CRT and anti vandal keys

[Sea Dog]

I have a black anti-vandal key which came with the boat.  It worked everywhere we went, and we're on the BCN and it's environs a fair bit, until early one morning in the rain commencing the descent of the Ashton flight down to Manchester.  The key wouldn't go into the hole and, sure enough, the business end was very slightly bulbous.  Fortunately, the bright shiny spare I'd bought but never used came to the rescue!

 

I add this to the previous cautionary posts by Biscuits et al in case there are readers thinking "my black anti-vandal key works fine".

 

[TheBiscuits]

54 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I have a black anti-vandal key which came with the boat.  It worked everywhere we went, and we're on the BCN and it's environs a fair bit, until early one morning in the rain commencing the descent of the Ashton flight down to Manchester.  The key wouldn't go into the hole and, sure enough, the business end was very slightly bulbous.  Fortunately, the bright shiny spare I'd bought but never used came to the rescue!

 

I add this to the previous cautionary posts by Biscuits et al in case there are readers thinking "my black anti-vandal key works fine".

 

We discovered the "curse of the black key" on Wigan flight with a pair of boats getting hung up in a lock.  MrsBiscuit ran over to let some more water in the top paddle ... and was carrying a black key that didn't fit the handcuff lock, despite having fitted every other one she had operated coming down the flight.

 

Fortunately, Peter the volunteer was there and unlocked the paddle for her, so we stopped the incident from getting nasty.

 

When we had finished the flight, I went into CRT's Wigan office and bought two "proper" keys for a fiver each.

[Neil2]

12 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

Actually "water conservation key" us how BW generally described them, and indeed CRT may still well do so.

Boaters may mostly know them as "handcuff keys", but that's not how the authorities have tended to refer to them.

A bit like "Watermate key" rather than "BW Key" (or "CRT Key"?), for the Yale type keys.

Ha ha, been there as well.   

 

We donated one of our spare BW/Watermate keys to Adam Lee and Martin the Donkey (https://adamwalks.wordpress.com/2018/04/10/lighthouse-to-lighthouse-walking-western-britain-with-martin-the-donkey/ if anyone's interested)  so yet again a trip to the local chandlery  - watermate key?  BW key? Sigh, - "you know one of those yale keys that open the water points etc."  Oh, you mean a station key sir...  No I fecking well don't I have never, ever, heard anyone call it that before I swear these folk do it on purpose they must be related to the guy behind the counter at my plumbers merchant who always, without fail, feigns ignorance whatever piece of hardware I ask for then smugly tells me what I should have called it.

[ditchcrawler]

2 hours ago, TheBiscuits said:

We discovered the "curse of the black key" on Wigan flight with a pair of boats getting hung up in a lock.  MrsBiscuit ran over to let some more water in the top paddle ... and was carrying a black key that didn't fit the handcuff lock, despite having fitted every other one she had operated coming down the flight.

 

Fortunately, Peter the volunteer was there and unlocked the paddle for her, so we stopped the incident from getting nasty.

 

When we had finished the flight, I went into CRT's Wigan office and bought two "proper" keys for a fiver each.

That is why when we do locks that require anti vandal keys we have them all removed until we have completed the lock.

[aracer]

Thanks all - don't have an anti-vandal key and haven't needed one (now 8 locks from home and sure I'm OK, the locks in the city don't have them). Bought a Watermate key when I picked the boat up and used that a few times (including Shirley drawbridge - the feeling of power as you stop the traffic!)

 

Didn't really find the manual lift bridges all that hard either in the end - just adopted much the same process as with solo locking, bow in to get off and on before the bridge, stern in to get off and on after the bridge. In fact it all seemed easier than I was expecting, but I guess it helps to be a lot fitter and more nimble than the average boater when jumping on and off the roof.