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Using the ladder in a lock

blackrose

By blackrose
in Boat Handling

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David Schweizer Veteran II

David Schweizer

Posted
Posted (edited)
I have been through that lock up and down several times. There are steps down the side of the bridge. It is possible to step off going up having set the gate open. And going down you can hold the boat on the rope while you close the gate. No need to use the ladder if you choose not to.
There are no steps at Bradford lock. You couldn't get any in on one side because the space between the bottom of the lock and the bridge is occuopied by the Back Pump intake, and with the gates open there is no space betwen the ends of the balance beams and the bridge.I worked the trip boat from the Wharf Shed alongside Bradford lock for several years and have been through that lock hundreds of times, If there were steps, I would have noticed them.
Whilst on the subject of locks anyone know who's hidden the Leeds / Liverpool like ground paddles operated with a wooden spike at Newbury lock on the K&A as mentioned in the months Canal Boat, I've only been able to find gate paddles at both ends. Do the people who write these cruising guides actually cruise the waterway in question, that one was a load of waffle? Still Bones did give Snibble a mention, a nice one.KenThey were there last time I looked, admittedly that was a little while ago. :(
From recollection the spike operated paddles are locate at the side on the lock as an historic exhibition, they are not part of the lock operation. Edited by David Schweizer
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Hobbler Collaborator

Hobbler

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If you dont like using ladders you could always fit one of those remote control systems for narrowboats then all you have to do is walk up and down the towpath.

Not my cup of tea I will admit but Mick who produces the Lockmate version has his boat next to ours at the moment and he was demonstrating it for the press the other day and it seems to work well.

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Adam Community Regular

Adam

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If you dont like using ladders you could always fit one of those remote control systems for narrowboats then all you have to do is walk up and down the towpath.

Not my cup of tea I will admit but Mick who produces the Lockmate version has his boat next to ours at the moment and he was demonstrating it for the press the other day and it seems to work well.

 

I heard it just operates the throttle or does it operate steering aswell?

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Maffi Rising Star

Maffi

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They were there last time I looked, admittedly that was a little while ago. :(

 

Well I was there August and September this year and I never needed to use my Hebble Hand Spike once.

 

There are no steps at Bradford lock. You couldn't get any in on one side because the space between the bottom of the lock and the bridge is occuopied by the Back Pump intake, and with the gates open there is no space betwen the ends of the balance beams and the bridge.I worked the trip boat from the Wharf Shed alongside Bradford lock for several years and have been through that lock hundreds of times, If there were steps, I would have noticed them.

Sorry David I posted while you were posting I was actually refering to Buckby top lock. Having been through B-on-A lock at least a half dozen times this year I have to agree

Edited by Maffi
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magpie patrick Veteran II

magpie patrickDonate to Canal World

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Well I was there August and September this year and I never needed to use my Hebble Hand Spike once.

 

They are not that type, they are the wooden handle on a pivot type that I think may be called Jack Cloughs on the L&L. I've never seen anyone use them though so they may not actually be functional.

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KenK Rising Star

KenK

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They are not that type, they are the wooden handle on a pivot type that I think may be called Jack Cloughs on the L&L. I've never seen anyone use them though so they may not actually be functional.

 

I know I'm getting old etc. but I've been through that lock dozens of times, we moor at Newbury and I've never seen these things. I'm going to the boat to-morrow so I'll go and look.

 

Ken

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Hairy-Neil Veteran

Hairy-Neil

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They are not that type, they are the wooden handle on a pivot type that I think may be called Jack Cloughs on the L&L. I've never seen anyone use them though so they may not actually be functional.

 

They certainly worked for me the last time I passed through Newbury, but that was in 1997..... :)

 

They are not on the lockside if if I recall correctly, more in the vicinity of the business end of the balance beam, near to the towpath wall, so the unobservant could be forgiven for missing them..... :wub:

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Gnome K Gnome Engager

Gnome K Gnome

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Well I was there August and September this year and I never needed to use my Hebble Hand Spike once.

