More volockie hassle

[enigmatic]

12 hours ago, Jerra said:

In view of the things covered in this thread, I have just been reading "The Volunteers Handbook".

 

I was a bit concerned by the following under the heading Volunteer Lock Keepers:

 

They are there to offer advice on how to use locks safely and efficiently as well as some often much appreciated legwork in pushing lock gates. 

 

My bold.

 

I was concerned because many of the vollies I have come across weren't boaters and had little experience being fairly new in the role.

 

tbf, most of the vollies have spent a lot more time near locks than a lot of the hire boaters that pass through

 

only advice I've ever had from them is "look out for the crosswind/bywash" when lining this one up, which is fine, sometimes even useful

 

I imagine if I made a habit of leaving windlasses on spindles or leaving my boat at the back of the lock near the cill, it'd be useful for someone to step in and suggest not doing that

Edited June 9, 2023 by enigmatic

[LadyG]

Is this the Alice in Wonderland thread?

[matty40s]

2 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Is this the Alice in Wonderland thread?

Only since you arrived...😁

[LadyG]

It's not worth starting a new thread, but talking about bollards, I was mooring up next to another boat, and he asked if I was going to use pins. I said no, I would share their bollard. Apparently my boat would be better tied on the Centreline, they tied me down like a trussed chicken . I later tied up with my stern line to their bollard. I think they were miffed cos their pal wanted the mooring and he had to breast up. All very odd.

Edited June 9, 2023 by LadyG

[matty40s]

We came up Stoke Bruerne on the last bank holiday monday fairly early(to catch the boats coming down). We arrived at lock 18 (3 locks up, having watered and dropped rubbish. A pair of volockies were in charge as one of the lower paddles has been  broken for 12 months. Kathy went up and the joke (sorry, bloke) said we would have to wait until another boat arrived to save water. There were 2 boats in the lock above coming down, so Kathy said, no, we will swap with those two. The bloke said no need to shout, and Kathy said, I'm not shouting, I'm half deaf, and we are continuing.....bloke goes red and walks away.

I did ask the other volocky if the paddle on the top lock bottom gate that had fallen out on the Saturday as we arrived had been repaired, "No, theres nobody fixing things until Tuesday because of Crick Show".

[ditchcrawler]

34 minutes ago, LadyG said:

It's not worth starting a new thread, but talking about bollards, I was mooring up next to another boat, and he asked if I was going to use pins. I said no, I would share their bollard. Apparently my boat would be better tied on the Centreline, they tied me down like a trussed chicken . I later tied up with my stern line to their bollard. I think they were miffed cos their pal wanted the mooring and he had to breast up. All very odd.

You let someone tie your boat using your centre line 

[Big Bob W]

16 minutes ago, matty40s said:

We came up Stoke Bruerne on the last bank holiday monday fairly early(to catch the boats coming down). We arrived at lock 18 (3 locks up, having watered and dropped rubbish. A pair of volockies were in charge as one of the lower paddles has been  broken for 12 months. Kathy went up and the joke (sorry, bloke) said we would have to wait until another boat arrived to save water. There were 2 boats in the lock above coming down, so Kathy said, no, we will swap with those two. The bloke said no need to shout, and Kathy said, I'm not shouting, I'm half deaf, and we are continuing.....bloke goes red and walks away.

I did ask the other volocky if the paddle on the top lock bottom gate that had fallen out on the Saturday as we arrived had been repaired, "No, theres nobody fixing things until Tuesday because of Crick Show".

The paddle was still U/S when we came up there this week. 

Won't be long before there's a stoppage there when the other one gets busted.

 

Also the Vlockies on duty there Tuesday managed to flood the towpath below the A508 bridge. No idea what they were doing.

[matty40s]

24 minutes ago, Big Bob W said:

The paddle was still U/S when we came up there this week. 

Won't be long before there's a stoppage there when the other one gets busted.

 

Also the Vlockies on duty there Tuesday managed to flood the towpath below the A508 bridge. No idea what they were doing.

I do, holding boats back and letting more and more boats come down. 

We entered the top lock, a little boat joined us, and the two lockies wandered down to the bottom gates and the lady told me to carry on. 

