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Volockies at Grindley Brook


AndrewIC

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1 hour ago, ditchcrawler said:

To put Volockies into context this just came up on Facebook 

image.png.8be6e3faf776610bbdec7b431b46826b.png

Very nice. What I don’t understand is why the chap bothers to cruise his boat if he prefers other people to do the locks for him. Maybe he is heading for the Ashby where he won’t have to do them any more?

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2 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

Very nice. What I don’t understand is why the chap bothers to cruise his boat if he prefers other people to do the locks for him. Maybe he is heading for the Ashby where he won’t have to do them any more?

Sorry Nick you just dont seem to get it. I like you am more than happy not to see one, but there are more boaters like the one I posted who do.

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4 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Sorry Nick you just dont seem to get it. I like you am more than happy not to see one, but there are more boaters like the one I posted who do.

I am not entirely sure that last bit is true, but it’s not relevant to my point, which was that I don’t understand why people would go boating on canals but want other people to work the locks for them. I am of course not denying that they exist - they most certainly do, and plenty of them - I’m merely saying the I don’t understand it.

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2 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

I am not entirely sure that last bit is true, but it’s not relevant to my point, which was that I don’t understand why people would go boating on canals but want other people to work the locks for them. I am of course not denying that they exist - they most certainly do, and plenty of them - I’m merely saying the I don’t understand it.

You and me both, but I am not allowed to do locks, If she is steering, I can sometimes jump off early and get to the lock first. The only time I really get into it is a flight when she works ahead.

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Maybe it's an age issue - not how old you are but how long

you've been cruising.

There were (virtually) no volunteers when we started  boating - either on our home waters or on the canals. Part of the fun / pleasure  was getting of the boat, working the locks and engaging with other boaters on all sorts of subjects and all sorts of disciplines. Boating was for seeing new places and chabce encounters.

Now its all about "getting there" and the devil taking the hindmost. I can do that by getting in the  car.....

 

That said - mebe boating is becoming / has become just that; a slower way of seeing different places, looking around perhaps, and continuing on.

 

Give  it a try.

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1 hour ago, OldGoat said:

 

 

That said - mebe boating is becoming / has become just that; a slower way of seeing different places, looking around perhaps, and continuing on.

 

Give  it a try.

That's what it's always been for me. I like doing locks and I like pottering along, but I can't say doing locks is a highlight of the trip, any more than bridges or tunnels. They're just part of the infrastructure. 

I presume these people who dislike vlockies so much never help anyone else through locks, because what's the difference? For me, chatting to people at the locks as I help them through or they work it for me is part of the pleasure.

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49 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

That's what it's always been for me. I like doing locks and I like pottering along, but I can't say doing locks is a highlight of the trip, any more than bridges or tunnels. They're just part of the infrastructure. 

I presume these people who dislike vlockies so much never help anyone else through locks, because what's the difference? For me, chatting to people at the locks as I help them through or they work it for me is part of the pleasure.

I can't speak for others, but if I am in a queue I will walk up to the lock and ask if they want/need help.  My problem with volunteers is they don't do that simple thing, they assume I want them to help.  If all volunteers asked me if I wanted their assistance I would have no grumble about volunteers whatever.

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47 minutes ago, Arthur Marshall said:

 

I presume these people who dislike vlockies so much never help anyone else through locks, because what's the difference? For me, chatting to people at the locks as I help them through or they work it for me is part of the pleasure.


I think your perception of reality is like your trombone slide. It stretches more than is reasonable!

The difference between us helping other boats through locks vs volockies is many fold:

 

1/ We ask if the boaters would like assistance and we adjust our behaviour according to their nature. When we fill locks for ourselves we just go “FULL PADDLES and don’t spare the horses” but of course for mr/mrs timid boater we go “Oh would you like 1 click or 2 on this one ground paddle? You can’t be too careful!” and all points in between.

 

2/ we avoid giving them the benefit of our vast knowledge (aka 2 day course if we were volockies) in the form of back seat driving tips.

 

3/  We do actually know what we are doing.

 

4/ We engage in pleasant chit chat, as opposed to taciturn grumping and grey-beard-mumbling without eye contact.

 

But yes you are right, apart from that there is very little difference.

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As has been pointed out many times, the lockies are suppose to ask if you want help. If they don't, tell CRT. Apart from that, they just mostly just seem to be people who are interested in canals, but who can't afford a boat, and are usually good for a  chat. Or at least the ones I've met have been, but maybe that's just me.

