Tardebigge

[boatyboy]

Sorry, but that's rubbish. If I choose to do long days and to work as efficiently as I can, that's my choice. I've got 3 weeks for my cruise this year, and so did Cambridge to London in 9 days. This has meant we're having 4 days in London without moving at all- completely out of the question if we'd just drifted down and pootled about.

 

I can sit around and relax on board any other day of the year. I'm on holiday to go boating, and I for one enjoy 12+ hour days and really getting them ahead.

 

And this hasn't meant I've been dropping paddles or leaving gates open or speeding. We've been working efficiently through locks as speedily as possible. Taking a minute less per lock might not seem like much, but when you're doing 30-40 per day, it adds up.

 

And not a single moored boater has had to tell me to slow down either. In fact, I've had 2 seperate comments thanking me for passing slower than other people.

 

I can sit around on the boat for the rest of the year. I'm determined to make the most of my one lengthy cruise per year.

No its not Rubbish!!Firstly i never mentioned a word about passing boats at speed!!Do you not possibly agree that people emptying locks before a boat was out is not good?

Like you,i love doing long days,though maybe not 12 hours a day.

My point was about people rushing up to the lock on bikes and taking over operating the lock without even asking,as i always ask if its ok to help.

Whilst we are on the subject of Tardebigge.Three years ago we arrived a the top lock to go down.Before i could fill the lock i had to shut the bottom gate.No problem i thought,must have been the wind.

No it was a single hander driving out and leaving them open.

After 6 locks left like this i was getting more peed off.Obviously as we were a crew of two we caught him up.Even though he could now see us behind him he continued all the way down leaving them all open.

There you go pick the bits out of that,and give me a reason why its ok to do that!!

[Chickadee]

By now i guess that you have worked out that i hate lock wheelers on bikes.Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

 

This was how you ended your other post which as boaters who use a bike got my back up. Just because you've had a bad experience with a biking boater doesn't mean we're all like that! I always ask if people want help and tell people if we don't or if they do something silly that might damage my boat.

 

I love riding up and down between the locks its great fun. Why shouldn't I be allowed to do that?

 

If anyone is emptying locks they shouldn't be a quiet polite word should do the trick. If they are in a hurry or anoying you that much pull over let them past and carry on your merry way as slow or a quick as you like. After all its a holiday isn't it, whats the hurry.

[Tiny]

Exactly -- it's not about hurrying, it's about being efficient.

I'll drink to that. We shudder as other run about wasting masses of energy and time as they don't work efficiently. Amazingly if they are private even a simple suggestion like stay in your lock until ours is ready then we will swop is ignored. Out they come - the impatient plonker behind works the lock against us and we end up playing silly buggers in a pound letting the brain dead who left the lock past into the lock then waiting for the wind against plonker. And these guys are not first timers as they will tell you if you comment - they have been boating (wrong) for years.

[mayalld]

No its not Rubbish!!Firstly i never mentioned a word about passing boats at speed!!Do you not possibly agree that people emptying locks before a boat was out is not good?

Like you,i love doing long days,though maybe not 12 hours a day.

My point was about people rushing up to the lock on bikes and taking over operating the lock without even asking,as i always ask if its ok to help.

 

Such a pity that you simply said

 

If you are in a hurry on your holiday.you are on the wrong type of holiday

 

then!

[Tiny]

No its not Rubbish!!Firstly i never mentioned a word about passing boats at speed!!Do you not possibly agree that people emptying locks before a boat was out is not good?

Like you,i love doing long days,though maybe not 12 hours a day.

My point was about people rushing up to the lock on bikes and taking over operating the lock without even asking,as i always ask if its ok to help.

Whilst we are on the subject of Tardebigge.Three years ago we arrived a the top lock to go down.Before i could fill the lock i had to shut the bottom gate.No problem i thought,must have been the wind.

No it was a single hander driving out and leaving them open.

After 6 locks left like this i was getting more peed off.Obviously as we were a crew of two we caught him up.Even though he could now see us behind him he continued all the way down leaving them all open.

There you go pick the bits out of that,and give me a reason why its ok to do that!!

 

We had this with anexperience Yank crew in front. He was a ex-tugboat skipper from New York, his wife was an old dame with a blue rinse. Having caught us up coming up to Tardebigge they left at dawn the next day. He was a real oneupmanship type who told us we had beaten him away the day before...