 

 

I know I'm getting old etc. but I've been through that lock dozens of times, we moor at Newbury and I've never seen these things. I'm going to the boat to-morrow so I'll go and look.

 

Ken

 

I don't know about lock ladders......but there's going to be some climbing down if these are found to be extant.... :wub:

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WJM Veteran

WJM

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Since we were talking about lifejackets earlier in this thread, I thought this might be of interest.

 

I was commuting home tonight on a Thames Clipper (big high-speed catamarans that scare the hell out of narrowboaters emerging from Limehouse). I was at the front of the que to disembark at Embankment when one of the crew fell overboard into the gap between the boat and the jetty. Fotunately all the crew on these boats wear auto-inflate lifejackets. It probably only took us 20 or 30 seconds to pull him out but there is no doubt in my mind that without a lifejacket, head first into that water, he would not have survived. I reckon he would have been either under the boat or under the jetty and generally impossible for us to see him in the dark. Bl**dy scary experience, thankfully a happy ending. Though it was awesome to see an auto-inflate jacket doing its thing for real.

 

 

Their un-inflated lifejackets are dark blue to match their uniforms. Afterwards, an observer asked me how he had managed to put on a lifejacket so quickly!

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WRGie James Gongoozler

WRGie James

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Hi all. This is my first post after joining tonight and joined as I found this topic very interesting.

 

I do alot of restoration work on derelict canals and have worked in various lock chambers. I find them all a scary place to be. Walking along the bottom in waders is very difficult due to the silt. If the used locks have any silt in the bottom then falling in would probably mean that your feet will be buried into the silt and slow down the process of bobbing back up again. Also another factor to be taken into this original thread is was the lock being filled / emptied at the time of falling in? The water would easily suck a human body under water and even the strongest of swimmers would find it hard to swim back up again.

 

All very interesting.

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David Schweizer Veteran II

David Schweizer

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Hi all. This is my first post after joining tonight and joined as I found this topic very interesting.

 

I do alot of restoration work on derelict canals and have worked in various lock chambers. I find them all a scary place to be. Walking along the bottom in waders is very difficult due to the silt. If the used locks have any silt in the bottom then falling in would probably mean that your feet will be buried into the silt and slow down the process of bobbing back up again. Also another factor to be taken into this original thread is was the lock being filled / emptied at the time of falling in? The water would easily suck a human body under water and even the strongest of swimmers would find it hard to swim back up again.

 

All very interesting.

Please change that avatar, I thought that a bug had got inside my screen.

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mark99 Veteran II

mark99

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Posted (edited)

Malc,Your indisputable fact is incorrect. Waders do not drag you down!!!Fisherman are taught if they wade in chest waders and the rocks roll over making them fall in a cold, swollen river - you do nothing but lie on your back until you beach yourself. This is supported by video's and photo's.

 

 

 

Mark

On the subject of wellingtons etc. being the same weight under water.........well I agree. BUT it is much much harder to walk, and lifting them takes effort.In the floods I put lightweight waders and wellies on to walk back from my boat. I was VERY VERY careful not to fall, or step into the river. It was patently obvious to me that I would drown, swimmer or non-swimmer that I am.Sorry, this is not bullshit, or theory, or opinion, but PLAIN UNDISPUTABLE FACT.
Edited by mark99
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Supermalc Influencer

Supermalc

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Malc,Your indisputable fact is incorrect.

 

Yet another one pokes his head above the parrapet.

 

I was the one doing the walking in wellies and waders. So my FACT is CORRECT. Please DO NOT correct the indesputable.

 

If you fall over wearing waders and they are full of air, you MIGHT be washed to shallower water, enabling you to breath again. But if you are washed into a swollen river, YOU WILL DROWN. This happened to the person who tried to do this in the floods at Torksey this year.

 

So tell it to his relatives.

 

I AM CORRECT........ do I have to put it in larger letters. FFS.

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