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Hurrah! Someone's been greasing the locks!

homer2911

By homer2911
in General Boating

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homer2911 Rising Star

homer2911

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Top marks for whoever it was decided that Trentham lock (and a few more south of there) on the Trent & Mersey could do with some grease.

 

Zero marks for coating all over with a thick coat of grease, and I mean all over, each and every one of the ratchet pawls - every square millimetre. I had to use a twig to lift them.

 

Zero marks for not touching the bone dry rack and pinion on any of the three gate paddles.

 

Zero marks also for leaving a similarly dry, stiff and juddering top hinge on the top gate.

 

Who trains these people? They've clearly never put a boat through a lock!

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homer2911, on 16 Apr 2014 - 3:24 PM, said:

Top marks for whoever it was decided that Trentham lock (and a few more south of there) on the Trent & Mersey could do with some grease.

 

Zero marks for coating all over with a thick coat of grease, and I mean all over, each and every one of the ratchet pawls - every square millimetre. I had to use a twig to lift them.

 

Zero marks for not touching the bone dry rack and pinion on any of the three gate paddles.

 

Zero marks also for leaving a similarly dry, stiff and juddering top hinge on the top gate.

 

Who trains these people? They've clearly never put a boat through a lock!

 

For all we know it may have been a boater rather than CRT. I have seen boaters greasing stuff on the T&M before.

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Dharl Rising Star

Dharl

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For all we know it may have been a boater rather than CRT. I have seen boaters greasing stuff on the T&M before.

..true, but a boater might have a better idea of what needs the grease and where to put it so you can operate the locks without getting it all over your sunday best...

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Dharl, on 16 Apr 2014 - 3:50 PM, said:

..true, but a boater might have a better idea of what needs the grease and where to put it so you can operate the locks without getting it all over your sunday best...

 

occupational hazard innit?

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And get my shiney windlass all dirty? You must be joking.

TBH it doesn't always work as there isn't always room but it sometimes does. Then just wipe it clean!

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wipe clean on your Sunday Best...?

Well you could? But does any body boat in their best gear? I sure don't, boating can be a less than clean activity, I hesitate to say 'dirty' but you shouldn't really expect to stay spotlessly clean should you?

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Dharl Rising Star

Dharl

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What you don't change for dinner every night into your black tails....? Standards are slipping!

 

:) I have my boating gear and my shore gear, Mrs Dharl NEVER allows me to mix the two up!

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Peter X Experienced

Peter X

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In a glass case in the Stoke Bruerne canal museum they have, or did when I visited last year, effigies of a young boatman and his wife wearing traditional "Sunday best" clothing, and very smart they look too. If Mrs Boater was operating locks in her fancy outfit, I think she would not have been best pleased to find the ratchet pawl unnecessarily covered in grease, but would also have had some difficulty keeping her quite bulky skirt clean when crossing a lock gate. Maybe she did the steering on Sundays, or maybe they were religious folk who did no work on a Sunday.

 

I don't wear good clothes when crewing, in fact I don't wear good clothes much at all, but I still think anyone greasing lock gates ought to be aware of which bits to do and which to leave clean. It's a simple thing which CRT ought to get right, and it comes down to taking pride in trying to do a job properly, whether paid or voluntary.

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haggis Veteran

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I think it was when we went down the South Oxford last year that we found that everything was covered in grease but there was a twig sitting on top of most lock gear posts which were very effective at lifting pawls etc.. On our way back up, I met a guy who said he used to boat on that canal and now spent his time walking up and down greasing the lock gear. Nice thought but it did have a downside if it was him who had been a bit too generous.

 

haggis

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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

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Top marks for whoever it was decided that Trentham lock (and a few more south of there) on the Trent & Mersey could do with some grease.

 

Zero marks for coating all over with a thick coat of grease, and I mean all over, each and every one of the ratchet pawls - every square millimetre. I had to use a twig to lift them.

 

Zero marks for not touching the bone dry rack and pinion on any of the three gate paddles.

 

Zero marks also for leaving a similarly dry, stiff and juddering top hinge on the top gate.

 

Who trains these people? They've clearly never put a boat through a lock!

 

So you greased the bone dry rack and pinions on the three gate paddles yourself as they needed it so badly, I imagine?

 

And the similarly dry, stiff and juddering top hinge on the top gate?

 

 

MtB

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