sinking boats

[the barnacle]

i see a few boats sinking in locks - what causes this - is it getting stuck on the ledge on the high water side of the lock? - it worries me taking the family on a hire boat.

 

should people be inside a boat when in a lock or is it best get them all off at every lock? sorry if this question seems stupid lol -

[rubblequeen]

If you know how locks work and about keeping away from the cill when going down. Then the answer is everyone remain vigilant and work out what to do in the event of something going wrong.

On the whole hundreds of boats go through these locks safely and if everyone follows the safety rules you'll have a great time.

Check out on line how locks work before going so you have some idea of the theory. I have an old BW booklet which I insist my nephews/nieces read and understand before coming on holiday on the boat.

[jacko264]

Most of the time only one the driver stops on our boat's we hire

There is only 5 of us

Jacko

[the barnacle]

thanks for the replies - i take the kids to the locks by us and they help the odd boater when asked or allowed, as i wont let them do so unless the boater is ok with it to get them used to locks, i think i would have themm get off the boat.

[MtB]

i see a few boats sinking in locks - what causes this - is it getting stuck on the ledge on the high water side of the lock? - it worries me taking the family on a hire boat.

 

should people be inside a boat when in a lock or is it best get them all off at every lock? sorry if this question seems stupid lol -

 

Well it's not essential for everyone to get out of the boat to work through locks. There is very little chance of things going wrong, but this is offset by the consequences of an incident inside a lock being very serious indeed. My view is that inexperienced boaters are best hoofed out of the boat before transiting a lock. Knowledgeable boaters understand the risks better and take their own chances.

 

Yes, getting caught on the sill is one way of sinking a boat in a lock. Another good way is to get the bow snagged up in the top gates. There are other ways too.

 

Hope that helps.

 

MtB

[mattlad]

"Cilling" a boat is one way of sinking a boat in a lock but there are other ways, like getting a fender caught under or over a gate or caught on a projection on the side of the lock.

 

However a boat may get caught up most of these sinkings would be avoidable if people kept an eye on the boat and stayed by the paddle gear in case it needs to be dropped in a hurry.

 

The trouble is you see many people lift the paddles and then stand there staring into space or chatting away without paying the slightest bit of attention to the boat which by now has gone past the listing stage and gone into a full sinking emergency before they notice.....

 

In other words concentrate on the boat rather than chatting to your crew / gongoozlers etc etc etc......

[the barnacle]

Thanks MTB and Matt- I appreciate the advice,

[MtB]

In other words concentrate on the boat rather than chatting to your crew / gongoozlers etc etc etc......

 

Agreed. And bear in mind it is very difficult to do, as ignoring people talking to you, or just not turning to them and giving them your full attention runs counter to social convention and feels very rude. In addition peeps will repeat their question more stridently if you don't answer. Be prepared for this effect and say something like 'sorry, I need to pay attention to my boat in the lock', then carry on paying attention you your boat in the lock.

 

Remember if you let your boat sink in the lock, you pay. If your boat sinks in the lock because someone distracted you they don't pay, you still do.

 

MtB

[mattlad]

? my pleasure! ☺

[mattlad]

Be prepared for this effect and say something like 'sorry, I need to pay attention to my boat in the lock', then carry on paying attention you your boat in the lock.

 

MtB

I do most of my boating alone nowadays and while help is welcome I prefer to lock by myself, the last thing you need is some well meaning but ultimately inexperienced volunteer not reacting quickly, decisively and effectively if it starts going wrong. Just a few moments separate a "phew" moment from an "Oh sh1t" situation!

 

Edited for typo

Edited June 13, 2014 by mattlad

[Jerra]

thanks for the replies - i take the kids to the locks by us and they help the odd boater when asked or allowed, as i wont let them do so unless the boater is ok with it to get them used to locks, i think i would have themm get off the boat.

I suspect you will find the kids are keen to be off and helping with the locks, at least that has been my experience. Better to get them to join in and help than have to insist they get off if they don't want to.

[MHS]

I mentioned in a post a few weeks ago, that in case of a problem in a lock, I would sound the horn. My crew (family and friends) know this to mean "Drop the paddles quickly, and look to see what needs to be done"

 

Never needed it yet, and hope not to.

[NickF]

I don't know the statistics but I bet it's safer to do a lock than it is to cross the road.

 

Once you have driven to your boat the most dangerous part of your trip will be over (apart from the drive home)

 

Relax, slow down and enjoy yourself but as previous posters have said be vigilant in locks, and make sure all your crew know in an emergency they need to lower all paddles.

 

Have a great trip!

[the barnacle]

Thanks for the advice it is appreciated, it was just a worry keep seeing pictures and news reports of boats sinking in locks.

