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'Vollockies' versus Lock Keepers


pete harrison

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3 minutes ago, rgreg said:

Yes, I enjoy self-operating these locks although I can understand that some people may find them a little intimidating.

A remarkable number of people with boats based on the non tidal Trent have never self operated a lock.

I have operated all of the non tidal locks without any issues . The only physical effort being climbing ladders , which i can understand is not desirable for many people. 

I have operated the locks on several occasions for people who have no clue how a lock works.

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11 hours ago, MartynG said:

Occasionally there will be a full time C&RT person on a non tidal lock.

A lot of the volunteers on the non tidal locks have become more than adequately proficient . The ones that were as much use as chocolate teapot appear to have gone. The full timers that were also as much use  a chocolate teapot have been dispatched  or retired - and there have been at least two that I am pleased not to see any longer.

Up to now I believe  the tidal locks have been manned by full timers - with the exception of volunteers sometimes acting as an assistant.  But some of the full timers on the tidal locks  have been better than others.  Some of the full timers have been allowed to be in charge with insufficient experience. 

 I have witnessed bad advice, regarding tides ,from full time lock keepers and now rely substantially on my own calculations.  There are some full timers remaining who I regard highly but they are becoming fewer in number.

I don't have  a problem with volunteers if they are adequately trained. On the tidal locks that would require quite a lengthy period of training, as it should also for a full time employee. 

 

We always have relied on our own tide times and not those of the lockies. We know our own boat and what progress we should make and can calculate our own times from that. The lockies tend to work around the cruising speed of a narrowboat which is bugger all use to us.

I personally don't think the tidal locks should be manned by volunteers at all unless they are working beside one of the trained full time lockies when it is busier in the summer months. The non tidal Trent locks are one thing, they are pretty difficult to cock up. The tidal locks are another matter altogether.

 

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12 hours ago, Rob-M said:

The Bratch has a full time paid staff member in attendance plus some volockies. When the volunteer whacked a paddle up on me the full time keeper gave him a right lecture.

As above Foxton and Watford have a mix of staff and volunteer as well.

I can't believe they have anyone full time at the Bratch.  Most of the times I've been through I've seen nobody.

11 hours ago, sharpness said:

When ( & a big if)  the system gets up &  running there will be an app you can download to operate the bridges. If like us you don't have a smart phone you will need to phone the control centre in Gloucester & they will open the bridge, presumably every time you reach one that needs opening as not every one of the 16 needs opening for a narrowboat.It seems at the moment it is not working as expected & there isn't a live date yet. At the moment it is still being tested on Sandfield bridge & presumably when they've got a working system it will need to be installed on all bridges.

Or you could buy a basic tablet for about £25.  About the same as a windlass.

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10 hours ago, nikvah said:

As the primary lockie on our boat I'm always glad to see a volockie and have rarely had any problems beside some paddle-whacking (no harm done except giving my wife a start down below - as she's become used to a more gentle ride). I understand that if we want to keep our license fees down we can't afford professional staff to lift paddles and open gates for us.

On the upper Thames (above Oxford) I really can't see any need for a paid, resident gardener and gatekeeper at the easily operated locks.

Just saying.

 

Thames lockies aren't there to operate the locks as their primary function. Their job is to monitor the flow and adjust the weirs. On some reaches the 'pulling order' is quite complicated. Not only that but they have to coordinate levels with water abstractors. Not hugely complicated, but needs someone on the ground.

In the summer there's not a lot to do - so they maintain the grounds. If there was more traffic it would make more sense. 

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47 minutes ago, larryjc said:

No ones mentioned the dreaded Wigan flight where a paid lockie can help on certain days. Although if you ask him he'll probably help on any day he's there.

The paid staff only give limited assistance on Tuesdays for booked in boaters.

Peter, the really helpful, friendly chap who is there nearly every day is a volunteer. 

He has been runner up about 3 times for CRT volunteer of the year.

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15 hours ago, rgreg said:

Yes, I enjoy self-operating these locks although I can understand that some people may find them a little intimidating.

That's a fair point but in reality they are a breeze. Yes they are huge compared to the manually operated locks on narrow and wide canals but the work required is a lot less and you don't need to do much more than turn a key and push a few buttons.

The only one that ever caught me out was the one at Thorne, where the gates each side were operated separately. But i sussed quite quickly what i was doing wrong.

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8 minutes ago, MJG said:

That's a fair point but in reality they are a breeze. Yes they are huge compared to the manually operated locks on narrow and wide canals but the work required is a lot less and you don't need to do much more than turn a key and push a few buttons.

