How to get a wide beam through a narrow lock?

[booke23]

Not strictly canal based but it does involve a lock!

 

I was reading about the history of the USS White Sands, a mobile dry dock ship which was decommissioned in 1974. She was purchased by a ship building company to be used as a permanent dry dock in Lake Seattle, USA. This involved transiting an 80ft wide lock....the ship's beam was 81ft. The solution? Well they weighed down one side of the ship and transited the locks while listing 38 degrees.

 

 

P.s I hope this doesn't give widebeam boaters any ideas!  

 

Edited February 4 by booke23

[Scholar Gypsy]

And here is the sailing equivalent, if your mast is too tall to fit under the bridge ...
 

 

[booke23]

4 hours ago, Scholar Gypsy said:

And here is the sailing equivalent, if your mast is too tall to fit under the bridge ...
 

 

 

That’s impressive!

[Peugeot 106]

It’s a good job those bags didn’t swing inboard when they were under the bridge. I assume they kept it heeling all the way from the bank where then there look like light lines swinging them back in? I’d have been happier holding them out eg with the boom

Very impressive though!

[Tonka]

16 hours ago, booke23 said:

Not strictly canal based but it does involve a lock!

 

I was reading about the history of the USS White Sands, a mobile dry dock ship which was decommissioned in 1974. She was purchased by a ship building company to be used as a permanent dry dock in Lake Seattle, USA. This involved transiting an 80ft wide lock....the ship's beam was 81ft. The solution? Well they weighed down one side of the ship and transited the locks while listing 38 degrees.

 

 

P.s I hope this doesn't give widebeam boaters any ideas!  

 

We got to the bottom of Napton sometime in the 1960's in a Freeman 22 with a beam of 7ft 6in. Someone suggested we should list the boat so as we could get through the narrow locks back to the Thames. Needless to say we declined and turned around back down the GU. Came back some time later in a 6ft 10 in Nauticus 27