[bizzard]

I say rub out the cilly cill markers and the number of boat cillings will fall drastically. Before the cill markers were introduced a few years ago folk made sure that they kept their boat well forward in the locks because they weren't always sure how far the cill stuck out and nothing like the amount of boats got themselves cilled, well it certainly seems that way. Now, some tend to cut it too fine with their stern end too close to the marker and a little movement backwards and bingo the things on the cill. They could paint these marks halfway up the lock and we all get short boats to suit.

[Higgs]

Open the paddles gently and stop the over-zealest ones from rushing the process. Don't be worried about hurting their feelings.

[hopefulboater]

 

Agreed. And bear in mind it is very difficult to do, as ignoring people talking to you, or just not turning to them and giving them your full attention runs counter to social convention and feels very rude. In addition peeps will repeat their question more stridently if you don't answer. Be prepared for this effect and say something like 'sorry, I need to pay attention to my boat in the lock', then carry on paying attention you your boat in the lock.

 

Remember if you let your boat sink in the lock, you pay. If your boat sinks in the lock because someone distracted you they don't pay, you still do.

 

MtB

I am a dog walker and so spend a lot of time seemingly doing nothing standing around in parks, I usually have 3 dogs plus my own to keep an eye on, so thats 4 dogs but only 2 eyes. Obviously you get chatting to other humans and to some it appears rude that I do not give them my full attention or leg it mid sentance to deal with whatever I have to deal with. (Fido stop picking on the bull mastiff before it has you for a snack type thing) Most understand without me having to tell them and those that do not, well fuk em cos the safety of my dogs are more important than their hurt feelings over my imaginary slight. If they have half a brain in their head they realise Im not being rude but merely concentrating on the job at hand.

[Starcoaster]

There was also the near miss recently where two boats sharing a lock got wedged above the falling level of the water by pipe fenders in the middle...

[Neil2]

i see a few boats sinking in locks - what causes this - is it getting stuck on the ledge on the high water side of the lock? - it worries me taking the family on a hire boat.

 

should people be inside a boat when in a lock or is it best get them all off at every lock? sorry if this question seems stupid lol -

I don't think that is a stupid question, locking isn't an inherently dangerous activity but if something does go wrong the results can often be catastrophic. After the Priestholme lock incident on the Leeds Liverpool some years ago where four people died, there were certainly voices suggesting boats should be evacuated at locks to avoid anything similar happening again.

 

I think it's over the top but agree you should at least have an emergency procedure such as sounding the horn if something goes wrong.

[BlueStringPudding]

"Cilling" a boat is one way of sinking a boat in a lock but there are other ways, like getting a fender caught under or over a gate or caught on a projection on the side of the lock.

 

However a boat may get caught up most of these sinkings would be avoidable if people kept an eye on the boat and stayed by the paddle gear in case it needs to be dropped in a hurry.

 

The trouble is you see many people lift the paddles and then stand there staring into space or chatting away without paying the slightest bit of attention to the boat which by now has gone past the listing stage and gone into a full sinking emergency before they notice.....

 

In other words concentrate on the boat rather than chatting to your crew / gongoozlers etc etc etc......

Absolutely. And same advice to the driver. If you're chatting to the driver of another boat sharing your lock you can't see your crew waving and shouting frantically when something's gone wrong. (Spoken from experience when the crew of the other boat, much shorter than mine, opened the paddles fast and filled my bow deck and the drivers of both boats were oblivious so didn't pull back. Gormless crew member didn't understand why I was shouting at him to drop the paddle so I had to cross the gates and do it myself. By which time water was coming into the cabin)

[alan_fincher]

Another rare cause of lock sinkings I know has happened is failure to put a weed-hatch cover back on after clearing a fouled propeller.

 

Al;though this can result in a sinking at any point afterwards, some boats will survive, (at least for a while) ,making steady forward progress with the weed hatch left off, but will go over the brink when a lot of excess water gets pumped in by inexperienced use of a lot of heavy forward and reverse to enter or maintain a position in the lock.

 

I wouldn't want to claim it has happened often, but the problem is once the critical point is reached, you then have a massive flow of water into the boat, and it can go down very fast indeed.

 

IMO, if you are inexperienced, it is probably not sensible to have babies, young children, or elderly and infirm actually in the cabin as you pass through locks. Although tragedies happen only very rarely indeed, it is not easy for anyone who isn't mobile and able bodied to get out in a hurry if required.

[Sir Nibble]

200 year old infrastructure is just not "safe" in modern terms and you cannot remove the risks. What you can do is work out the risk, own it, deal with it and proceed in confidence that you are on the case and in control. That's what taking charge of a boat means.