Single Handed and Locks! don't seem to go together?

[Wobbly Dick]

Hi, I soon hope to have my own boat and be sailing my way around the country, but what about the locks?

 

I will be living alone, so will I be confined to water with no locks, or is there a safe way to use the locks?

 

Is there any remote device for steering and powering boat from the towpath? I could then manage the locks and steer the boat like a big remote toy Well you know what I mean?

[Bones]

Hi, I soon hope to have my own boat and be sailing my way around the country, but what about the locks?

 

I will be living alone, so will I be confined to water with no locks, or is there a safe way to use the locks?

 

Is there any remote device for steering and powering boat from the towpath? I could then manage the locks and steer the boat like a big remote toy Well you know what I mean?

 

It is easy enough to do locks by yourself - I find it easier on the big ones with a central line. If you do a google search you will come accross a useful website. In addition, this topic has been covered somewhere on the forum - do a search.

[Breals]

If you don't mind climbing slimy ladders, and have plenty of patience, you'll be fine!

[Bones]

If you don't mind climbing slimy ladders, and have plenty of patience, you'll be fine!

 

 

I loathe doing deep locks on my own, and having done it I think its very dangerous and avoid them now.

[Liam]

If you take your time and think things through before you do something... you'll be fine with a bit of practice.

 

Some other threads about single handed locking..

 

Broad Locks

 

Locking down solo through bridged locks

 

Single handed cruising

 

Locks - Know the basics

 

Lots of "theory" there, have fun putting it into practice!

 

Liam

[DHutch]

Locks where always designed to be able to be worked single handedly, and its still more than possable.

- You should see my grandad go at them, scares me what he does somtimes!

 

The only problem i can see is if you would find it diffcult to climp the ladder out of the lock.

- Becuase the us way of doing it is to drive the boat in, climp up the ladder, operated it, then drive out.

- Or drive in, operate it, climb down the ladder, and drive out. Depding weather your going up or down.

 

However, it is possable to pull the boat in/out of the lock with a rope/line/warp (whatever)

- And i have done this once when a lock didnt have its ladder.

 

 

 

Daniel

[David Schweizer]

Locks where always designed to be able to be worked single handedly.....

 

Whilst it was possible in the past to do locks single Handed (Nick Hill on the single working motor Jaguar was one of the best at it in the 1960's) it was both difficult and dangerous as there were no ladders on most locks. There were basicly two ways out of an empty lock, up the gate (I was unknowingly filmed by the BBC doing this on the Stoke Bruerne flight in 1969), or up a portable ladder from the cabin roof and leaning against the lock wall, this was quite easy on single locks but decidedly dangerous on double locks. Most people pulled the boat out of an empty lock on a rope. Very few ever tried to climb down the gates but some jumped from the top of the lock onto the cabin roof, Somewhere I have got a photo of Arthur Bray doing that onto Raymond as it left the lock behind Roger.

 

Today with virtually all locks having ladders it is a piece of cake, although most of the people I see doing it with any confidence are my age, when we should know better.

Edited April 26, 2006 by David Schweizer

[Wobbly Dick]

ah! climbing ladders

 

Time no problem, so I'm have way there

 

If you don't mind climbing slimy ladders, and have plenty of patience, you'll be fine!

 

 

Should read half way there!

 

Hi and Cheers Liam this was a big help!

 

If you take your time and think things through before you do something... you'll be fine with a bit of practice.

 

Some other threads about single handed locking..

 

Broad Locks

 

Locking down solo through bridged locks

 

Single handed cruising

 

Locks - Know the basics

 

Lots of "theory" there, have fun putting it into practice!

 

Liam

[Crazy Scheme]

Whilst it was possible in the past to do locks single Handed (Nick Hill on the single working motor Jaguar was one of the best at it in the 1960's) it was both difficult and dangerous as there were no ladders on most locks. There were basicly two ways out of an empty lock, up the gate (I was unknowingly filmed by the BBC doing this on the Stoke Bruerne flight in 1969), or up a portable ladder from the cabin roof and leaning against the lock wall, this was quite easy on single locks but decidedly dangerous on double locks. Most people pulled the boat out of an empty lock on a rope. Very few ever tried to climb down the gates but some jumped from the top of the lock onto the cabin roof, Somewhere I have got a photo of Arthur Bray doing that onto Raymond as it left the lock behind Roger.

 

Today with virtually all locks having ladders it is a piece of cake, although most of the people I see doing it with any confidence are my age, when we should know better.