 

Their locking method (we saw them in action behind and saw the results when they were in front) was for blue rinse to wind up one bottom paddle then tugboat would keep ramming the gates until they opened. Once in blue rinse closed one paddle and tugboat kind of reved up and down until the other gate shut a bit. About now blue rinse wound a top paddle slamming the bottom gate. As the boat came up she walked off to the next lock while tugboat got off, wound the other top paddle up, walked across the gate and opened it when ready. Then he drove off to repeat the ramming of the next lock up. This left anyone following to first close the top gate and both paddles before working the lock. The yanks disappeared (heading for Stratford) but we met a lot of puzzled people who found locks with paddles up and gates open and some gates damaged.

 

Yet this pair had been on boating holidays for many years they told us but if your on tugboats you work out the best way (for you).

[muddywaters]

We just take each lock as it comes no rush just work it the way we have been taught how.

But what we have found is we tend to get through locks much quicker now than when we first started and put that down to A, experince and B, working out the best way that suits us.

One trick we have picked up on going down narrow locks and bet someone on here will say we should not do this but here is what we do.

The OH will open the gate and I take the boat into the lock, after the OH has shut the gate I will get off on the opposite side of the lock to where she is and open that paddle getting quickly back on the boat when I am back aboard the OH raises her paddle.

And usually try and work it so that the OH starts out on the offside so when she closes the last gate is back on the towpath side

[Chickadee]

Thats kind of what we do, bf sets the lock, i steer in, he closes the gate, then we both turn the paddles (mostly because I strugle with some of Tardebigges tough paddles), I open the gate as he'll be ahead setting the next lock, paddles back down and then I get back on the boat and on into the next lock. Then the bf cycles (god forbid! ) back down and closes the gate.

[pete harrison]

Thats kind of what we do, bf sets the lock, i steer in, he closes the gate, then we both turn the paddles (mostly because I strugle with some of Tardebigges tough paddles), I open the gate as he'll be ahead setting the next lock, paddles back down and then I get back on the boat and on into the next lock. Then the bf cycles (god forbid! ) back down and closes the gate.

 

You could save "bf" the extra effort by closing the gate / gates as you leave the lock.

 

When going downhill simply stop the boat when you are in line with the bottom gate balance beams and use you short cabin shaft (spiked end) to push the gates shut. Many narrow lock gates are fitted with a replaceable wooden pad for this purpose. Go steady with the engine speed as you then leave so as not to push the gates back open with the flush from the propeller.

 

When going up hill stop the boat in the lock mouth but clear of the top gate. Just step off the boat and close the gate - your boat should not go anywhere but if it does pull into the bypass weir simply reverse steadily into the lock mouth to straighten up again. This does take a bit of practice but is well worth it (I actually leave the boat in slow reverse as I get off so it is already in the lock mouth and straightening itself up by the time I get back on board).

 

I am a great believer in letting the boat and the water do the work, something I have always encouraged when teaching people how to handle 'historic' ex-working narrow boat motor and butty pairs, both on broad and narrow canals. It can be a real pleasure to boat light handed or even single handed, and I always try to put on a performance when boating rather than a pantomime.

Edited August 4, 2011 by pete harrison

[Chickadee]

I've tried closing a few gates but some of them on Tardebigge are a bit tough. We got stuck in one lock for a bit becuase we couldn't open the gate then when we did get it open we couldn't shut it again even with the bf pushing the gate and me reversing the boat at it.

 

Still only three years into this little adventure so maybe i'll get the hang of it one day. I'd love to have a proper go at single handing one day so it would be handy to get the knack of things like this.

[Nine of Hearts]

I've tried closing a few gates but some of them on Tardebigge are a bit tough. We got stuck in one lock for a bit becuase we couldn't open the gate then when we did get it open we couldn't shut it again even with the bf pushing the gate and me reversing the boat at it.

 

Still only three years into this little adventure so maybe i'll get the hang of it one day. I'd love to have a proper go at single handing one day so it would be handy to get the knack of things like this.

 

Another forum member (I shall not name in case he does not wish to admit to such foolhardy behaviour) showed me an excellent wheeze going down this flight. You leave the boat in gear, and then open a gate each. The second the arse is clear of the gates, you swing them closed and whoever's on the offside legs it down the steps and jumps onto the stern as the boat leaves the lock. Such fun! And it could go so badly wrong!

[Chickadee]

I will not be trying that! I'm accident prone enough without tempting fate!