But anyway, there aren't many of them about, so none if this matters.

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17 hours ago, OldGoat said:

Maybe it's an age issue - not how old you are but how long

you've been cruising.

There were (virtually) no volunteers when we started  boating - either on our home waters or on the canals. Part of the fun / pleasure  was getting of the boat, working the locks and engaging with other boaters on all sorts of subjects and all sorts of disciplines. Boating was for seeing new places and chabce encounters.

Now its all about "getting there" and the devil taking the hindmost. I can do that by getting in the  car.....

 

That said - mebe boating is becoming / has become just that; a slower way of seeing different places, looking around perhaps, and continuing on.

 

Give  it a try.

 

Surely with the vast increase in liveaboards it is 'all about staying there for 14 days" rather than "getting there"... 🤣

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58 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

You seem to get a few on the stretch opposite you.

 

Yes, the numbers have increased year on year but none have overstayed.

 

Occasionally I get asked to keep an eye on one for the owner, which I am happy to do unless I want to go boating myself.

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16 hours ago, nicknorman said:


They don’t. We did, several times. They still don’t.

 

It obviously depends where you are. I just cycled down to Hanwell at lunchtime and met up with a mate who's been a volocky there for years, he said he can't speak for the volockies on the other days (or other flights) but his lot *always* ask, and if somebody doesn't want help they're fine with that. He did say he thought that some volockies do get a bit ahead of themselves, but one thing bound to spark conflict is boaters who treat volockies who've worked a flight of locks for years as ignorant -- and vice versa from volockies to boaters.

 

And before you come back and say "he would say that, wouldn't he?" -- I've known the guy for years, and he's got no reason to lie. My suspicion is that it's all about how people interact -- a cheery "Hi, we're fine doing this on our own, you might want to help the boat in front" will get a very different reaction from "Excuse me, I'd much rather you didn't do the lock for me, it's my boat, leave that paddle alone". If you have preconceived notions about people and are confrontational towards them instead of friendly, they tend to respond in kind -- see many posts on this forum... 😉

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59 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

It obviously depends where you are. I just cycled down to Hanwell at lunchtime and met up with a mate who's been a volocky there for years, he said he can't speak for the volockies on the other days (or other flights) but his lot *always* ask, and if somebody doesn't want help they're fine with that. He did say he thought that some volockies do get a bit ahead of themselves, but one thing bound to spark conflict is boaters who treat volockies who've worked a flight of locks for years as ignorant -- and vice versa from volockies to boaters.

 

And before you come back and say "he would say that, wouldn't he?" -- I've known the guy for years, and he's got no reason to lie. My suspicion is that it's all about how people interact -- a cheery "Hi, we're fine doing this on our own, you might want to help the boat in front" will get a very different reaction from "Excuse me, I'd much rather you didn't do the lock for me, it's my boat, leave that paddle alone". If you have preconceived notions about people and are confrontational towards them instead of friendly, they tend to respond in kind -- see many posts on this forum... 😉

 

But if they always ask, neither of those two scenarios would exist. It would be "would you like some help with the lock" and our answer would be "no thank you". But unfortunately that conversation never starts. Well not in our experience of the Midlands anyway. Can't say I've done Hanwell since they started.

 

Anyway it is not about being ignorant or not, it is simply that we like working locks and enjoy our little "system" for doing it efficiently, and when someone else interferes it is an irritation, when someone else who thinks they are in some position of authority closely monitors what you are doing with the hope of being able to intervene it is an irritation. Those irritations didn't exist until the advent of volockies. Not that we mind at all when that other person is another boater because there is never (or very rarely) an attempt to tell you how you should be doing it.  But in our experience if you accept help from a Volockie, all too often they can't resist trying to back seat drive and micro-manage you. Of course that is only some, by no means all. But until it happens you don't know if it is going to happen and that causes stress.

 

You presume that we would be rude to a volockie on first contact, but since you have no idea how we actually behave it is just your prejudice showing through. I can assure you we are always polite on first contact and slightly apologetic that we want to work the lock ourselves and deprive them of the pleasure. That is, if first contact happens before they start operating the lock, which sometimes isn't the case.

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14 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

 

But if they always ask, neither of those two scenarios would exist. It would be "would you like some help with the lock" and our answer would be "no thank you". But unfortunately that conversation never starts. Well not in our experience of the Midlands anyway. Can't say I've done Hanwell since they started.

