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More Lock Etiquette


Dr Bob

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Another rant.

We arrived at the bottom of Clacutt locks to find two boats about to emerge out of the just opened gates. We were on our own, no other boats around. We pulled in to the lock landing and saw the woman on the offside, who had opened the offside gate walking back to the top of the lock, crossing the top gates and then on to the tow path, and towards us.

The boats were pulling out and we asked the first of the 3 'support' crew if they were going to/would shut the offside gate as there was only one boat coming through. She replied that it wasnt their problem to shut the gate, they had been doing it that way for 30 years and then told Mrs Bob she was an f'ing sod and a lazy b*****d and it was our job, not theirs.

The first helm that passed us said 'dont worry' we are shutting the gate........then turned round to realise all their crew were on the tow path and now passed us.

Now, it may have been more acceptable if they were in a hurry and needed to get down the steps on the offside to jump on the boat.....but they weren't.

Am I right in expecting experienced boat owners to close the offside gate if there is clearly only one boat coming into the lock? This is happening too much this year.

Am I right in expecting not to be sworn at and told we shouldn't be on the canals for expecting courtesy.

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Its nice when someone is corteous enough to shut a gate for you-but usually all undone as soon as you get through and it swings back open no matter how slow you try going through ?

Being sworn at isnt so corteous though-I always try to smile or laugh back. Seems to irritate offenders way more than swearing back..

 

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1 minute ago, PaulJ said:

Its nice when someone is corteous enough to shut a gate for you-but usually all undone as soon as you get through and it swings back open no matter how slow you try going through ?

Being sworn at isnt so corteous though-I always try to smile or laugh back. Seems to irritate offenders way more than swearing back..

 

Those big gates do open a bit when you drive a single boat in, but never far enough to need someone to cross the gates to close them.

We didnt swear back.

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12 minutes ago, dmr said:

Closing the gates when a boat is waiting is rude and leaving both gates open is normal and polite. I think that you specifying exactly how you want the gates left open is perhaps a bit over the top. Its happened to me and I have felt like "I am not really here to set the lock up to somebody else's exact requirements", though I would usually oblige for a single hander.  Going in through one gate is bad boating, just look at that huge groove that boaters have caused by doing exactly that. Maybe your boat handling is so good that you Never scrape the gate, mine isn't, and from the evidence lots of boats who think they can do it obviously can't. I feel that by leaving only one gate open I am an "accessory to lock damage".

 

Absolutely no excuse for rudeness though.

 

.............Dave

It's an interesting point you raise Dave but it is not the normal practice of opening both gates when a single boat goes into a wide lock. 90% + of the time, only one gate is used. I agree it can damage the gate when it invariably gets hit. It is interesting thought that having done Hatton 3 times this year and Stockton many times with CRT volokies in attendance and helping, NONE has ever told us to do anything different to opening one gate. It is the norm.

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If one of your crew had got to the lock before I had left I would ask the f you want the gate open or closed but if you weren't close enough to ask I would leave the gates.

 

If it was only your boat leaving the lock and two were approaching would you run round and open the other gate for them...?  I wouldn't and I wouldn't expect you to either.

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12 minutes ago, Rob-M said:

If one of your crew had got to the lock before I had left I would ask the f you want the gate open or closed but if you weren't close enough to ask I would leave the gates.

 

If it was only your boat leaving the lock and two were approaching would you run round and open the other gate for them...?  I wouldn't and I wouldn't expect you to either.

Yes, if I was on the gate, I would have asked the single approaching boat if they wanted the gate shut. We were near enough.

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I have often been criticised by a vollie for using just one gate because it will damage the other. No it won't because I do NOT touch other one on my way in/out, and I will continue to do it the same way. However, many boaters do need both gates so unless I have had the chance to ask the oncoming boater his preference then if sharing the lock I too would leave both gates open for them.

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1 hour ago, PaulJ said:

Its nice when someone is corteous enough to shut a gate for you-but usually all undone as soon as you get through and it swings back open no matter how slow you try going through ?

Being sworn at isnt so corteous though-I always try to smile or laugh back. Seems to irritate offenders way more than swearing back..

 

If you are going up it tends to hold the offside gate shut

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8 minutes ago, Keeping Up said:

I have often been criticised by a vollie for using just one gate because it will damage the other. No it won't because I do NOT touch other one on my way in/out, and I will continue to do it the same way. However, many boaters do need both gates so unless I have had the chance to ask the oncoming boater his preference then if sharing the lock I too would leave both gates open for them.

 

Go through one gate on the River Wey and you will be lined up and given a good talking too by the ranger. One of them would of been watching you for a while, but you will never know he or she would be there!!

It's what they are passionate about!

 

Nipper

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Its clacutt thats the problem . The locks there were closed in 1827and all boats are ghost boats. The crew you met have been haunting those locks since then in a state of purgatory forced to go through time and time again.

its no wonder they cursed you you ruined their routine of thirty summers and winters

next time go left and up calcutt. 

