Lock etiquette

[dor]

Always replace the pawl. But whether winding the paddle down with the windlass or letting the spindle rotate slowly in my hand, I always give it a bit of extra force at the end to make sure the paddle has seated and not just come to a stop. I do it without thinking about it - it takes a while for these things to become practically automatic.

[mayalld]

Precisely, mon vieux - so let it be on.

 

If you tell somebody to "always check X", but they find that "X" is invariably true every time they check, human nature is that they stop checking.

 

The only way that you ensure that people do check that the pawl is in place is to ensure that they will sometimes find that it isn't.

[Guest]

 

I will do what keeps me safe.

 

Replacing pawls actually makes it LESS safe for others, as it leads people to assume that pawls will be on, and to fail to routinely check themselves.

 

The slight flaw in that thinking is that in my experience and based on posts so far here is that the pawl will normally be left ON the teeth.

 

If somebody happens to forget to check and doesn't realise that there is no 'clicking' as they wind the paddle up then that is more likely going to lead to an accident because most paddles will have had the pawl left 'on' and if they do happen to forget to check it won't matter.

 

Its overall the safer option.

[Athy]

 

If you tell somebody to "always check X", but they find that "X" is invariably true every time they check, human nature is that they stop checking.

 

 

Not so. You may have been boating longer than me, but in 19 years of boat ownership I have never stopped checking. When does this effect kick in?

 

Edited to add: I am, to the best of my knowledge and belief, both human and natural.

Edited February 23, 2016 by Athy

[Ray T]

Not saying whether it is right or wrong but found this:

 

 

[Guest]

 

If you tell somebody to "always check X", but they find that "X" is invariably true every time they check, human nature is that they stop checking.

 

The only way that you ensure that people do check that the pawl is in place is to ensure that they will sometimes find that it isn't.

 

Isn't that a bit like laying a 'trap' for somebody, just in case they happen to forget to check?

[Dave_P]

I'd echo what nick said earlier. Never take your hand off the windlass while it's on the winding gear. I wince when I see people wandering around the lock, windlass still on with the paddle up.

[IanR]

Look folks, there is no denying that my mums injury is her fault, that is not the issue and she is in no way looking for anyone to blame or any form of compo or claim. I was simply asking for reasons why anyone would not replace the pawl, it seems like the only logical thing to do. Surely winding the paddle firmly to a close at the end of its travel would close it better than leaving the pawl off and hoping for gravity to pay its part on the last inch??

 

Magictime, thanks for the three option poll, makes much more simple reading!!

 

Ian.

[Keeping Up]

I was always taught (back in the 60s/70s) that it is absolutely essential to leave the pawl off after lowering the paddles, to minimise the possibility of the paddle being left slightly open. I can still remember being very sternly told off by the BW lock-keepers of the time for putting them back on again.

 

More recently I have often found the paddles open by a couple of turns, with the pawl engaged. I still leave them off myself, but nowadays I have arguments withe CRT lockies (or the volunteers) who accuse me of causing a safety hazard by doing so. If they were ALWAYS off people would get used to always checking them; I don't intend to change the way I do it.

[Guest]

Not so. You may have been boating longer than me, but in 19 years of boat ownership I have never stopped checking. When does this effect kick in?

 

Edited to add: I am, to the best of my knowledge and belief, both human and natural.

 

I can't claim I have checked each and every time but I do know when I have forgotten the absence of that familiar 'clicking' has alerted me that I should have done, stopped and flipped the pawl over.

 

(Hydraulically operated paddles exempted of course!)

[Athy]

I'd echo what nick said earlier. Never take your hand off the windlass while it's on the winding gear. I wince when I see people wandering around the lock, windlass still on with the paddle up.

I totally agree.

[IanR]

So the issue here then is not ensuring the paddle is fully down before you leave the pawl on or off?? Then there is the issue of whether its best to hopefully teach some complacent or newby boater a lesson by leaving the pawl disengaged to catch some folk out. I was taught to flip the pawl back and always check its position before operating.

 

Ian.

[Guest]

Irrelevant drivel removed....

Edited February 23, 2016 by MJG

[Athy]

Quod erat demonstrandum.

[Guest]

Quod erat demonstrandum.

 

Not quite.

 

It didn't actually say what to do when the paddle was lowered again, only to ensure the pawl was engaged with the paddle up and before you remove your windlass.