 

Anyway it is not about being ignorant or not, it is simply that we like working locks and enjoy our little "system" for doing it efficiently, and when someone else interferes it is an irritation, when someone else who thinks they are in some position of authority closely monitors what you are doing with the hope of being able to intervene it is an irritation. Those irritations didn't exist until the advent of volockies. Not that we mind at all when that other person is another boater because there is never (or very rarely) an attempt to tell you how you should be doing it.  But in our experience if you accept help from a Volockie, all too often they can't resist trying to back seat drive and micro-manage you. Of course that is only some, by no means all. But until it happens you don't know if it is going to happen and that causes stress.

 

You presume that we would be rude to a volockie on first contact, but since you have no idea how we actually behave it is just your prejudice showing through. I can assure you we are always polite on first contact and slightly apologetic that we want to work the lock ourselves and deprive them of the pleasure. That is, if first contact happens before they start operating the lock, which sometimes isn't the case.

 

All I said was that in my experience interactions between people -- in all walks of life -- very much depend on the attitude they come in with. You definitely have an anti-volocky attitude, and funnily enough your experience of them is overwhelmingly negative. Others like me and Arthur have a more positive attitude, and our experience seems to be much more positive. This could be coincidence, or it could be that you've encountered all the bad volockys and we've encountered all the good ones, but this seems unlikely to say the least.

 

I didn't try and pretend that *all* volockies are angels behaving how they're supposed to (asking first, being happy to leave you alone), whereas you clearly seem to be assuming (or stating) exactly the opposite. If this stresses you out (but doesn't stress me out) then that kind of suggests that your attitude is the real problem and cause of your stress, not the volockies...

 

And I didn't assume that *you* are rude, only that *some* boaters undoubtedly are (and I've met them, oh yes...) -- but if the cap fits... 😉

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1 hour ago, IanD said:

 

It obviously depends where you are. I just cycled down to Hanwell at lunchtime and met up with a mate who's been a volocky there for years, he said he can't speak for the volockies on the other days (or other flights) but his lot *always* ask, and if somebody doesn't want help they're fine with that. He did say he thought that some volockies do get a bit ahead of themselves, but one thing bound to spark conflict is boaters who treat volockies who've worked a flight of locks for years as ignorant -- and vice versa from volockies to boaters.

 

And before you come back and say "he would say that, wouldn't he?" -- I've known the guy for years, and he's got no reason to lie. My suspicion is that it's all about how people interact -- a cheery "Hi, we're fine doing this on our own, you might want to help the boat in front" will get a very different reaction from "Excuse me, I'd much rather you didn't do the lock for me, it's my boat, leave that paddle alone". If you have preconceived notions about people and are confrontational towards them instead of friendly, they tend to respond in kind -- see many posts on this forum... 😉

I heard a single hander at Hurleston do just this yesterday - the volunteer was quite busy especially having had to cope with a potentially serious incident. I  was impressed by the way in which the boater said it and the way in which the volunteer responded.

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2 hours ago, IanD said:

 

All I said was that in my experience interactions between people -- in all walks of life -- very much depend on the attitude they come in with. You definitely have an anti-volocky attitude, and funnily enough your experience of them is overwhelmingly negative. Others like me and Arthur have a more positive attitude, and our experience seems to be much more positive. This could be coincidence, or it could be that you've encountered all the bad volockys and we've encountered all the good ones, but this seems unlikely to say the least.

 

I didn't try and pretend that *all* volockies are angels behaving how they're supposed to (asking first, being happy to leave you alone), whereas you clearly seem to be assuming (or stating) exactly the opposite. If this stresses you out (but doesn't stress me out) then that kind of suggests that your attitude is the real problem and cause of your stress, not the volockies...

 

And I didn't assume that *you* are rude, only that *some* boaters undoubtedly are (and I've met them, oh yes...) -- but if the cap fits... 😉


Another way of looking at it is that initially I didn’t have an anti-volockie attitude. That attitude has developed following several incidents where volockie presence has created problems, mostly when they tried to take control, shouted at Jeff when he had done nothing wrong (playing to the crowd of gongoozlers to make himself look important), shouted in my face when I turned a lock in a perfectly reasonable way, hit me with a windlass, physically blocked me from operating a paddle in the normal way, threatened to padlock the lock so we couldn’t proceed and many more minor things. So you are right, I do have an anti-volockie attitude but it is a learnt attitude, not an innate one.

