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Selfish boater


Clanky

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8 hours ago, Alan de Enfield said:

There are already 3 levels of maintenance defined for the differing categories of waterways - these are actually defined by Law.

 

An example of the statutory dimensions for some of 'cruising waterways' is shown below.

Screenshot (247).png

Screenshot (248).png

I am well aware of the classifications as I suspect most posters are. I think they emphasise the point as the majority of pure canals on the system - as opposed to canalised rivers - where water preservation matters most are I suspect in categories B and C.

 

Also the quoted dimensions are strictly speaking output requirements rather than maintenance requirements such as the inspection frequencies and intervention limits for processes like repairing and replacing components. I don’t know the full detail but I suspect Fraenkel didn’t go to that length.
 

Requiring boaters to close gates to help extend the functional service life of lock gates and/or ease the demand on water supply in response to the changing nature of the use of the waterways sounds pretty sensible to me.

 

JP

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12 hours ago, Tacet said:

Closing all gates wasn't a general rule on the southern waterways in the early 1970s although dropping the paddles was.  I recall my father saying that the practice differed around a particular point/line.  But I can't remember where it was - and if I could, it would only to lead to arguments.  It would make some sense as the southern GU, Thames, Lee, Medway, Kennet and Wey are rarely short of water.  The southern Oxford might be an exception.

My memories are of a completely different area - midland canals starting from Shackerstone 1970 and 71, Leeds and Liverpool/C&H 72/73 living next to the Trent and Mersey at Middlewich in those years.  For me it has never been commonplace to leave lock gates open, and the C&H still had coal traffic then - the only exception I recall were the locks on the Brecon and Abergavenny, where the instruction was to leave locks empty with bottom gates open - and the guillotine locks on the Nene which I think we did in 1971

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On 25/06/2020 at 10:10, Alan de Enfield said:

Over my working life I attended many 'training' courses, the one thing that has really stuck in my mind is :

 

"Don't worry about what you cannot change, concentrate on things that you can influence"

 

From Dale Carnegie's 'Golden Book'

 

 

They, the management consultants, now call it a "gravity issue".

 

You cannot alter gravity so "move on", don't try, don't worry.

Edited by mark99
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19 hours ago, Tacet said:

Closing all gates wasn't a general rule on the southern waterways in the early 1970s although dropping the paddles was.  I recall my father saying that the practice differed around a particular point/line.  But I can't remember where it was - and if I could, it would only to lead to arguments.  It would make some sense as the southern GU, Thames, Lee, Medway, Kennet and Wey are rarely short of water.  The southern Oxford might be an exception.

Most rivers were and remain different but only if you think the rule applies to navigations rather than canals (and remember the difference-otherwise Nigel M will be back to issue a correction!)

 

FWIW - we started in 1967 and we were taught at the outset, and ever after, that all gates and paddles should be left shut unless there is a notice to the contrary. Actually I don't even recall that caveat at first and that it came later, especially after lock cottages were sold into private ownership along with their damp footings.

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2 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

 

 

FWIW - we started in 1967 and we were taught at the outset, and ever after, that all gates and paddles should be left shut unless there is a notice to the contrary. Actually I don't even recall that caveat at first and that it came later, especially after lock cottages were sold into private ownership along with their damp footings.

I have even had to wait while the boat exiting the lock closed the gates just so I could open them again because he had been told to close all gates and that was what he was doing.

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53 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

I have even had to wait while the boat exiting the lock closed the gates just so I could open them again because he had been told to close all gates and that was what he was doing.

Yes, me too. I've also been scolded by a CRT employee (no, not a Vollie) for not shutting the gates behind me, even though there was a boat waiting to go in. He said to me that it was my responsibility to shut them, and the waiting boat's responsibility to open them again.

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I always close all paddles and gates when leaving a lock, except when I see a boat coming towards me when I do the polite thing and close the paddles but leave the gates open for them. However it does seem that there are an inexplicable amount of times when I've left the gate open for the approaching boat only to look over my shoulder and see them mooring up short of the lock. 

If I had planned to moor up short of a lock but the gates had been left for me I would then walk up and close the gates, I have no idea if other boaters would do this, ( I suppose some would and some wouldn't ) but I feel as though it makes me look like a selfish boater when I have tried to be considerate.

  • Greenie 2
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4 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

I have even had to wait while the boat exiting the lock closed the gates just so I could open them again because he had been told to close all gates and that was what he was doing.

Lift bridges are tricky too. Leave them open and hope the boat behind knows to close them?

The 1st swing bridge on the Macc now has a key, so you have to close it in the face of a following boat to get your key back.

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13 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Lift bridges are tricky too. Leave them open and hope the boat behind knows to close them?

The 1st swing bridge on the Macc now has a key, so you have to close it in the face of a following boat to get your key back.

Oh I hate it when they are like that. For a while we practised a Key-swap arrangement with other boats that we met, until somebody swapped us a key that didn't work so we don't do that any more.

  • Horror 1
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On 27/06/2020 at 22:30, Arthur Marshall said:

Lift bridges are tricky too. Leave them open and hope the boat behind knows to close them?

The 1st swing bridge on the Macc now has a key, so you have to close it in the face of a following boat to get your key back.

I have waited until the following boat has passed, but it does mean a bit of a jog to catch up the boat again. And it gets a bit awkward if, as the following boat passes through the bridge, another comes into sight!

  • Greenie 1
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30 minutes ago, David Mack said:

I have waited until the following boat has passed, but it does mean a bit of a jog to catch up the boat again. And it gets a bit awkward if, as the following boat passes through the bridge, another comes into sight!

I'm usually on my own, so that's a bit impractical! I do as above if my crew's with me, though she usually just ties up and waits for me. There's often another bridge not far away so you leapfrog each other.

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