Watford and Foxton Staircases

[Rob-M]

When we came down Watford recently one of the volunteers said to me they don't like having boats waiting between the single locks and the staircase because the levels change quite a bit and boats get stuck so they prefer to have boats going through the staircase and out the top lock turning the top lock each time before letting a boat down.

 

At Foxton I couldn't understand why with one boat coming down the top staircase they let one boat go up to the middle and wait and told me to wait at the bottom until the descending boat came out the bottom staircase, it would have made more sense to me to have the one boat descending wait in the middle and the two of us at the bottom go up and pass them.

[Ronaldo47]

Recalling my experience in 1977, perhaps the water level in the passing pound was low and they thought it needed the lock-full of water brought down by the descending boat to provide enough water for you to ascend the bottom staircase?  Or they could just have not understood sideponds, or just have been in a stroppy mood. 

[GUMPY]

2 hours ago, Rob-M said:

At Foxton I couldn't understand why with one boat coming down the top staircase they let one boat go up to the middle and wait and told me to wait at the bottom until the descending boat came out the bottom staircase, 

From memory you always used to pass in the middle, obviously they don't know how it works😱

[Dorlan]

38 minutes ago, Loddon said:

From memory you always used to pass in the middle, obviously they don't know how it works😱

One boat going up, one going down, we passed in the middle.

[cuthound]

19 hours ago, Loddon said:

Foxton has never been the same since Mick and Crystal left🤭

 

 

I can still hear Crystal saying "Red before white - you'll be alright; White before red - you'll wish you were dead" 🤣🤣

[PaulJ]

54 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

I can still hear Crystal saying "Red before white - you'll be alright; White before red - you'll wish you were dead" 🤣🤣

I got told off once  by a volly (cant remember whether it was at Foxton or Watford) for telling that to a Hire boater who had never done a staircase before and was asking about it.

Told me I shouldnt repeat it cos it scared people 😀

[cuthound]

Just now, PaulJ said:

I got told off once  by a volly (cant remember whether it was at Foxton or Watford) for telling that to a Hire boater who had never done a staircase before and was asking about it.

Told me I shouldnt repeat it cos it scared people 😀

 

Sounds like he had incurred the wrath of Crystal... 🤣😂

[George and Dragon]

Came down Foxton yesterday. Big queues in both directions - first boat in was at 09:15 (the official opening hours are 10:00 to 16:00) and although we'd booked in at 09:20 it was 13:40 before we got to the bottom. I don't know what time the last boat went up, when we left at about 15:20 after lunch in the pub there were boats still waiting to go up that had been there when we got down. A boat was approaching saying they thought they'd missed the last entry but when we got back from Saddington they were nowhere to be seen so I guess they got through.

[IanD]

On 16/08/2022 at 18:39, PaulJ said:

I got told off once  by a volly (cant remember whether it was at Foxton or Watford) for telling that to a Hire boater who had never done a staircase before and was asking about it.

Told me I shouldnt repeat it cos it scared people 😀

I got told it by one of the vollys when we went down Foxton, it's just a useful mnemonic...

[George and Dragon]

9 hours ago, IanD said:

I got told it by one of the vollys when we went down Foxton, it's just a useful mnemonic...

Clearly so. And when the system is full then it's going to matter much more than it does at the moment when pounds are several inches (for Athy) down. One boater I saw clearly understood exactly how the staircase works and had opened the white paddle to empty a lock before the preceding boat had cleared the one below.

 

I couldn't understand the point of doing so since he was still going to wait behind the boat in front...