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10 minutes ago, nicknorman said:


Another way of looking at it is that initially I didn’t have an anti-volockie attitude. That attitude has developed following several incidents where volockie presence has created problems, mostly when they tried to take control, shouted at Jeff when he had done nothing wrong (playing to the crowd of gongoozlers to make himself look important), shouted in my face when I turned a lock in a perfectly reasonable way, hit me with a windlass, physically blocked me from operating a paddle in the normal way, threatened to padlock the lock so we couldn’t proceed and many more minor things. So you are right, I do have an anti-volockie attitude but it is a learnt attitude, not an innate one.

Well that volockie (or volockies?) sounds like a complete a*sehole who shouldn't be doing the job. I've certainly never come across one who behaved like that -- did you report him/them to CRT?

 

How about all the others who weren't like this, do they get tarred with the same brush?

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2 hours ago, IanD said:

Well that volockie (or volockies?) sounds like a complete a*sehole who shouldn't be doing the job. I've certainly never come across one who behaved like that -- did you report him/them to CRT?

 

How about all the others who weren't like this, do they get tarred with the same brush?


sorry for not being clear but this was not one incident, this was several.

 

Hatton, Jeff got publicly shouted at (in front of a large group of gongoozlers) for opening a second bottom paddle when a boat was descending (we were waiting to go up). Apparently opening a second paddle is “very dangerous”. Or maybe that is only when going uphill! The volockie was fairly new and confused about going uphill vs downhill. Boater was quite happy with both bottom paddles, as one would be.

 

Wilmcote, boat coming up 2 locks away, turning the lock meant there would be no delay to the ascending boat and lots of water running through the bywashes, volockie shouting at me from the next lock, I ignored him, closed the bottom gates and only just got the top paddle open before he tried to reopen the bottom gate, then came up and shouted at me in my face. I told him he wasn’t in charge. He wasn’t wearing a name badge and refused to give his name. Needless to say we opened the bottom gates just as the ascending boat opened the top gates so no one was in any way delayed. Afterwards I attempted to take his photo to make a complaint but he wasn’t having it and lashed out with his windlass, fortunately only hitting me on the shoulder - it would have been my face if I was shorter.

 

Wigan, going up, entering some lock 1/2 way up in parallel with another boat as we’d done for all the previous lock, 5 yards to go volockie shouts STOP from above which caused the other guy to break off and general mayhem ensued. Just because the gate was a bit reluctant to close if it was fully opened, AND the idiot was standing between the balance beam and the edge. I expressed my displeasure and they sulked, then deliberately kept us waiting 20 mins in the top lock in the pouring rain (top gates were padlocked). Then abused me on their “Wigan Flight Crew” Facebook group and refused to allow me to join it to put my perspective.

 

Atherstone lock 2 (from the top) physically sat on the balance beam adjacent to the bottom gate paddle so I couldn’t operate it, micromanaging some invented water-saving strategy whereby only opening 1 paddle saved water.

 

Leeds and Liverpool manned staircase (not the 5, just 3) volockie objecting to me operating any of the paddles and spent about 10 mins micromanaging the water level in the middle lock before he would open the top to middle paddles. He had already made us wait 15 mins in case another boat turned up before he would even let us into the lock. He had his unqualified and untrained nephew helping. When I started to get a bit irritated by the delays he threatened to padlock the flight and not let us through. Fortunately at that point the proper lockie turned up and sanity was restored.

 

Then were was the guy who started shouting at Jeff as to how to drive the boat entering an intermediate Foxton lock when the lower gate swung open just as I opened the paddle above, he wanted Jeff to put the boat in neutral which would have resulted in the surge of water (unreflected by the now open gate) ramming the back of the boat into the remaining closed gate. When Jeff complained about the back seat driving the volockie went off in a big sulk.

 

Probably some more I can’t think of, certainly many instances of back seat driving and pointless unwelcome “advice” and many, many instances of the volockie just presuming he is going to operate the lock, and doing so without asking.

 

Oh and there was the volockie at Sawley standing at the console on which there is a very large sign saying “boats must be roped” or words to that effect, opening the top paddles before I could get the stern rope attached.

