Sinking on Leeds Liverpool

[Pluto]

The old official dimensions for Bank Newton were 66ft long by 15ft 6in wide, with one set of figures from the 1880s suggesting the width varied from lock to lock by around one foot, ie the lock width varied from 15ft 4in to 16ft 8in over the six locks, though the overall chamber length only varied from 72ft 6in to 74ft.

[MartinC]

On 07/09/2017 at 00:30, leeco said:

 

From what I can see here is strange but maybe the pound was high that he entered the lock and he got caught on the gate.

 

 

Certainly looks as if it caught on top of the beam. Unlikely to have caught lower down as there are "slider boards". I wonder why it was not fitted with a sacrificial link on the fender.

The previous sinking in lock 40 involved two boats using the lock and appears to relate to projecting stonework.

[NickF]

20 hours ago, Ex Brummie said:

Difference being, Knowle locks are 70ft, this is a 60ft boat in a 56ft lock. He would have no room to go astern.

Very true ex Brummie, it was certainly not my proudest moment and one from which I learnt a lesson. I was in a 65ft boat at the time and Knowle locks are pretty big anyway.

[StephenA]

21 hours ago, Ex Brummie said:

Difference being, Knowle locks are 70ft, this is a 60ft boat in a 56ft lock. He would have no room to go astern.

No it's 62 foot lock....

[Neil2]

Just to clarify, the sequence of events is as I described, it looks like the paddle is down but it isn't all the way down - I couldn't get a picture from the other side that would have shown this.  

I suppose with hindsight the crew could have immediately opened the top paddles to refill the lock but once they realised what was happening I guess getting everyone off the boat was the priority.

The boat was refloated relatively easily in the end with some tension applies to the port quarter but it looks like a complete refit and the engine is apparently knackered as it was left running.    

[Mark Rawlinson]

I've just returned from a holiday on that section of the L+L, hiring from Shire Cruisers at Barnoldswick for a return trip to Skipton.

Although my wife and I are fairly experienced hirers,  I had read about previous accidents at Bank Newton, particularly the saga of 'accident waiting to happen' lock 40, so we were exceptionally careful on that flight of locks, although it didn't help that we went down them last Tuesday morning in monsoon conditions, with water overflowing the lock sides as well as the gates!

Regarding the paddle gear on the bottom gates, I found that the 'friction' varied significantly from lock to lock - around 50% had to be wound down manually but the rest could be 'dropped' and would drift down smoothly (the top gate paddles are all ungeared so cannot be dropped without causing damage)

While it wasn't a factor on this occasion, a big problem on the L+L is that a lot of the hire boaters are first timers, hiring from Silsden/Snaygill/Skipton with no lock tuition beyond a DVD and/or model of a lock; in contrast, Shire cruisers insist on accompanying all hirers, first timers or not, through the three Greenberfield locks, pointing out potential dangers, which I think is a great idea.

 

 

 

 

[alan_fincher]

On 9/7/2017 at 23:01, Ex Brummie said:

Difference being, Knowle locks are 70ft, this is a 60ft boat in a 56ft lock. He would have no room to go astern.

No it's 62 foot lock....

On 9/8/2017 at 20:04, NickF said:

Very true ex Brummie, it was certainly not my proudest moment and one from which I learnt a lesson. I was in a 65ft boat at the time and Knowle locks are pretty big anyway.

 

And Knowle locks could actually accommodate 78 feet, not 70 feet.  THe new locks on the GU Birmingham main line are significantly longer than those on the Southern GU.

Edited September 10, 2017 by alan_fincher

[Canal321]

1 hour ago, Mark Rawlinson said:

...

While it wasn't a factor on this occasion, a big problem on the L+L is that a lot of the hire boaters are first timers, hiring from Silsden/Snaygill/Skipton with no lock tuition beyond a DVD and/or model of a lock; in contrast, Shire cruisers insist on accompanying all hirers, first timers or not, through the three Greenberfield locks, pointing out potential dangers, which I think is a great idea.

 

 

I do know that the operators at Silsden boats (Drum boats) do give guidance on how to operate the actual lock. They wait until you are at the bottom of Gargrave then drive out to meet you and give instruction, after that you are on your own.

I don't know what happens if you head towards Bingley though, as there are lock keepers there to help you through.