Narrow Locking Technique

[LadyG]

On 13/08/2020 at 11:55, doratheexplorer said:

FIFY. 

 

Boats are quite capable of getting stuck in a narrow lock (and even a wide lock) with or without fenders.  In some situations a soft fender will ride past a jutting brick on a lock wall when a hard rubbing strake will jam.  This happened to a friend's boat, with no fenders down.  The boat caught on the hull-side and tipped sideways, jamming the boat tight while descending.  Luckily it was jammed so tight that it remained suspended above the water and did not sink.  CRT had to dismantle the lock to get the boat out. 

 

The important thing is to keep an eye on the boat and be ready to drop paddles.

In an impending emergency do I lift the pawl and let it run, or do I let it down in a controlled manner?

tx

[haggis]

8 minutes ago, LadyG said:

In an impending emergency do I lift the pawl and let it run, or do I let it down in a controlled manner?

tx

It is considered very bad practice to let a paddle run down as it can damage internal parts, apparently. If you don't have time to wind a paddle down, best practice is to hold the bar and thus put a brake on the dropping paddle.  Best done wearing gloves !  This method is usually quicker than winding. If you do this, make sure the paddle is right down and that it hasn't stopped a notch or two up. 

 

haggis

[doratheexplorer]

31 minutes ago, LadyG said:

In an impending emergency do I lift the pawl and let it run, or do I let it down in a controlled manner?

tx

Depends how quickly you need to act.  If letting it drop will prevent a sinking, then let it drop.

[Rob-M]

I'm the same as Dora, if your boat is going to sink let it drop, be prepared though for it not doing and having to put a windlass on and wind it down.

[nicknorman]

4 hours ago, LadyG said:

In an impending emergency do I lift the pawl and let it run, or do I let it down in a controlled manner?

tx

Generally when there is a lot of water flow through a paddle, it wont drop on its own just by releasing the pawl, you have to wind it down sometimes quite forcibly. Paddles will only drop easily when there is no or very little flow, but then nothing is changing fast so it is unlikely to require urgent action.

 

It is a good idea to have a go at lowering a paddle shortly after you’ve opened it, so that you will know what to expect in an emergency. It may be harder to do than you think.

[IanD]

At least with traditional paddle gear you *can* drop the paddle quickly in an emergency, unlike spawn-of-the-devil hydraulic gear -- which I thought/hoped was extinct, but found a few survivors on the Leicester Ring last month... ?

[ditchcrawler]

8 hours ago, LadyG said:

In an impending emergency do I lift the pawl and let it run, or do I let it down in a controlled manner?

tx

The chances are that if the lock is three quarters of the way of equal you will have to wind the paddle down anyway. Lots don't move with the water differential pressure above that. Next time you are locking, draw a paddle, wait a couple of minutes and then close it again to see what I mean

 

What Nick said

Edited September 2, 2020 by ditchcrawler