 

My partner does locks on his own all the time, (when theres no one around to help and he needs to get a boat somewhere quickly), but then again he does have a knack of leaping around boats onto the roof etc. without a care. He doesn't even give it a thought.

 

A friend of a friend took the boat she bought from the South East to Hebden bridge on her own too.

 

I think once you getused to it, it'svery easy.

[Bones]

My partner does locks on his own all the time, (when theres no one around to help and he needs to get a boat somewhere quickly), but then again he does have a knack of leaping around boats onto the roof etc. without a care. He doesn't even give it a thought.

 

A friend of a friend took the boat she bought from the South East to Hebden bridge on her own too.

 

I think once you getused to it, it'svery easy.

 

It is easy, but I had horrors at somerton deep lock which I don't want to repeat!!! Other than that one they were all fabulously easy - I think it was the slimey ladder and deep decent that did it for me... makes me wonder whether people do locks singlehandedly when in the Czech republic - their locks go down to the very bowels of the earth

[John Orentas]

When I was younger I used to watch the window cleaners working on offices in central Manchester, in those days they didn't bother with ladders, safety harnesses or anything else, they would climb out of a window on perhaps the fifth floor and work there way confidently around the building, balancing on window sills and stepping from one to the next. I too had a job which occasionally required me to work on steel structures at potentially fatal heights.

 

The point is, some things are perfectly safe to do once or twice, do it a thousand times and your luck will inevitably run out and you are dead.

[Amicus]

 

 

your luck will inevitably run out and you are dead.

The thought of selling Squeers cheering you up then John?

[Philip]

If possible I like doing a lock on my own, but I prefer it going up, don't really like the thought of climbing down the ladders.

 

I plan to do the same thing - buy my own boat etc and live/cruise/work the locks on my own for a few years and I have been preparing for it, doing some lock practice on my own, tying/untying the ropes etc.

[DHutch]

The point is, some things are perfectly safe to do once or twice, do it a thousand times and your luck will inevitably run out and you are dead.

Yeah, theres a lot of truth there, its very hard to get blarsay about somthing you do everyday.

- Im sure very few people got there head stuck in a hyrolic press on there first day

- But after twenty years, you get a bit trigger happy with the button.....

 

The roofers who did our garage told a story of a block who used to stand on the un-boarded roof truses, one foot on each neighbouring trust bottom, then with arm outstreached, jump up, turn 90degrees in mid air, and drop though between the truses, arms still extended.

- It used to be cool little "party trick" he did every now and then to show off.

- Then he started showing off everytime anyone new came on-site.

- Then it became his usuall way of geting down, and about a month later it went wrong.

- He hasnt been able to work as a roofer since. Which is possably a pitty....

 

 

Daniel

[RichA]

I have just bought my first NB (60ft trad) and needed to move it from broker from marina.

I have been on the rivers for years on hire boats but always with a large group of friends when locks become a military operation. However, needing to move it went out on my own as crew let me down.

 

Anyway, very nervous at first, but found it suprisingly easy and extremely rewarding - sense of achievement was huge.

 

BUT do not try and get anywhere fast. Prepare yourself that you will have to stop and work out a routine that works for you. Always pull onto one side, always open gates in order etc. which suits you.

 

i was more worried about some scally (as going through Leics at the time) jumping on her when I was not looking!

[Sir Nibble]

What stops me dead in my tracks when making passage solo is swing bridges. Some of them have to be operated from the opposite side to the boat and there is no option other than to wait rather sheepishly for another boat.

[Bones]

What stops me dead in my tracks when making passage solo is swing bridges. Some of them have to be operated from the opposite side to the boat and there is no option other than to wait rather sheepishly for another boat.

 

 

Me too!!!! There is a notorious set on the southern Oxford; I made a bed extension while waiting for someone to pass by to give me a hand!!!

[DHutch]

What stops me dead in my tracks when making passage solo is swing bridges. Some of them have to be operated from the opposite side to the boat and there is no option other than to wait rather sheepishly for another boat.

Yeah, and lift bridges are possably worse.

- Although one or two have stageing on the non-towpath side, they are by far the minoraty

- And some of the lift bridges are also a little tight for clearing the corner too.

 

 

Daniel

[Hairy-Neil]

Me too!!!! There is a notorious set on the southern Oxford; I made a bed extension while waiting for someone to pass by to give me a hand!!!

 

You need a Bambury Stick. Used to prop the bridge open whilst you motor through, some even had a rope attached so you could snatch it out with the boat once you were through.

[Philip]

Yeah, and lift bridges are possably worse.