 

And just stupid little irritations like bottom of Hillmorton, boat exiting 1/2 way out of the lock as we approach, volockie finds it necessary to wave frantically at us to indicate we should approach the empty lock that was just being vacated. Stating the bleeding obvious, as I would call it. And another occasion where the volockie told Jeff to tell me that I shouldn’t hover mid channel between middle and bottom lock because I might get blown into the offside. Admittedly he didn’t know I was a helicopter pilot and therefore quite good at hovering.

 

Of course we have had plenty of lovely, chatty friendly volockies, but the point is you don’t know what you are going to get until it happens, which is why we’ve now decided always to say “we prefer to work the locks ourselves,” on first contact.

 

 

Edited by nicknorman
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17 minutes ago, nicknorman said:


sorry for not being clear but this was not one incident, this was several.

 

Hatton, Jeff got publicly shouted at (in front of a large group of gongoozlers) for opening a second bottom paddle when a boat was descending (we were waiting to go up). Apparently opening a second paddle is “very dangerous”. Or maybe that is only when going uphill! The volockie was fairly new and confused about going uphill vs downhill. Boater was quite happy with both bottom paddles, as one would be.

 

Wilmcote, boat coming up 2 locks away, turning the lock meant there would be no delay to the ascending boat and lots of water running through the bywashes, volockie shouting at me from the next lock, I ignored him, closed the bottom gates and only just got the top paddle open before he tried to reopen the bottom gate, then came up and shouted at me in my face. I told him he wasn’t in charge. He wasn’t wearing a name badge and refused to give his name. Needless to say we opened the bottom gates just as the ascending boat opened the top gates so no one was in any way delayed. Afterwards I attempted to take his photo to make a complaint but he wasn’t having it and lashed out with his windlass, fortunately only hitting me on the shoulder - it would have been my face if I was shorter.

 

Wigan, going up, entering some lock 1/2 way up in parallel with another boat as we’d done for all the previous lock, 5 yards to go volockie shouts STOP from above which caused the other guy to break off and general mayhem ensued. Just because the gate was a bit reluctant to close if it was fully opened, AND the idiot was standing between the balance beam and the edge. I expressed my displeasure and they sulked, then deliberately kept us waiting 20 mins in the top lock in the pouring rain (top gates were padlocked). Then abused me on their “Wigan Flight Crew” Facebook group and refused to allow me to join it to put my perspective.

 

Atherstone lock 2 (from the top) physically sat on the balance beam adjacent to the bottom gate paddle so I couldn’t operate it, micromanaging some invented water-saving strategy whereby only opening 1 paddle saved water.

 

Leeds and Liverpool manned staircase (not the 5, just 3) volockie objecting to me operating any of the paddles and spent about 10 mins micromanaging the water level in the middle lock before he would open the top to middle paddles. He had already made us wait 15 mins in case another boat turned up before he would even let us into the lock. He had his unqualified and untrained nephew helping. When I started to get a bit irritated by the delays he threatened to padlock the flight and not let us through. Fortunately at that point the proper lockie turned up and sanity was restored.

 

Then were was the guy who started shouting at Jeff as to how to drive the boat entering an intermediate Foxton lock when the lower gate swung open just as I opened the paddle above, he wanted Jeff to put the boat in neutral which would have resulted in the surge of water (unreflected by the now open gate) ramming the back of the boat into the remaining closed gate. When Jeff complained about the back seat driving the volockie went off in a big sulk.

 

Probably some more I can’t think of, certainly many instances of back seat driving and pointless unwelcome “advice” and many, many instances of the volockie just presuming he is going to operate the lock, and doing so without asking.

 

Oh and there was the volockie at Sawley standing at the console on which there is a very large sign saying “boats must be roped” or words to that effect, opening the top paddles before I could get the stern rope attached.

 

And just stupid little irritations like bottom of Hillmorton, boat exiting 1/2 way out of the lock as we approach, volockie finds it necessary to wave frantically at us to indicate we should approach the empty lock that was just being vacated. Stating the bleeding obvious, as I would call it. And another occasion where the volockie told Jeff to tell me that I shouldn’t hover mid channel between middle and bottom lock because I might get blown into the offside. Admittedly he didn’t know I was a helicopter pilot and therefore quite good at hovering.

 

Of course we have had plenty of lovely, chatty friendly volockies, but the point is you don’t know what you are going to get until it happens, which is why we’ve now decided always to say “we prefer to work the locks ourselves,” on first contact.