[Mal in Somerset]

A couple of years ago, we were coming up the the locks at Diglis from the Severn with a boat coming down. The other boaters left the lock and dropped the paddles, replacing the pawls. We entered and closed the gates and opened the top paddles. The lock filled nicely however I was unable to open the top gates even though the lock appeared full. I went back to the bottom paddles and checked them by releasing the pawls. The paddles stayed where they were. I went back to the top telling everyone that the paddles were definitely shut. Still no luck. Eventually the lock keeper came along and after a cursory glance simply said "That bottom paddle isn't shut properly!" He released the pawl ,lifted the paddle half a turn and then lowered it by slightly more. The paddle lowered enough to seal it and the top gates could be opened after just a few seconds.

 

From this I would suggest that whether the pawl is on or off sometimes has no bearing on whether the paddle is closed or not.

 

I would think that in most cases people will follow the instructions they first learned be that from a parent, boat operator, lockkeeper or other. When I originally started boating 30 odd years ago, I was told to replace the pawl as a matter of courtesy, but also to "always" check that the pawl was on before starting to raise a paddle. Over the years I would say that in the vast majority of cases I will find the pawls "on" however over recent years the numbers with pawls "off" has increased.

[Paul C]

It doesn't need to be complicated. Putting to one side the unfortunate injury in the OP:

 

1. Checking the catch is down is 100% the responsibility of the person about to use the paddle.

2. Therefore, it makes no difference whatsoever if the previous user has left it up or down. They don't need to worry about the next user, because its not their responsibility. If they want to make a habit of leaving them up, because some paddles can leak etc, or because its simply easier for them, or because its a (fairly) positive indication from a distance that the paddle is fully down (not 95% down) then that's their decision.

 

A paddle catch is insignificant in terms of "extra work" for the next crew. Its massively different than, for example, leaving the gates open; or to a lesser extent, leaving the paddles wound up.

[Guest]

It doesn't need to be complicated. Putting to one side the unfortunate injury in the OP:

 

1. Checking the catch is down is 100% the responsibility of the person about to use the paddle.

2. Therefore, it makes no difference whatsoever if the previous user has left it up or down. They don't need to worry about the next user, because its not their responsibility. If they want to make a habit of leaving them up, because some paddles can leak etc, or because its simply easier for them, or because its a (fairly) positive indication from a distance that the paddle is fully down (not 95% down) then that's their decision.

 

A paddle catch is insignificant in terms of "extra work" for the next crew. Its massively different than, for example, leaving the gates open; or to a lesser extent, leaving the paddles wound up.

 

Tad selfish in my opinion.

[nicknorman]

Reminds me of a couple of pilots in a helicopter in the Shetlands. Whilst taxying out (and I think then attempting to lift off) there seemed to be a major restriction on the collective. They went back, shutdown and unloaded the passengers. The engineers came to have a look and noticed that the collective trim switch (which is normally left off on that type) was switched on. "click" and the problem was fixed. It is part of the preflight / predeparture check to make sure all switches etc are in the correct position. That didn't stop the base chief pilot writing in his report that "pilots have an expectation that switches not normally moved will be in the correct position." You can perhaps imagine what I as the then chief training captain on the fleet had to say about that. I expect his ears are still ringing!

 

One has to take responsibility for ones own actions and safety and not expect someone else to do it. I do usually reinstate the ratchets, but probably not always. I certainly notice if the ratchet is not in place by spending 0.5 seconds of my precious time looking.

There is no right answer, some folk reinstate the ratchet, some don't, some ratchets cant be reinstated (Ham Baker paddles etc) and some can't not be reinstated. It is not difficult. The ratchet will sometimes be on and sometimes not. GET OVER IT! (or lose some teeth.)

[Athy]

It doesn't need to be complicated. Putting to one side the unfortunate injury in the OP:

 

1. Checking the catch is down is 100% the responsibility of the person about to use the paddle.

2. Therefore, it makes no difference whatsoever if the previous user has left it up or down. They don't need to worry about the next user, because its not their responsibility.

You could argue that it's not a boater's responsibility to leave the paddle down and the safety catch on, yes. But I would not subscribe to that view. To me it comes in the category of slowing down past moored craft, not mooring 12 feet behind the next boat at popular VMs, helping the boats in front through the lock when there's a queue, in other words doing unto others as you'd like them to do unto you.

