock is (nearly) always 6" or a foot wider than the boat.

 

Quite often I can get in without touching anything this way.

 

 

 

 

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7 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

I lean over to one side and look along the gunwale and line up to miss the lock side by about 2-3 inches. I know I'll miss the other side too doing this as the lock is (nearly) always 6" or a foot wider than the boat.

 

Quite often I can get in without touching anything this way.

 

 

 

 

That's exactly how I do it as well.

 

Doesn't help with most locks though as more often than not Mrs Lily Rose brings the boat in while I watch from the gate and try to resist the temptation to comment as she stands in the middle, enters at an angle and then bounces off one side into the other.

 

I often succumb to the temptation to comment. Doesn't go down too well!

 

 

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1 minute ago, reg said:

The best way to enter a lock is to steer the tiller with your backside, close your eyes and roll a cigarette at the same time. 

 

My tiller is a few inches too high for my backside and I don't smoke.

 

I think Mrs Lily Rose might already be using the close eyes part of your recommended method.

 

(Please don't tell her I said that!)

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29 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

I often succumb to the temptation to comment. Doesn't go down too well!

 

I have found it best not even to look, as this can get interpreted as "judging how well I was a doing it".

 

DAMHIKT.

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Just now, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I have found it best not even to look, as this can get interpreted as "judging how well I was a doing it".

 

DAMHIKT.

I do that sometimes. I should try to do it more often as it removes the temptation to comment - unless the bounce was noisy enough to hear.

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12 minutes ago, Lily Rose said:

You can't win.

 

Do it yourself and get accused of not trusting the other person.

 

Let them do it and then get in trouble for watching or even just listening.

 

'Tis a most curious thing, this male/female dynamic. 

 

I always feel there is tons going on that I am completely missing.....

 

 

 

Edited by Mike the Boilerman
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14 hours ago, Dunworkin said:

Just as a PS to the above... are bumps and scrapes in locks something of an inevitability...? 

Yes. when you have a bywash pushing the bow over you have to guess whether it will push you 1 foot or 2 foot sideways you often get it wrong. The wind will howl through a gap in the hedge and blow the bow off line etc. there are many unknowns and it is inevitable that you will occasionally touch the stonework but that is why you have rubbing strakes. It is a waste of time trying to use fenders, they are never in the right place and they can easily get caught on the gate ironwork pulling you to one side. That is not to mention the risk of sinking caused  by fenders getting wedged.

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3 hours ago, Lily Rose said:

That's exactly how I do it as well.

 

Doesn't help with most locks though as more often than not Mrs Lily Rose brings the boat in while I watch from the gate and try to resist the temptation to comment as she stands in the middle, enters at an angle and then bounces off one side into the other.

 

I often succumb to the temptation to comment. Doesn't go down too well!

 

 

Wot he said!?

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I think its all about the angle of attack. And often this can be complicated by locks and landing stages at odd angles to each other.

One of the times you'll least want to "get it wrong" is if you are going in after another boat, or doing one gate on a two gate lock. In that case, I have found the secret to be to keep the boat more to the centre until fairly late on, then move it toward the side a little. If you do happen to catch the closed gate or other boat, it will be very minimal and not upset your line of travel too much. What you don't want to do is come from too far over one side, straighten a tad too early (or late) and rub the stone work - because it will send the boat out towards the centre, at a poor angle and at the last minute.

I can "always" get in with another boat without touching anything, as I do it in this way.

If unsure about the one gate technique, practice on locking up, because then the gate will just open a little.

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I look down one side and aim to just miss that side of the lock.

 

The best place to practice entering locks is heading to Wales on the Llangollen where the bywashes  move the front of the boat just as you were perfectly aligned to enter!

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56 minutes ago, cuthound said:

I look down one side and aim to just miss that side of the lock.

 

The best place to practice entering locks is heading to Wales on the Llangollen where the bywashes  move the front of the boat just as you were perfectly aligned to enter!

Going up Tyrley Locks can be interesting with the bywashes.

 

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1 minute ago, Rob-M said:

Going up Tyrley Locks can be interesting with the bywashes.

 

Only when they're running, unlike those on the Llangollen which run all the time to feed the Hurleston reservoirs.

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