The only one that ever caught me out was the one at Thorne, where the gates each side were operated separately. But i sussed quite quickly what i was doing wrong.

Snap!! first electric lock I ever had to operate on my own and the bloody bridge broke as well in Thorne

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23 hours ago, Naughty Cal said:

I personally don't think the tidal locks should be manned by volunteers at all 

I agree in principle but better the tidal locks are manned than not at all.

If a person is adequately trained and experienced before being put in charge it should, in theory, make no difference whether they are an employee or a volunteer.

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8 hours ago, Alway Swilby said:

It's difficult putting crew ashore below Gunthorpe lock.

Never had a problem at Gunthorpe but Liam did nearly lose the boat at Holme when it was on self service :rolleyes:

I was up at the lock getting the gates open with my back to Liam, chatting away to some bloke walking his dog. Nice chap and we had a lovely chap. He asked while looking over my shoulder how long we had had the boat. 5 years I replied. "Does he know what he is doing with it then" was his reply. To which I looked around to see Liam playing tug of war with Naughty-Cal's bow line and the boat drifting further and further into the centre of the river without him. :wacko:

Somehow he managed to get it back hand over hand and jumped onto the bow of the boat before bringing her into the lock like nothing had happened.

In fact come to think of it we had another wind related issue in Holme lock that same year on the way back down river. It was manned this time but as we were leaving the lock I dropped the bow line which aimed straight for the props of course. Liam stuck it into neutral but in the time it took me to gather up the rope the wind had blown the boat sideways across the lock with perhaps a ft either side of the boat. We were being blown gracefully sideways towards the exposed cill. Liam did somehow manage to turn the boat but it would only turn towards the cill. So we had to reverse out of the lock much to the amusement of the lockie and the people on the pontoon below waiting to come back in. 

Word made its way down river as each subsequent lockie asked which way we would be exiting their lock :)

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8 hours ago, MJG said:

That's a fair point but in reality they are a breeze. Yes they are huge compared to the manually operated locks on narrow and wide canals but the work required is a lot less and you don't need to do much more than turn a key and push a few buttons.

The only one that ever caught me out was the one at Thorne, where the gates each side were operated separately. But i sussed quite quickly what i was doing wrong.

I think it's the size that some people find daunting but, as you say, the operation is very straight forward.

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Not that it is now a problem but the old steel lock in the Cheshire locks could have done with a lock keeper to explain the operation of same with the coming of leisure boats a 1st time attempt at passing through caused much head scratching

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15 hours ago, Mike Todd said:

Where in A and C? The only ones i  have spotted, iirc, are itinerant ones, booked by the commercial boats, such as there are.

I think you're probably right. I do remember a lockie at Lemonroyd a few years ago, but I think this is usually a straightforward key and button job now. I remember a very large gravel barge going the other way, so maybe that was it. As far as I know the gravel traffic has now sadly ceased after Lafarge took over Tarmac (or vice versa).

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19 hours ago, MJG said:

The only one that ever caught me out was the one at Thorne, where the gates each side were operated separately. But i sussed quite quickly what i was doing wrong.

Sounds like the evil footbridge!

It's owned by the town council so when you phone CaRT to send out the cavalry 'cos it ain't working the voice at the other end knows nothing about it.

(And yes, one may wonder how I know this)

The other thing to remember when in that neck of the woods is to move the bridge across Sykehouse Lock first, before you do anything else, and last when you've done everything else.

There was a vlockie there last time we came through, so potential problem avoided.

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2 hours ago, Victor Vectis said:

Sounds like the evil footbridge!

It's owned by the town council so when you phone CaRT to send out the cavalry 'cos it ain't working the voice at the other end knows nothing about it.

(And yes, one may wonder how I know this)

The other thing to remember when in that neck of the woods is to move the bridge across Sykehouse Lock first, before you do anything else, and last when you've done everything else.

There was a vlockie there last time we came through, so potential problem avoided.

No, I was talking about the lock near staniland marina.

It's the only one I know of where the gates on each side operate independently, so you have two switches for each end of the lock.

I didn't initially clock it thinking one side had failed and that I was going to have to pass through single gates. Of course when you look at it properly it becomes obvious.

As to sykehouse, yes I had forgotten about the one. I used to nickname it 'the monkey puzzle lock'. No problem if you follow the sequence, but we once got trapped there when the whole thing shut down and we had to wait for CRT to come.

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