Another sinking in Bath

[Supermalc]

There is something everyone should be aware of........lack of experience.

 

Now I've been boating on many different types of boats even in the few short years I've been boating, but until I took the NB up the Oxford I had only ever been in a narrow lock with Fuzzyduck, the 22 Dawncraft at Foxton.

 

I WAS CAUGHT OUT. Now without being arrogent, or such, I do have some idea of driving most things, and how machines and simple science operate.

 

But a combination of factors led to a small incident. The owner had got the hang of opeing paddles and gates. He had also got used to my coping with the to and fro of the boat in the lock. But when the swirl of water was faster than I had experienced before, and I put it in reverse and it didn't stop, I then put it in forward, because I was unfamiliar with the boat until a few hours before, and the gear lever was 'back to front' as far as my brain was concered. So I put the boat in forward. Which it did........go forward that is, and hit the front gate with the fender quite hard. No damage to anything, or anyone..........however different circumstances and it could well have been a different story. THIS COULD WELL BE YOU.

 

The answer of course is to make the paddles much much smaller, so each lock takes ages to fill, or empty (as Stamp End does) After all, boating is all about slowing down..........isn't it???

[Radiomariner]

Off topic I know:..

On the north South Divide. It is a barrier in the minds of people who go "Up" to London and those that go "Down" to London. As a Scot I have always gone "down" to London but was amazed when when a neighbour once said, to quote

"Im going down South up to London" !

[Sir Nibble]

Cills are not that well marked on the locks in Bath, the paint is badly faded: that said they don't protude much either, the boats that have been caught muct have been very close to the top gates.

 

Alvechurch (probably rightly) were critisised with the first sinking, but Anglo Welsh claim to have already seen these guys through the first three locks, they then went and sank in the next one!

 

As I said in an earlier post, DD was on the scene at the time and spoke to the guy from the hire base who handed the boat over. Whatever he says now, apparently what he said then was that they said they were experienced, and he took their word for it.

[StoneHenge]

The guy letting the boat our had to take their word for it. Short of lie detectors tests before being allowed to hire a boat out, we have to assume some form of trust.

 

I bet the hirers won't be so blase next time.

[colin1325]

why dosnt someone spend some money and majke the lockds a bit longer we are no longer in the indutrial revolution era they have done for a long time now . lets improve them and poen the locks to longer craft and get sensible . its a good idea to keep improving canals ie re opening unused canals but how about spending some money to bring things up to date

[magpie patrick]

why dosnt someone spend some money and majke the lockds a bit longer we are no longer in the indutrial revolution era they have done for a long time now . lets improve them and poen the locks to longer craft and get sensible . its a good idea to keep improving canals ie re opening unused canals but how about spending some money to bring things up to date

 

The boats in question were 61 feet long and 58 feet long. i.e. 9-12 feet shorter than even these "short" locks. Given the bottom gates are closed and the length of lock is measured when they are open, these boats were some 12-15 fett from the bottom gates when they caught. That's a lot of room to play with and I can't see that adding an extra 3-5 feet will make much difference except encouraging longer boats. The cills at Bath are also only about a foot long, catching on them and sticking is quite an achievement.

 

On top of that, lengthening locks would only result in longer boats, any lock with a bridge across the tail would have to be lengthened at the top (messy and expensive) and these are 200 year old heritage features. Bath locks are also in a woorld heritage site and any change at all requires huge wads of paperwork.

 

I agree that we should seek to remove bottlenecks, widen and lengthen certain waterways that restrict the movement of bigger craft (Foxton Inclined plane for wide boats for example) but I don't think this is the way forward everywhere

[Sir Nibble]

The boats in question were 61 feet long and 58 feet long. i.e. 9-12 feet shorter than even these "short" locks. Given the bottom gates are closed and the length of lock is measured when they are open, these boats were some 12-15 fett from the bottom gates when they caught. That's a lot of room to play with and I can't see that adding an extra 3-5 feet will make much difference except encouraging longer boats. The cills at Bath are also only about a foot long, catching on them and sticking is quite an achievement.

 

On top of that, lengthening locks would only result in longer boats, any lock with a bridge across the tail would have to be lengthened at the top (messy and expensive) and these are 200 year old heritage features. Bath locks are also in a woorld heritage site and any change at all requires huge wads of paperwork.

