K&A Lock 96 Damage Canal Closure

[Alan de Enfield]

Not seen this mentioned so :

 

Notice Details

From Date:

27th March 2018 at 09:00

To Date:

until further notice

Type:

Navigation Closure

Reason:

Repair

Notice updates:

27/03/2018 @ 15:58

To recover the gate a temporary dam will need to be installed on Wednesday 28 March.  On Thursday 29 March a crane is due to arrive to lift the gate back into position. 

The gate was damaged due to a boat impact and will need to be assessed for any further damage prior to reopening the navigation.

This notice will be updated on Thursday 29 March once engineering inspections have been completed. 

Thank you for your patience while we undertake these repairs.

Description:

The top offside gate at Padworth Middle Lock 96 has come loose as a result of a broken collar.

Works are underway to retrieve the sunken gate and repair the collar.

This notice will be updated at 4pm this afternoon. 

[zenataomm]

I wonder how many more times this year we'll hear "K&A", "Lock" and "Boat" in the same sentence?

[Nightwatch]

Allegedly the boater concerned sailed off into the sunset without reporting the incident. Also, allegedly, there is CCTV n the area! 

[Jim Batty]

This is a very deep lock and the lower gates have been wonky for years, with loads of water gushing through them.

It's pretty rural -- maybe the culprit was caught on a cow-cam.

[OldGoat]

Being charitable, isn't it possible that the collar could have broken while the gate was being opened and the pressure (or lack thereof) of the water caused the gate to fall into the lock as - or after the boat pulled away?

I've seen gates left open "waving in the wind" as boats move towards / away from a lock in a hurry. The skipper needs to be pretty unobservant, though!

[Nightwatch]

Repaired and reopened. Big pat on the back for all concerned. It's not all gloom and doom.

[David Mack]

Update on 29/03/2018:

We are pleased to announce that Padworth Lock 96 has been repaired and the navigation is open.

This would not have been possible without the swift and dedicated action of our engineers, construction team and contractors. 

We were able to reopen in time for the start of the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race and the Easter holiday weekend.  A massive thank you to all who made that possible. 

[Horace42]

I am trying to imagine the damage being caused.

Considering in the 'old' days gates had to be strong enough to withstand very rough handling when opened and closed by the power and weight of water and boats,  and ropes and horses, and being the same gates today, it must have taken quite a clout to break something - which suggests more than a nudge - ie, being hit by a boat at speed - further suggesting it happened on entry to the lock (or where did the speed come from?).

And with such damage caused by speed, and being the top gate, the boat must have been going down, so how did the lock empty (with a broken top gate) to allow the boat to leave.

And since there was no boat there, and a broken top gate (assuming full of water) the boat must have been going up (with little or no speed to cause damage).

Which suggests the lock was working (enough) to allow the boat to leave.

........interesting.....!

 

 

 

[dmr]

Maybe the collar just broke from old age and the gate toppled over or broke loose as the boater was closing it. That lock is also a popular hangout for teenagers, though mostly in summer, maybe they were playing with it a bit roughly.

The pintle thingy on the bottom is not very deep so I could imagine a gate just falling over if the collar was not holding it.

..............Dave

 

[Alan de Enfield]

21 hours ago, David Mack said:

We were able to reopen in time for the start of the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race

Thats good then.

Edited March 30, 2018 by Alan de Enfield

[MtB]

21 hours ago, David Mack said:

We were able to reopen in time for the start of the Devizes to Westminster Canoe Race and the Easter holiday weekend.  A massive thank you to all who made that possible. 

 

This bit puzzles me. Do Crt think the canoeists use the locks?

 

[Dave123]

1 hour ago, Horace42 said:

I am trying to imagine the damage being caused.

Considering in the 'old' days gates had to be strong enough to withstand very rough handling when opened and closed by the power and weight of water and boats,  and ropes and horses, and being the same gates today, it must have taken quite a clout to break something - which suggests more than a nudge - ie, being hit by a boat at speed - further suggesting it happened on entry to the lock (or where did the speed come from?).

And with such damage caused by speed, and being the top gate, the boat must have been going down, so how did the lock empty (with a broken top gate) to allow the boat to leave.

And since there was no boat there, and a broken top gate (assuming full of water) the boat must have been going up (with little or no speed to cause damage).

Which suggests the lock was working (enough) to allow the boat to leave.