[Paul C]

Reminds me of a couple of pilots in a helicopter in the Shetlands. Whilst taxying out (and I think then attempting to lift off) there seemed to be a major restriction on the collective. They went back, shutdown and unloaded the passengers. The engineers came to have a look and noticed that the collective trim switch (which is normally left off on that type) was switched on. "click" and the problem was fixed. It is part of the preflight / predeparture check to make sure all switches etc are in the correct position. That didn't stop the base chief pilot writing in his report that "pilots have an expectation that switches not normally moved will be in the correct position." You can perhaps imagine what I as the then chief training captain on the fleet had to say about that. I expect his ears are still ringing!

 

One has to take responsibility for ones own actions and safety and not expect someone else to do it. I do usually reinstate the ratchets, but probably not always. I certainly notice if the ratchet is not in place by spending 0.5 seconds of my precious time looking.

There is no right answer, some folk reinstate the ratchet, some don't, some ratchets cant be reinstated (Ham Baker paddles etc) and some can't not be reinstated. It is not difficult. The ratchet will sometimes be on and sometimes not. GET OVER IT! (or lose some teeth.)

 

 

Reminds me of this accident:

 

 

It too, was an item on the checklist which wasn't checked. Unfortunately it was a much more important item, the gust lock; and they managed to reach V2 before they even checked/noticed it.

 

http://code7700.com/mishap_giv_n121jm.html

You could argue that it's not a boater's responsibility to leave the paddle down and the safety catch on, yes. But I would not subscribe to that view. To me it comes in the category of slowing down past moored craft, not mooring 12 feet behind the next boat at popular VMs, helping the boats in front through the lock when there's a queue, in other words doing unto others as you'd like them to do unto you.

 

So given my previous percentages, and that the responsibility cannot exceed 100% - how much of a responsibility is it for the next crew to check the catch is down? 95%? 90%? 50%?

[Guest]

You could argue that it's not a boater's responsibility to leave the paddle down and the safety catch on, yes. But I would not subscribe to that view. To me it comes in the category of slowing down past moored craft, not mooring 12 feet behind the next boat at popular VMs, helping the boats in front through the lock when there's a queue, in other words doing unto others as you'd like them to do unto you.

 

I think it's called 'helping' or 'assisting' other boaters.

 

I know I have been off the water a year now but things seem to be changing....

[nicknorman]

 

I think it's called 'helping' or 'assisting' other boaters.

 

I know I have been off the water a year now but things seem to be changing....

 

It is nothing to do with helping or assisting. For example we often open a paddle for a following boat etc - that requires a modicum of effort. This wailing about paddle ratchets is about mollycoddling and presuming the other person needs looking after. Putting a ratchet down takes a second. As does forgetting to put it down on leaving. As does putting it down when you arrive. The trouble is that, as mentioned, if a person such as the OP's mother routinely encounters locks with the ratchet already down, they presume it will always be thus but in fact it is INEVITABLE that one day it won't be. Especially since there is in fact no rule nor convention on the matter despite the hysteria.

 

It is a bit like feeding your dog far too much. Superficially it seems kind but in fact it is the opposite.

 

Anyway whilst I am ranting can I say that it really pees me off when some smart arse ticks me off for not having the ratchet on. I often do this on gate paddles opened early. I wind up fully knowing that the boat is at the back of the lock, but also knowing that if for some reason the boat comes forward I will have to lower it rapidly. Once things have stabilised I put the ratchet down and extract the windlass. I really don't need some inexperienced know-it-all telling me how I should be doing it.

Edited February 23, 2016 by nicknorman

[Guest]

 

It is nothing to do with helping or assisting.

 

Yes it is, you are providing a bit of back up if they do happen to forget to check.

[Paul C]

You could argue that it's not a boater's responsibility to leave the paddle down and the safety catch on, yes. But I would not subscribe to that view. To me it comes in the category of slowing down past moored craft, not mooring 12 feet behind the next boat at popular VMs, helping the boats in front through the lock when there's a queue, in other words doing unto others as you'd like them to do unto you.

 

 

 

I think it's called 'helping' or 'assisting' other boaters.

 

I know I have been off the water a year now but things seem to be changing....

 

Which is why I personally put the catches down. Nothing to do with an obligation to do so, or an acceptance that I am somehow partially responsible for the safety of the next lock user; but simply to help/assist them, or even just to conform with local convention/expectations.

If you genuinely want to be helpful to the next user, backset the lock if appropriate; or leave the gate open.