 

I agree that we should seek to remove bottlenecks, widen and lengthen certain waterways that restrict the movement of bigger craft (Foxton Inclined plane for wide boats for example) but I don't think this is the way forward everywhere

Mines only a 50 but I was under the impression that the K&A is widebeam 72' all the way.

[Supermalc]

If people held their boats on ropes properly while in locks these sinking where a boat moves back or forward, and gets stuck on the cill, or inbetween the gates would almost never happen. That is if they are widebeam locks of course.

 

In the big locks on the Trent, the lock keepers usually won't start filling or emptying UNTIL your boat is securely held with 2 ropes. It is irrelavent what type of boat it is.

 

That said, I have heard of NBs sinking in these locks. Years ago a friend was at Cromwell on a Sunday afternoon when a NB rolled over and sank. Absolutely no idea what caused it ..... but.

[magpie patrick]

Mines only a 50 but I was under the impression that the K&A is widebeam 72' all the way.

 

Afraid it's widebeam 70 or narrow beam 72. It wasn't designed for narrow boats although plenty used it. The Somerset Coal Canal, which came off it, had to get their "narrow" gauge approved by the K and A, and it's slightly short. The SCC also originally accomodated wide beams as far as Midford (before the big lock flight at Combe Hay) but later narrowed their stop lock to seven feet. The locks are thus a teeny bit short but only an experienced boater in a 65 foot plus boat would probably notice

[Janet S]

the bloke just took their word for it that these people knew what they were doing and set them loose

 

If that's as it happened, then it just beggars belief. We've hired from four different companies over the past few years, and despite them knowing about our experience (in one instance being a second time hirer with them), they still insist on going through the full handover procedure. It's a bit of an annoyance when we're itching to go off on one of our "missions", but reassuring in a way, and several times we've picked up a bit of interesting information or a new technique.

 

It's also surprising, when you only get the chance to do it once a year, how much you think you know, but don't....

 

Janet

[KenK]

If that's as it happened, then it just beggars belief. We've hired from four different companies over the past few years, and despite them knowing about our experience (in one instance being a second time hirer with them), they still insist on going through the full handover procedure. It's a bit of an annoyance when we're itching to go off on one of our "missions", but reassuring in a way, and several times we've picked up a bit of interesting information or a new technique.

 

It's also surprising, when you only get the chance to do it once a year, how much you think you know, but don't....

 

Janet

 

Some companies, generally the smaller ones are excellent, some appaling. We hired many times before buying our boat and there was always something new to learn, and still is. Most cills don't cause a problem they are often only a few inches above the waterline when the lock is empty, some even below the water, but Bath locks have very high cills in some cases, in the deep lock it must be 12-13 feet high. Showing or telling someone how to do it doesn't work, they have to do it themselves often several times before they are happy.

 

I don't expect it would ever happen but a DVD sent with the booking aceptance, showing the right way to do things, coupled with photographs of what could go wrong would certainly focus most peoples attention and possibly prevent an accident.

 

Ken

[Yoda]

I don't expect it would ever happen but a DVD sent with the booking aceptance, showing the right way to do things, coupled with photographs of what could go wrong would certainly focus most peoples attention and possibly prevent an accident.

 

Ken

 

Spot on, the education will allow people to enjoy their leisure more.

 

Edit for spelling.

Edited November 2, 2007 by Yoda

[John Orentas]

Spot on, the education will allow people to enjoy their leisure more.

 

Edit for spelling.

 

 

There was an official BW video at one time, I think I still have one somewhere.

[Keeping Up]

Not far north of here is a base belonging to the same hire company whose advice to hirers, even novices, is "When you reach your first lock, just wait for someone else to come along and they'll show you what to do"

 

It's a wonder they ever get their boats back in one piece!

[Trelawney]

Back onto the North / South divide.

 

Growing up in Cornwall, I always thought that Birmingham was "up North". Then I went to College in Newcastle and realised that places like Macclesfield were a long way south and Birmingham was almost on the South Coast :-)

 

 

As for London. Cornish peopl always go "Up to London", as do people from Wales even though from Wales its directly East and not North or South.

[Big John]

Cornish people always go "Up to London"

From one Cornishman to another....

Reminds me of the labyrinth of small narrow cobbled streets in St.Ives known as "Downalong".

 

Proper 'ansome.