Advice for going from river to canal (via flood lock)

[Guest]

I've done about 4 or 5 flood locks over the past couple of days and every time I've gone from the river to the canal, the current keeps catching me out and I'll smack my boat either into the flood lock gates or the surrounding wall.

 

Is there a strategy or a better angle of attack to get through the flood lock gates?

 

This is the one I went through yesterday, and found myself at a daft angle trying to get through the lock.

 

Basically the back end of the boat was being dragged toward the weir but the whole boat was at a jaunty angle and it felt like there was little I could do to compensate.

 

 

Of course, the river being high probably didn't help but I've had this in the past even when the river was at normal levels. I guess I'm asking for advice on how best to deal with currents.

 

Thanks all!

 

[peterboat]

It depends on the lock to be honest and its position, the one shown in the picture is easy keep away from the weir and drive straight into it, where are you at the moment?

[Scholar Gypsy]

I'm not entirely sure I have understood the problem. But my general approach in a cross current (eg on tidal waters, or with a strong crosswind, or I think in the case you describe) is as follows. For the sake of illustration assume the cross current is to the left, and that there is nothing coming the other way. [Sound your horn, and hope that the boat coming the other way knows you  have priority.]

 

1) Work out the course that you want the boat to take over the ground

2) Adjust the direction the boat is pointing, and engine speed, to achieve this result.

3) Don't worry too much where the boat is pointing. Focus on where it is going. You will be pointing to the right of where you want to go.

4) If the boat is drifting to the left of your intended course then steer more to the right, or increase power, or both.

5) If the boat is drifting to the right a bit then steer a bit less to the right, or reduce power, or both.

6) At the last minute you will need to straighten up to get the bows through the lock gates. You may need to increase power at the same time. Don't straighten up too early (or too late!).

7) It's best to go at a reasonable speed, but with some power in reserve. Being tentative doesn't usually end well.

 

If you need to stop (eg if someone is coming the other way and not stopping) then do a 180 turn (to the right in this case, ie into the current) and then hold position by pointing the boat directly into the current. If there is room to turn.

 

This video of going into West Stockwith might help. (the current is left to right here, so the opposite scenario to  what I have just written).  
 

 

[Alan de Enfield]

Excellent example.

[Guest]

 

Hopefully this might explain the problem a little better!

 

The first two arrows are the direction I'm travelling and then I'm finding when I get around the corner, while I'm going forward, the current is putting the boat at a not-straight angle towards the lock gates (let's assume they're open for the sake of argument). I'll have a look at the video above which may well be what I need to be doing! Now this isn't so much a problem if I've been going into a lock on my own but more so if there's another boat with me, as was the case this weekend and actually they were also having the same problem.

 

3 hours ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

I'm not entirely sure I have understood the problem. But my general approach in a cross current (eg on tidal waters, or with a strong crosswind, or I think in the case you describe) is as follows. For the sake of illustration assume the cross current is to the left, and that there is nothing coming the other way. [Sound your horn, and hope that the boat coming the other way knows you  have priority.]

 

1) Work out the course that you want the boat to take over the ground

2) Adjust the direction the boat is pointing, and engine speed, to achieve this result.

3) Don't worry too much where the boat is pointing. Focus on where it is going. You will be pointing to the right of where you want to go.

4) If the boat is drifting to the left of your intended course then steer more to the right, or increase power, or both.

5) If the boat is drifting to the right a bit then steer a bit less to the right, or reduce power, or both.

6) At the last minute you will need to straighten up to get the bows through the lock gates. You may need to increase power at the same time. Don't straighten up too early (or too late!).

7) It's best to go at a reasonable speed, but with some power in reserve. Being tentative doesn't usually end well.

 

If you need to stop (eg if someone is coming the other way and not stopping) then do a 180 turn (to the right in this case, ie into the current) and then hold position by pointing the boat directly into the current. If there is room to turn.

 

This video of going into West Stockwith might help. (the current is left to right here, so the opposite scenario to  what I have just written).  
 

 

 

That looks pretty much exactly what I'm trying to do!

 

Edited October 7, 2019 by NB Caelmiri

[matty40s]

There will be currents and eddys in the lock mouth in a whirlpool effect which will force your pointy end towards the bank, you will probably find a small flow upstream along the right hand lock approach wall.

Keeping speed on is quite important, and aiming the front end to the side nearest the weir should help. 

[pearley]

Is that Battyeford Flood Gates?

[Ronaldo47]

This reminds me of a trip up the Shropshire Union main line where the dead straight canal runs on the top of a largely tree-less embankment, and a strong wind from the Welsh marches was blowing across the canal. To proceed in a straight line it was necessary to keep the revs up so that the boat was proceeding in a straight line along the middle of the canal at an angle of about 20° to 30° to the direction of travel, with the bows near the offside and the stern near the towpath side. Ocasional adjustments had to be made,  to the tiller when passing the occasional clump of trees to avoid hitting the bank,  and the throttle when increased gusts threatened to blow the stern agsinst the towpath. A practical demonstration of vectors and the parallelogram of forces I recall learning about in Applied Maths at school. 

Edited September 2, 2020 by Ronaldo47
Typo

[PeterF]

On 07/10/2019 at 19:32, pearley said:

Is that Battyeford Flood Gates?

No, further downstream, Thornhill flood gates, downstream of Dewsbury where you go into Long Cut / Broad Cut.

 

Been through it many times and never a had problem. My usual method at that particular lock going downstream was to start further out in the river, mid channel rather than hugging the right hand bank as you are showing in your mark up. Then start going for the lock and you get an early sight line into the lock to see if it is clear and you do not need to be as tentative about checking. If it is clear then you can enter with some revs and good steerage. If someone is coming out, at worst you can do a U turn and come back again if the flow on the river is too much to hold station, normally with little fresh on the Calder you could hold station mid river. If you are too close to the bank as per your sketch then little option but to approach tentatively because you have no idea if someone is coming through the flood lock, so you go slow and loose steerage.

Edited September 2, 2020 by PeterF

[TheBiscuits]

4 minutes ago, PeterF said:

If you are too close to the bank as per your sketch then little option but to approach tentatively because you have no idea if someone is coming through the flood lock, so you go slow and loose steerage.

 

It's a shame nobody has ever come up with a list of sound signals that boats could use to communicate ...

[Alan de Enfield]

39 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

It's a shame nobody has ever come up with a list of sound signals that boats could use to communicate ...

 

I suppose that if there was such a system, it could actually be adapted to include lights for night time cruising.

It could avoid a lot of collisions.

[Guest]

Depends on the river/lock location and the flow at the time.

 

I managed once to smack the boat quite hard going into Castelford flood lock when the Aire was running a bit fast.

 

Ditto on the Trent going into Beeston, once.

 

Its just expereience.

Edited September 2, 2020 by The Happy Nomad