Hatton Vlockies

[Annie cariad]

Big thanks to the Hatton Vlockies for their assistance today as we climbed the flight in the rain .Good start to our 8month summer cruise.

 

It's summer for a real Yorkshire man lol

Edited February 28 by Annie cariad

[nicknorman]

22 minutes ago, Annie cariad said:

Big thanks to the Hatton Vlockies for their assistance today as we climbed the flight in the rain .Good start to our 8month summer cruise.

 

Didn't anyone tell you it's not summer yet?

[Mike Tee]

Just to expand on this a little, is there a list anywhere that informs on when and where Vlockies will be on any given day?

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

So we can avoid them?

 

I didn’t think they’d be about til Easter. 

Edited February 28 by beerbeerbeerbeerbeer

[matty40s]

It'll be training time.

 

I was very surprised to see 4 CRT staff on the Southern Stratford yesterday, 2 together and 2 separately, one walking a dog!! 

Only boat moving was the day boat out from Woo'on Wahhh'en.

 

So you will be back at the Cape Arm just after Easter then Mike??

Edited February 28 by matty40s

[frangar]

I’m on the blacklist for Hatton….ever since I told them how their paddle gear actually worked….went off in a huff. 

[Mike Tee]

You let them drop as well then?!

2 hours ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

So we can avoid them?

 

I didn’t think they’d be about til Easter. 

I'll admit, I will take any help I can get going up (or down) Hatton. 21 narrow locks in one go is still OK but going up Hatton last year was almost too much at my age. And if the Oxford is still shut beyond April, we will have to go that way. It didn't help that every lock was against us and we saw no other boats or any vlockies from bottom to top!

[matty40s]

We went up the Sat before Queens jubilee weekend, 3pm, nobody there.

We came down 2pm on the Sunday of the big weekend, it was drizzling and they stayed in the hut.

For Frangar reasons, we were quite happy about that.

[Victor Vectis]

1 hour ago, frangar said:

I’m on the blacklist for Hatton….ever since I told them how their paddle gear actually worked….went off in a huff. 

Was the word 'hydraulic' used, by any chance?

 

On the Esplanade here in Ryde there are a couple of manhole covers with the name 'Ham Baker' cast into them.

I've taken I pic, meaning to post it here but it is too large a file size, apparently.

[MtB]

3 hours ago, Mike Tee said:

Just to expand on this a little, is there a list anywhere that informs on when and where Vlockies will be on any given day?

 

 

Given how many people seem to hate working their own locks, it puzzles me why they bought a canal boat. 

 

 

[frangar]

7 hours ago, Mike Tee said:

You let them drop as well then?!

 

I let them self lower as they are designed to do! 

 

7 hours ago, Victor Vectis said:

Was the word 'hydraulic' used, by any chance?

 

On the Esplanade here in Ryde there are a couple of manhole covers with the name 'Ham Baker' cast into them.

I've taken I pic, meaning to post it here but it is too large a file size, apparently.

It might have been! I pointed out that if they had ones that were so poorly maintained they crashed down when lowering they might like to spend less

time in the tea hut and more sorting or reporting them to the powers that be…..

[Mike Tee]

2 hours ago, frangar said:

I let them self lower as they are designed to do! 

 

It might have been! I pointed out that if they had ones that were so poorly maintained they crashed down when lowering they might like to spend less

time in the tea hut and more sorting or reporting them to the powers that be…..

You mentioned hydraulic AND tea hut! That’s grounds for a license refusal.

 

And in response to MtB’s comment, after all the enjoyable years I’ve owned and cruised narrowboats, on the rare occasions I may need assistance in order to continue doing so, I’ll take the help. Mostly it’s done well, but I’m not complacent about it.

[haggis]

9 hours ago, MtB said:

 

 

Given how many people seem to hate working their own locks, it puzzles me why they bought a canal boat. 

 

 

Its not a case of hating working locks more a case of age catching up and help with locks is welcome. It will come to most of us 🙂 

[Arthur Marshall]

21 minutes ago, haggis said:

Its not a case of hating working locks more a case of age catching up and help with locks is welcome. It will come to most of us 🙂 

Me too. I like working locks, and I like sitting on the boat while someone else works them. I like going along, too, which is something fewer and fewer boaters seem to enjoy.

[Jon57]

2 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

Me too. I like working locks, and I like sitting on the boat while someone else works them. I like going along, too, which is something fewer and fewer boaters seem to enjoy.

All very true. Even better when some kind sole puts a mattress in the entrance of the last lock of the day so you can have a lie down. DAMHIK 😁

[Grassman]

20 hours ago, beerbeerbeerbeerbeer said:

So we can avoid them?

 

I didn’t think they’d be about til Easter. 

 

Some, and probably most, don't start until Easter. But in my winter cruising area I've often seen them at Penkridge and Atherstone. Never at Fradley though. They seem to be a strictly Easter to October operation, except for the last few weeks but that's only because they've been helping the dredging boats through the locks between Woodend and Hunts Lock.

[Ken X]

We've often seen volockies at Atherstone in January. Didn't stray far from the top lock though. Once they got us a lock or two down they retreated to the crew room.

 

Still, beats being under the feet of the missus at home. 🙂

[Hudds Lad]

9 minutes ago, Ken X said:

We've often seen volockies at Atherstone in January. Didn't stray far from the top lock though. Once they got us a lock or two down they retreated to the crew room.

Seem to recall someone saying it's because they are forbidden from straying too far from the loo etc. by the CRT guidance for volunteers ?

[john6767]

1 hour ago, Hudds Lad said:

Seem to recall someone saying it's because they are forbidden from straying too far from the loo etc. by the CRT guidance for volunteers ?

 They seem it manage that without an issue on other flights, Lapworth and Hatton spring to mind.

[PaulJ]

2 hours ago, Ken X said:

We've often seen volockies at Atherstone in January. Didn't stray far from the top lock though. Once they got us a lock or two down they retreated to the crew room.

 

Still, beats being under the feet of the missus at home. 🙂

 

2 hours ago, Hudds Lad said:

Seem to recall someone saying it's because they are forbidden from straying too far from the loo etc. by the CRT guidance for volunteers ?

Winter time and right outside Baddesley Basin where the volly had come down that far setting locks for me .

[matty40s]

Cant have been this year, that's blue sky there....

[dogless]

We came up last Saturday in three hours twenty five ... only used one gate and paddle as it was quite icy.

 

The locks were mostly set for us (but for leakage).

 

No sign of volunteers, or indeed other boats.

 

We're obviously not as old and infirm as we'd feared after five months at home ... and the breakfast in the cafe was stunning  👍🏻

 

Rog

[Tigerr]

I'll say thanks to Vlockies at Foxton for when we we went up back in November, and certainly did at the time. It was raining heavily, cold and a miserable day to be doing that. But they were cheerful, welcoming. They were very helpful, without topping the knob.

Generally I have found them to be thoroughly good folks.

can understand though that some of the 'customers' are extremely difficult individuals. Life on the cut attracts people with underlying social adjustment problems.

I don't quite know what it is about canal boat cruising that brings out the inner expert, intolerant characteristics of people but it certainly seems to affect some people that way, and it's an environment where that tendency can be indulged. 

Luckily though, it's only some people. 

[dogless]

Some of us go boating because we enjoy it  Tigerr.

 

Someone deciding to do the locks for us , and boss us around at the same time, reduces that enjoyment considerably.

 

Rog

[Annie cariad]

Dogless are you saying you went up Hatton last Saturday? If so from where ? Cape locks being shut till Tuesday!