I pointed out that the paddle had fallen out of the mechanism and winding the handle would achieve  nothing, she didnt understand and came over the bridge to wind it for me, the other chap also looked at it a bit gone out.

They then got on the phone to 00303..

So I secured the top of the winding mech to the lock gate and went to the other side and wound that one, someone told me not to, as it was dangerous, but, so long as the lock works, that's OK.

[LadyG]

9 hours ago, ditchcrawler said:

You let someone tie your boat using your centre line 

Yes, madness isn't it, they were being helpful, I do often tie up with centreline then use the bow and stern lines, leaving the centreline slack.

[MtB]

3 hours ago, LadyG said:

Yes, madness isn't it, they were being helpful,

 

No they weren't, they were interfering.

 

 

[pearley]

Wish we had more Vlockies over here on the Great Ouse.

[MtB]

9 minutes ago, pearley said:

Wish we had more Vlockies over here on the Great Ouse.

 

 

I really don't understand this attitude. Surely locking is an integral part of boating and if you don't like it, you're engaging in the wrong hobby.

 

Would you like someone to drive your boat around too, and maybe post the videos on youtube so you don't have to be involved in that either?

 

 

 

 

[pearley]

9 minutes ago, MtB said:

 

 

I really don't understand this attitude. Surely locking is an integral part of boating and if you don't like it, you're engaging in the wrong hobby.

 

Would you like someone to drive your boat around too, and maybe post the videos on youtube so you don't have to be involved in that either?

 

 

 

Many of the lock landings on the Great Ouse are not narrowboater friendly. I have severe osteoarthritis, my wife has hip problems but have no intention of not cruising. Neither of us are keen on climbing ladders. Even if the upper gates are open so you can go straight in, a number of locksides are higher than the gunnels to allow for changing river levels. Yesterday at Reach/Upware Lock it was a case of sitting on the landing and then using the fence to get upright.

 

So, on those few locks that have volunteers (3 and only on summer weekends when we tend to stay moored to avoid all the weekend GRPs) we are happy to make use of them.

 

 

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

Would you like someone to drive your boat around too,  

 

 

 

 

Now thats a strange thing, we often have barge holidays in mainland Europe and I happily sit on the deck and watch the world go by, but when the misses drives our boat within a few minutes I have to find something to do with my self,

[PaulJ]

4 hours ago, MtB said:

 

Would you like someone to drive your boat around too, and maybe post the videos on youtube so you don't have to be involved in that either?

 

 

 

 

Seems like a very good idea to me 😀

[enigmatic]

21 hours ago, MtB said:

I really don't understand this attitude. Surely locking is an integral part of boating and if you don't like it, you're engaging in the wrong hobby.

 

Would you like someone to drive your boat around too, and maybe post the videos on youtube so you don't have to be involved in that either?

 

No matter how much deep love people might have for the weird and wonderful Industrial Revolution tech and the never-ending "which paddles work" conundrum, it's difficult to get the same positive vibes from turning the world's most fiddly key and holding a button down for two minutes to shut the guillotine on the 1970s concrete box...     

 

 

 

[LadyG]

22 hours ago, MtB said:

 

 

I really don't understand this attitude. Surely locking is an integral part of boating and if you don't like it, you're engaging in the wrong hobby.

 

 

 

 

 

Yesterday I was waiting for a hire boat to go through, it took so long I eventually asked if there was a boat in the lock, as there had been lots of vollies at the previous lock doing painting and other things, anyway, I ended up near the the side, untied, the boat emerged between the lock gates, and the shore crew leaped from the side on to the roof, a feat of considerable athleticism.

I'm afraid these days I have to manoeuvre the boat to an access point.

I'm not doing it as a hobby boater, I'm a liveaboard and enjoy the cruising through green pastures.

Locks I encounter are often a pia, yesterday on the C&H I required a spike, a big windlass, a standard windlass, boat pole and handcuff key.  It can take me up to forty minutes to go through a lock, so my limit is generally three and my boating day is from one nice mooring to another. 