 

 

All I can say is -- wow, you've been pretty unlucky... 😞

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So the causes of my original exasperated post…

 

Week before last, Grindley Brook, going up. The volockies were quite definitely not there to assist, they were there to be In Charge, checked in with, and their instructions followed - the signs say so, so it must be true. Anyway, first rule of a leaky staircase is not to hang about, and the bottom gates at GB leak like a sieve, so on entering the bottom lock I gave SWMBO on the middle paddles the usual “straight up” hand signal. “Half a turn! Half a turn only!” shouted the volockie, and insisted the paddle was wound down almost all the way again. And so it went on, the paddles being opened a crack at a time, so that by the time the first set of intermediate gates opened, the level was more than a foot below the markers and I was seriously concerned that we would get caught on the cill. Repeat procedure middle-to-top chamber, thankfully with less leakage. And one of the volockies remarked at the top, that they had to be really careful, because boats were getting stuck on the bottom… 🤦‍♂️

 

Last week, GB going down. Arrived at the top just as the last-of-three was had cleared the top chamber, and the staircase was to be reversed for boats to come up. We would then be next first-of-three going down after that. Volockie had cracked open one top paddle half way to refill the top chamber, so I wandered up and opened the other one. Ordered to “wind that paddle down, please!”. Pointed out that the top chamber had to be refilled, but no, “wind it down, sir, we’re regulating the water!”. Wound it down, gave up and went to make a cup of tea and admire the view while they faffed. 

 

And then Hurleston, last week, going down. Two volockies on. The first one refused to let me out of the top lock until she said so, deliberately holding one bottom gate closed against me. Now we’ve done probably thousands of locks over the years, but the idea of being stuck in the bottom of a narrow lock, usually with water pouring round/through/under the leaky top gate, still gives me the willies, and I like to get out of there, or know that I can, with some alacrity. Deliberately obstructing my exit for no good reason was in my book completely out of order. Further down, the other volockie was blithely lifting bottom paddles without waiting for a thumbs up: That really annoys me, and I’m always slightly wary of random boaters ready with windlasses poised when entering a lock, but this year almost all the other boaters we met at locks checked before winding, even the hirers, but not this volockie.

 

But anyway, otherwise pleasant trip up to Llangollen, and plenty of water :)

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19 minutes ago, AndrewIC said:

So the causes of my original exasperated post…

 

Week before last, Grindley Brook, going up. The volockies were quite definitely not there to assist, they were there to be In Charge, checked in with, and their instructions followed - the signs say so, so it must be true. Anyway, first rule of a leaky staircase is not to hang about, and the bottom gates at GB leak like a sieve, so on entering the bottom lock I gave SWMBO on the middle paddles the usual “straight up” hand signal. “Half a turn! Half a turn only!” shouted the volockie, and insisted the paddle was wound down almost all the way again. And so it went on, the paddles being opened a crack at a time, so that by the time the first set of intermediate gates opened, the level was more than a foot below the markers and I was seriously concerned that we would get caught on the cill. Repeat procedure middle-to-top chamber, thankfully with less leakage. And one of the volockies remarked at the top, that they had to be really careful, because boats were getting stuck on the bottom… 🤦‍♂️

 

Last week, GB going down. Arrived at the top just as the last-of-three was had cleared the top chamber, and the staircase was to be reversed for boats to come up. We would then be next first-of-three going down after that. Volockie had cracked open one top paddle half way to refill the top chamber, so I wandered up and opened the other one. Ordered to “wind that paddle down, please!”. Pointed out that the top chamber had to be refilled, but no, “wind it down, sir, we’re regulating the water!”. Wound it down, gave up and went to make a cup of tea and admire the view while they faffed. 

 

And then Hurleston, last week, going down. Two volockies on. The first one refused to let me out of the top lock until she said so, deliberately holding one bottom gate closed against me. Now we’ve done probably thousands of locks over the years, but the idea of being stuck in the bottom of a narrow lock, usually with water pouring round/through/under the leaky top gate, still gives me the willies, and I like to get out of there, or know that I can, with some alacrity. Deliberately obstructing my exit for no good reason was in my book completely out of order. Further down, the other volockie was blithely lifting bottom paddles without waiting for a thumbs up: That really annoys me, and I’m always slightly wary of random boaters ready with windlasses poised when entering a lock, but this year almost all the other boaters we met at locks checked before winding, even the hirers, but not this volockie.

 

But anyway, otherwise pleasant trip up to Llangollen, and plenty of water :)


Did you report it all, especially being held against your will in a lock? If you didn’t, it will continue to happen.

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