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Attracting attention in the locks...

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Is there any established way of alerting the crew as to an 'in lock' emergency such as being caught up on the cill, front gates or a protruding stone from the lock side or a MOB.

 

In my head last week all I was going to do if any of the above occurred was repeatedly press the horn and after attracting the crews attention shout out which paddles needing closing and then opening - depending on the situation.

 

Or is it as simple as agreeing with the crew in advance what the skipper will do do to attract their attention....??

 

Which of course could be the above.

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NB Alnwick Veteran II

NB Alnwick

Posted
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Is there any established way of alerting the crew as to an 'in lock' emergency such as being caught up on the cill, front gates or a protruding stone from the lock side or a MOB.

 

In my head last week all I was going to do if any of the above occurred was repeatedly press the horn and after attracting the crews attention shout out which paddles needing closing and then opening - depending on the situation.

 

Or is it as simple as agreeing with the crew in advance what the skipper will do do to attract their attention....??

 

Which of course could be the above.

 

That is the procedure that we agreed on - long blasts on the horn (and if that doesn't work, we have one of those canister air horns that will almost wake the dead!) but on the one occasion when we did get in a mess with the rudder trapped between the bottom gates, everybody just panicked and forgot about the horn with near disastrous results. So it isn't only necessary to agree on an emergency signal - you also have to train yourselves to use it!

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RLWP Veteran II

RLWP

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You mean you don't carry flares?

 

Takes a while to learn how to aim them at someone's head, but they never fail to get attention.

 

I'll have you know that Graham's sartorial elegance is not in doubt, and you will never find him wearing or throwing flares!

 

Richard

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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Indeed - my last flares were consigned to history in 1971 :lol:

Ah that would be why Graham still has obvious sartorial elegance, and why I have always had none.

 

1971 was about when I was probably buying my first pair of flares. :lol:

 

But, on reflection, for Graham to look the part in his MGB, should he not in fact still be wearing same.

 

I see them as the 1970s sports car equivalent of our "boater's" bowler hat, to give him the necessary authenticity.

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NB Alnwick Veteran II

NB Alnwick

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Ah that would be why Graham still has obvious sartorial elegance, and why I have always had none.

 

1971 was about when I was probably buying my first pair of flares. :lol:

 

But, on reflection, for Graham to look the part in his MGB, should he not in fact still be wearing same.

 

I see them as the 1970s sports car equivalent of our "boater's" bowler hat, to give him the necessary authenticity.

 

But MGB types in those days had handlebar moustaches, blazers and Burberry flat caps . . .

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NB Alnwick Veteran II

NB Alnwick

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Good to know this post is being taken so seriously...

 

I'll sleep easy tonight...

 

Well it is/was - I think you had the right answer in your opening post and the only thing that I could see that might sensibly be added was that everyone should be familiar with the routine - that is where we fell down with ours.

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Guest

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Well it is/was - I think you had the right answer in your opening post and the only thing that I could see that might sensibly be added was that everyone should be familiar with the routine - that is where we fell down with ours.

 

As long as nobody has anything sensible to add that's fine by me.

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stewey Proficient

stewey

Posted
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Is there any established way of alerting the crew as to an 'in lock' emergency such as being caught up on the cill, front gates or a protruding stone from the lock side or a MOB.

 

In my head last week all I was going to do if any of the above occurred was repeatedly press the horn and after attracting the crews attention shout out which paddles needing closing and then opening - depending on the situation.

 

Or is it as simple as agreeing with the crew in advance what the skipper will do do to attract their attention....??

 

Which of course could be the above.

Hi MJG

 

We would sound the horn repeatedly - the aim is to get the immediate attention of the person doing the lock. Then we would shout out what needed to be done to remedy the situation, whether raising or lowering paddles etc. The person doing the lock always tries to keep an eye on what is happening to the boat but it is very easy to be distracted by onlookers etc.

 

Stewey

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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Good to know this post is being taken so seriously...

 

I'll sleep easy tonight...

Ermm, sorry to be flippant, but I thought the question largely already answered.