Edited June 11, 2023 by LadyG

[Arthur Marshall]

22 hours ago, MtB said:

 

 

I really don't understand this attitude. Surely locking is an integral part of boating and if you don't like it, you're engaging in the wrong hobby.

 

Would you like someone to drive your boat around too, and maybe post the videos on youtube so you don't have to be involved in that either?

On the rare occasion I have a crew, I enjoy nothing more than letting them drive while I relax , make the tea, read a book or look at the scenery with no responsibility.

And while locking is certainly an integral part of the job, if it was the bit I liked best I'd go and be a vlockie. As a singlehander, it's usually a necessary evil, like doing lift and swing bridges. Be dull without them, but at my age I'm very happy for someone else to do some work, especially halfway down the Cheshire locks or halfway up Audlem.

I don't "like" locking, any more than I "like" emptying the Elsan. It's just part of the whole.

 

[Alan de Enfield]

On 09/06/2023 at 18:12, Arthur Marshall said:

I'd be grateful if someone could forget to pick up one of those mooring pins with an eye for the rope, somewhere between Macclesfield and Llangollen...

 

That's a hell of a long mooring pin - reminds me of the advert in the local paper, "Wanted, table for lady with Queen Anne legs"

[doratheexplorer]

On 09/06/2023 at 18:33, Captain Pegg said:

So it’s the same as the W&B between Astwood bottom and Tardebigge top???

 

They have lock landings but by choice I don’t use them.

 

ETA - to be fair the locks must be further apart on average but that is my preferred method to single hand.

Same.  I've done Astwood Bottom to Tardebigge Top in a day a couple of times and I don't think I used any landing stages.  So maybe the HNC on the east side isn't so bad after all?  Especially if you stop overnight at one or two places.

[LadyG]

26 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

Same.  I've done Astwood Bottom to Tardebigge Top in a day a couple of times and I don't think I used any landing stages.  So maybe the HNC on the east side isn't so bad after all?  Especially if you stop overnight at one or two places.

I took the advice of the experienced CRT bod, keeping  that navigation open is his life's work, it's not for me

[Midnight]

35 minutes ago, doratheexplorer said:

Same.  I've done Astwood Bottom to Tardebigge Top in a day a couple of times and I don't think I used any landing stages.  So maybe the HNC on the east side isn't so bad after all?  Especially if you stop overnight at one or two places.

 

A hard slog single-handed but it's worth it!

[Captain Pegg]

Well I made it through 131 consecutive locks without assistance from a volockie and then on the 132nd - Bosley bottom lock - I encountered an excellent one.

 

Asked if I wanted assistance and when I said he was welcome to assist he worked with me up to lock 3 where he needed to drop back down to the bottom (on his bike) to chain lock 2 shut. Reappeared at lock 1 again and then later as I was pulling up to the landing for Royal Oak swing bridge he appeared down the towpath saying “Good timing, I can work it for you”. So an actual volswingie. Presumably on his way home.

 

As there was only him it meant I still had plenty to do so I didn’t have my enjoyment spoiled. He waited for confirmation that I was ready for paddles but quickly leant that once I’d got the boat set - I stayed on at the bottom two where other boaters helped - and my line around the middle bollard I was good for them to be deployed without undue fuss. I wound one paddle myself anyway. 

 

Half way up I asked if he was the only volockie on duty and he replied that there were three but the others rarely left the top lock. I only saw one other but at least he was friendly.

 

And that kind of sums the scheme up. For every really useful volockie there’s one that realistically serves no purpose.

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

130 + locks where you started counting from?

did you do factory locks half a dozen times before you left Tipton?

Glad it’s going well

maybe you met the same lockie who helped me down the Bosley flight a few years ago. He simply set the locks for me and walked ahead. And I worked the lock. Perfect. 

 
 

 

[Captain Pegg]

8 hours ago, Goliath said:

130 + locks where you started counting from?

did you do factory locks half a dozen times before you left Tipton?

Glad it’s going well

maybe you met the same lockie who helped me down the Bosley flight a few years ago. He simply set the locks for me and walked ahead. And I worked the lock. Perfect. 

 
 

 

Atherstone no. 6 was the first. Only did Factory and a few others twice while on the BCN.