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1 hour ago, Dr Bob said:

then told Mrs Bob she was an f'ing sod and a lazy b*****d

 

I'd call MrsBob a lot of things, but not from that end of the spectrum ...

 

Hell, she must be almost a saint for putting up with you! :D

 

1 minute ago, roland elsdon said:

The crew you met have been haunting those locks since then in a state of purgatory forced to go through time and time again.

Oh, IWA members.  Why didn't you say! ;)

 

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1 hour ago, Dr Bob said:

Those big gates do open a bit when you drive a single boat in, but never far enough to need someone to cross the gates to close them.

We didnt swear back.

Depends on the direction you're going. Going up, either entering or leaving the lock tends for close the gate. Going down entering or leaving will tend to open it. As you were going up, there wouldn't have been a problem.

 

On the more general question, I wouldn't expect to have this gate closed for me (and quite a lot of gates tend to open by themselves, anyway, when there's no pressure on them.) I would not have expected to be sworn at either.

 

 MP.

 

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39 minutes ago, nipper said:

 

Go through one gate on the River Wey and you will be lined up and given a good talking too by the ranger. One of them would of been watching you for a while, but you will never know he or she would be there!!

It's what they are passionate about!

 

Nipper

Do you mean the Basingstoke?

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A bit strange being sworn at, but it could be they were having a bad day and you just touched a nerve.

 

As for the etiquette I wouldn't expect a crew leaving the lock to shut the gate even if I asked them as most would take the view it condones bad practice.  However, I've always taken the view that single gate entry going up is ok the gates offer little resistance and were designed to be pushed open.  The "keyhole" you often see on double gates is caused by boats exiting through one gate which is obviously held rigid and offers resistance.  

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11 minutes ago, mark99 said:

Do you mean the Basingstoke?

No i mean The river Wey, the Basingstoke is summit entirely different!

Dare you leave a lock gate open, you in for the same treatment as if you was on the Wey, leave one closed on that river you get it as well.

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8 minutes ago, nipper said:

No i mean The river Wey, the Basingstoke is summit entirely different!

Dare you leave a lock gate open, you in for the same treatment as if you was on the Wey, leave one closed on that river you get it as well.

 

Really? When i did the Wey down to Godalming the deal was alway open both gates, and leave them open on exit. 

 

 

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Just now, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Really? When i did the Wey down to Godalming the deal was alway open both gates, and leave them open on exit. 

 

 

Mike, that was answering leaving one gate closed when using the lock, they really don't like you to do it!

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2 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

It's an interesting point you raise Dave but it is not the normal practice of opening both gates when a single boat goes into a wide lock. 90% + of the time, only one gate is used. I agree it can damage the gate when it invariably gets hit. It is interesting thought that having done Hatton 3 times this year and Stockton many times with CRT volokies in attendance and helping, NONE has ever told us to do anything different to opening one gate. It is the norm.

I would normally open one gate fully and then open the second gate just a little. If its perfect conditions....no wind and an easy direct approach to the lock I would consider going in through one gate on the way up. I have had a real bang going in through one gate on the Devizes flight going down, a friend who was helping opened just one gate, it was a bit windy but I have many years of boat handling so took the chance,, it was an easy approach, but a gusty wind, just touched the approach wall and deflected into the closed gate, full on reverse but still a huge bang, luckily no damage to the gate but a dent in the boat. Lesson learned.

 

Only this week was approaching a lift bridge on the South Oxford summit, all dead easy stuff, but the level was a fair bit down so must have touched something on the bottom and the boat veered off sideways, unexpected stuff happens.

 

............Dave

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I don’t know how others feel about this but when either myself or my partner are working a lock and there is another boat waiting to enter or if we are in the process of waiting. We always go to the lock and help or offer to help those already there. Appreciate some people don’t want help as they do things their own way. 

For me I would expect the boat crew waiting to enter the lock to approach those at it. I’ve often called down to an on coming crew how they want the lock left in readiness for them. 

Lets face it. You can pick up some good information in a brief exchange with people at a lock. 

 

As for abuse. Alas there seems to be an increase in boat rage these days. I won’t start the topic of cruising past moored boats. I can tell you some stories about that which will make you worry, including having objects thrown 

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33 minutes ago, dmr said:

I would normally open one gate fully and then open the second gate just a little. If its perfect conditions....no wind and an easy direct approach to the lock I would consider going in through one gate on the way up. I have had a real bang going in through one gate on the Devizes flight going down, a friend who was helping opened just one gate, it was a bit windy but I have many years of boat handling so took the chance,, it was an easy approach, but a gusty wind, just touched the approach wall and deflected into the closed gate, full on reverse but still a huge bang, luckily no damage to the gate but a dent in the boat. Lesson learned.

 

Only this week was approaching a lift bridge on the South Oxford summit, all dead easy stuff, but the level was a fair bit down so must have touched something on the bottom and the boat veered off sideways, unexpected stuff happens.

 

............Dave

Thanks for not mentioning my name. I still remember. 

 

I noticed when doing the Bingley five rise the lockies will partly open one gate and then cross and fully open the other, to discourage a single boat from exiting or entering through just the one gate. 

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