 

To bring back to your concerns, I always think it's the other way around that is harder.

 

How does a member of crew on the lock-side quickly let the steerer on the boat know that he has not been attentive enough, (e.g. is not yet on the cill, but is drifting back over it in an emptying lock).

 

If the steerer has been distracted, perhaps because he is chatting to a sharing boat's skipper, and one or more engines is being run, or water is cascading over gates, it can be remarkably hard to get his attention quickly, and sometimes him just giving a quick burst of power will be the safer way out of a problem than trying to get paddles down.

 

I don't have a good answer to guaranteeing emergency communication lock-side to steerer, so what do people think, please ?

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PhilR Experienced

PhilR

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That is the procedure that we agreed on - long blasts on the horn (and if that doesn't work, we have one of those canister air horns that will almost wake the dead!) but on the one occasion when we did get in a mess with the rudder trapped between the bottom gates, everybody just panicked and forgot about the horn with near disastrous results. So it isn't only necessary to agree on an emergency signal - you also have to train yourselves to use it!

 

The important lesson to learn here is WHY the rudder got trapped in the gates and what you will do to prevent it happening again. You can rarely rely on crew 100% of the time.

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NB Alnwick Veteran II

NB Alnwick

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Ermm, sorry to be flippant, but I thought the question largely already answered.

 

To bring back to your concerns, I always think it's the other way around that is harder.

 

How does a member of crew on the lock-side quickly let the steerer on the boat know that he has not been attentive enough, (e.g. is not yet on the cill, but is drifting back over it in an emptying lock).

If the steerer has been distracted, perhaps because he is chatting to a sharing boat's skipper, and one or more engines is being run, or water is cascading over gates, it can be remarkably hard to get his attention quickly, and sometimes him just giving a quick burst of power will be the safer way out of a problem than trying to get paddles down.

 

I don't have a good answer to guaranteeing emergency communication lock-side to steerer, so what do people think, please ?

 

Bring out the Acme 'Thunderer' - a device used for starting and stopping noisy trains and football matches for more than a Century.

 

Click here for more information . . .

 

 

The important lesson to learn here is WHY the rudder got trapped in the gates and what you will do to prevent it happening again. You can rarely rely on crew 100% of the time.

 

It was in the Watford staircase and the boat was being held back against the bottom gates while I opened the top paddle - for some reason the bottom gates opened briefly and then slammed shut on the rudder. Holding back on the bottom gates is not a good idea but I think at the time there was a concern about water cascading over the front of the boat. We didn't have the tipcats on at the time.

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PhilR Experienced

PhilR

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Bring out the Acme 'Thunderer' - a device used for starting and stopping noisy trains and football matches for more than a Century.

 

Click here for more information . . .

 

 

 

 

It was in the Watford staircase and the boat was being held back against the bottom gates while I opened the top paddle - for some reason the bottom gates opened briefly and then slammed shut on the rudder. Holding back on the bottom gates is not a good idea but I think at the time there was a concern about water cascading over the front of the boat. We didn't have the tipcats on at the time.

 

We didn't have the tipcats on at the time.

 

I think that answers my question, thanks.

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mayalld Veteran II

mayalld

Posted
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Ermm, sorry to be flippant, but I thought the question largely already answered.

 

To bring back to your concerns, I always think it's the other way around that is harder.

 

How does a member of crew on the lock-side quickly let the steerer on the boat know that he has not been attentive enough, (e.g. is not yet on the cill, but is drifting back over it in an emptying lock).

 

Whistle.

 

Essential part of the lock operators kit.

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Tiny Rising Star

Tiny

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The wife gave me a refs whistle to blow but I always forget it and hoot or shout to get her attention. (She likes chatting to any folks around though can rarely remember about what after. I also have a sort of pipe thing that makes a VERY LOUD NOISE as in it will bring a heard of cattle rushing towards it and cause bulls to get really shirty. But you need earplugs to use it and the wife never seems to notice the noise or thinks it's a helicopter crashing or something so it stay with the whistle.

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