- Although one or two have stageing on the non-towpath side, they are by far the minoraty

- And some of the lift bridges are also a little tight for clearing the corner too.

Daniel

 

 

Most of the chain operated bridges have gone now on the Llangollen, which I'm glad about - firstly some of them are very stiff, I remember Allmans Lift Bridge being quite bad. It also seems a little insecure as well going solo, but I believe they have something you can fix the chain to, as you pass through.

 

They didn't always go up far and there was that tragedy at Wrenbury, I think because the bridge and boat momentum crushed. Thankfully, the bridges usually go up to a safe height now.

[Guest]

Me too!!!! There is a notorious set on the southern Oxford; I made a bed extension while waiting for someone to pass by to give me a hand!!!

 

Hi Bones,

We're just about to move our mooring to the Southern Oxford - where are these bridges you're talking about?

 

Peter

[Guest]

Hi, I soon hope to have my own boat and be sailing my way around the country, but what about the locks?

 

I will be living alone, so will I be confined to water with no locks, or is there a safe way to use the locks?

 

Is there any remote device for steering and powering boat from the towpath? I could then manage the locks and steer the boat like a big remote toy Well you know what I mean?

 

Hello Dick

I havn't been boating very long, just a couple of years, but right from the start I needed to be able to handle the boat on my own as there are always going to be days when my partner wont be able to help, so if you serch you'll find plenty of threads from me, all about doing locks alone.

This one

and more importantly, this one

 

I can handle any narrow lock on my own now - I've not yet attempted a wide lock, read a lot and intend to spend some time watching others soon - but on narrow locks, I never use the ladders and if you've only got one good leg I suggest it's something you should try very hard to avoid also!

 

I step ashore with the centre line, leave the boat in drive, slow ahead and tie her off so that the line has enough length to accomodate the boat moving up or down. Mine is only 30' so I have plenty of space front and back.

If the lock is bridged, I coil the centre line and loop it over the tiller, take the boat hook ashore and lift the line as she comes into the lock.

 

My golden rule is "slow and carefull", and if someone is talking to me, I stop until they stop!

If anyone is helping you with the paddles, you MUST insist that they do them when and how YOU want them done.

 

Peter

[Bones]

Hi Bones,

We're just about to move our mooring to the Southern Oxford - where are these bridges you're talking about?

 

Peter

 

There a set of three in Oxford - starting at dukes cut, then wolvercote, but someone usually comes by. There is one just south of the cherwell at shipton which is in the middle of no-where.

 

I usually manage to turn up at them as someone else is coming through, but there have been exceptions!

[David Schweizer]

There a set of three in Oxford - starting at dukes cut, then wolvercote, but someone usually comes by. There is one just south of the cherwell at shipton which is in the middle of no-where.

 

I usually manage to turn up at them as someone else is coming through, but there have been exceptions!

 

The soluton to the lift bridges on the Soutern Oxford is a Banbury Stick, a stout pole just under 6ft long which is wedged between the underside of the bridge and the cill on the towpath side (after the bridge has been lifted manually) this will give sufficcient clearance for a boat to pass under it.

 

The original Banmbury Sticks had a hole in them through which a strong rope, with a spliced eye on the loose end, was fixed. The rope was placed on the stonework at the side of the bridge after it had been lifted and the eye was dropped onto the towing dolly as the boat passed through. The moving boat then pulled the Stick frm its location on the cill, and the bridge came down with a bang. It didn't do the bridge much good, but saved valuable time, I don't think BW would approve of that part of the operation these days.

 

I can also give details of how to operate a Swing bridge single handed from the towpath side, with the use of a rope and short pole if anyone is interested

[Bones]

The soluton to the lift bridges on the Soutern Oxford is a Banbury Stick, a stout pole just under 6ft long which is wedged between the underside of the bridge and the cill on the towpath side (after the bridge has been lifted manually) this will give sufficcient clearance for a boat to pass under it.

 

The original Banmbury Sticks had a hole in them through which a strong rope, with a spliced eye on the loose end, was fixed. The rope was placed on the stonework at the side of the bridge after it had been lifted and the eye was dropped onto the towing dolly as the boat passed through. The moving boat then pulled the Stick frm its location on the cill, and the bridge came down with a bang. It didn't do the bridge much good, but saved valuable time, I don't think BW would approve of that part of the operation these days.

 

I can also give details of how to operate a Swing bridge single handed from the towpath side, with the use of a rope and short pole if anyone is interested

 

indeed it is the solution - unfortunately I am not always totally able to lift the bridge in the first place....