........interesting.....!

 

 

 

Maybe they reversed back out afterwards? And guiltily sped off...?

[David Mack]

There was a similar incident a while back where a rope trailing from the side of a boat leaving the lock got caught in one of those gates where the strap is on the gate and goes around an iron upstand attached to the lockside. The forward momentum of the boat was enough to left the gate and strap over the upstand. The gate fell against the side of the boat, and as the boat passed, fell sideways into the lock. Only a narrow lock in that case so the gate ended up at an angle across the chamber, but in a wide lock it could disappear below the surface.

[Detling]

Speculation/rumour maybe witnessed, but I was not there, a green widebeam who sailed away after dislodging top gate, he was in a hurry to exit the lock using his boat to open gates.

[Mike Todd]

On 29/03/2018 at 14:45, Jim Batty said:

This is a very deep lock and the lower gates have been wonky for years, with loads of water gushing through them.

It's pretty rural -- maybe the culprit was caught on a cow-cam.

Nicholsons gives Padworth 96 as 5ft 1 in - deep? very deep? (My own photo of the lock is consistent with that rise/fall)

[Jim Batty]

Ah, you're right; I was thinking of No 97 just downstream near Lower Padworth. I can imagine that one falling apart.

Lock 96 is within sight of the ABC boat hire/chandlery/services at Aldermaston Wharf. Surely someone there would have a good idea of what took place. 

[Horace42]

Back to my previous comments #8, I had in mind a narrow lock, but now realising it is a wide one - which brings back a distant memory of seeing a hire boat (short and narrow) at an angle in a wide lock being drawn into the top gate by the swirling current when filling, causing the bow fender to lodge under the crossbeam of the gate. The soft fender gave way and it 'popped' out as the water rose.

But if a hard steel bow nose got stuck under the crossbeam I imagine the gate could have lifted clear of the bottom pivot but still held in place by the top collar.

The other gate still working OK for the boat to leave.

On the other hand, for no other reason than wear-and-tear in the course time, the top bracket/collar might have worked loose with enough slack to let the gate 'float' out of the bottom pivot.

......as  I said..... interesting....

 

 

[MtB]

1 hour ago, Horace42 said:

On the other hand, for no other reason than wear-and-tear in the course time, the top bracket/collar might have worked loose with enough slack to let the gate 'float' out of the bottom pivot.

 

 

Except the gate doesn't float, as illustrated by it completely sinking once free!

[Horace42]

1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Except the gate doesn't float, as illustrated by it completely sinking once free!

Thanks. At least a fact, so back to the drawing board.

But saving face, perhaps the gate had a bit of buoyancy and not entirely a dead weight - making it lighter to lift by the nose of a boat under the crossbeam - enough to fall over - and to break/dislodge  the top collar/bracket as well - unless already broken - maybe.

It would be interesting to hear the official explanation.

 

[Alan de Enfield]

7 minutes ago, Horace42 said:

It would be interesting to hear the official explanation.

It'll be the usual one "Damage caused by boater".

[Scholar Gypsy]

36 minutes ago, Horace42 said:

Thanks. At least a fact, so back to the drawing board.

But saving face, perhaps the gate had a bit of buoyancy and not entirely a dead weight - making it lighter to lift by the nose of a boat under the crossbeam - enough to fall over - and to break/dislodge  the top collar/bracket as well - unless already broken - maybe.

It would be interesting to hear the official explanation.

 

Irrelevant fact. The gates at West India dock float - they have buoyancy tanks inside them and water is pumped in and out to make them neutrally buoyant.

[ditchcrawler]

4 hours ago, Horace42 said:

Back to my previous comments #8, I had in mind a narrow lock, but now realising it is a wide one - which brings back a distant memory of seeing a hire boat (short and narrow) at an angle in a wide lock being drawn into the top gate by the swirling current when filling, causing the bow fender to lodge under the crossbeam of the gate. The soft fender gave way and it 'popped' out as the water rose.

But if a hard steel bow nose got stuck under the crossbeam I imagine the gate could have lifted clear of the bottom pivot but still held in place by the top collar.

The other gate still working OK for the boat to leave.

On the other hand, for no other reason than wear-and-tear in the course time, the top bracket/collar might have worked loose with enough slack to let the gate 'float' out of the bottom pivot.

......as  I said..... interesting....

 

 

Isn't that how they normally get lifted out