Lock gates left open

[DickBrowne]

Lovely day today, so SWMBO and myself went for wander along the canal. Walked from Buckby top lock to Whilton Marina, had a lovely lunch at the New Inn, Spike-the-dog deposited more on the towpath than he's eaten all week, but I did clean it all up

 

As we wandered back to the car we saw four boats locking up or down and every single on left their exit gate open. Nothing visible coming the other way on any occasion, which is about the only reason I would leave an exit gate open, but every gate was still left open. At one point there was a noticeable flow on the cut, running toward an open gate.

 

So, here's my question - I've always been told that unless there's a boat waiting to enter the lock I'm leaving, I should always close the gate. Have I been wrongly informed? Is there a good reason for closing the gate, or does it make no difference, other than making things look neat?

 

On a related but different subject, there was a lot of other lock abuse going on. Whilst lunching we watched two boats lock through Buckby Top, and both times the paddles were left to close themselves, banging down rather than being wound down. one boat motored in and used the cill to stop himself, the next, coming the other way bowhauled the boat in and rather than use the rope to stop it just let it run into the gate.

 

Maybe I'm being sensitive here, but it all seemed a little bit macho and insensitive out there today.

 

RB

[Ray T]

It is current etiquette I believe to close all lock gates and paddles down when finished.

 

This I am told helps save water.

 

Page 12 et al, here: http://www.waterscap...uments/1784.pdf

 

Sadly an increasing amount of boaters do not appear to care for the infrastructure.

 

These are "masters of the me universe who expect the world to revolve round the axis of their own ego".

Edited February 12, 2011 by Ray T

[Sir Nibble]

BW would prefer you to shut all gates. The issue when logically debated usually comes down on the side of leaving them open as the thinking mans solution, and closing them for the hard of thinking who believe that having to shut a gate where they would have to stop anyway is a massive inconvenience compared to motoring into a lock with gate left open. In short, it is massively more convenient for boaters to leave them open but inconvenient for a navigation authority entrenched in the belief that two worn out and knackered gates hold back water better than one decently maintained one.

[nigel carton]

I got ticked off on the Middle Level for closing the gates by one of the commisioners, there reasoning is if anybody or animal falls into the lock chamber, they have an escape route. Sort of makes sense.

[carlt]

 

Sadly an increasing amount of boaters do not appear to care for the infrastructure.

 

How does reducing the number of times a piece of equipment is used, therefore worn, equate to not caring about the infrastructure?

[sociable_hermit]

Close them on canals, leave them open on rivers.

 

It gets a bit confusing on navigations that are a mixture of the two, though.

[Ray T]

How does reducing the number of times a piece of equipment is used, therefore worn, equate to not caring about the infrastructure?

 

 

I'm talking about ramming gates etc as the OP mentioned, not amount of usage and you know that!!!!

Edited February 12, 2011 by Ray T

[sociable_hermit]

How does reducing the number of times a piece of equipment is used, therefore worn, equate to not caring about the infrastructure?

I think he was referring to the gate bashing in that instance, rather than the use of gates per se.

[carlt]

I'm talking about ramming gates etc as the OP mentioned, not amount of usage and you know that!!!!

Sorry for the misunderstanding but you refer to gates being closed, in your post, not gate bashing...

 

It is current etiquette I believe to close all lock gates and paddles down when finished.

 

This I am told helps save water.

 

Page 12 et al, here: http://www.waterscap...uments/1784.pdf

 

Sadly an increasing amount of boaters do not appear to care for the infrastructure.

 

These are "masters of the me universe who expect the world to revolve round the axis of their own ego".

[sociable_hermit]

On a related but different subject, there was a lot of other lock abuse going on. Whilst lunching we watched two boats lock through Buckby Top, and both times the paddles were left to close themselves, banging down rather than being wound down. one boat motored in and used the cill to stop himself, the next, coming the other way bowhauled the boat in and rather than use the rope to stop it just let it run into the gate.

[casper ghost]

I chug alone, sometimes, and tend to leave the exit gate/s open unless I can see a boat following me. Seems better to leave the lock set up with gate open than to shut it and it leaks so it's in no ones favour.

I don't get the argument about shutting the gates to save water, don't see what difference that would make?

Casp'

[muddywaters]

I chug alone, sometimes, and tend to leave the exit gate/s open unless I can see a boat following me. Seems better to leave the lock set up with gate open than to shut it and it leaks so it's in no ones favour.

I don't get the argument about shutting the gates to save water, don't see what difference that would make?

Casp'

You could always get some idiot open the top paddles before shutting the bottom gate.

And yes I have seen someone be that stupid lol.

Can honestly say we have always closed lock gates when leaving unless there is a boat either waiting to go in or approaching

[Chertsey]

I chug alone, sometimes, and tend to leave the exit gate/s open unless I can see a boat following me. Seems better to leave the lock set up with gate open than to shut it and it leaks so it's in no ones favour.

I don't get the argument about shutting the gates to save water, don't see what difference that would make?

Casp'

If it leaks at one end, closing the gate at the other end prevents or slows down the draining of the pound above. That's the theory. To be fair, in some cases you can see that the leaks are so bad that it makes sense; in others, where the gates don't leak, it comes back to the arguments about convenience. It's easier for BW to have a blanket rule based on the assumption that it leaks.

Practice in the 'old days' was to leave gates and paddles open on leaving - you can see in old films that the boater coming in closes the gate and lowers the paddle (by hand, but not dropping it) practically in one movement. As a refinement to the old argument I would suggest that if you're going to leave the gate open, there's no point closing the paddle, far easier for the next person in to do both.

Edited February 12, 2011 by Chertsey

[RLWP]

You could always get some idiot open the top paddles before shutting the bottom gate.

And yes I have seen someone be that stupid lol.

<snip>

 

You do know that the working boaters would often open the top paddles when the bottom gates were open to stop the boat, don't you.

 

Some BCN locks have a passage that comes out behind the bottom gate so opening a top paddle closes the bottom gate.

 

Richard

[bottle]

Now here is a little story:

 

Last year whilst descending Buckby locks we closed all gates behind us, just as we were half way down the last one, a man with a windlass came down the towpath at a pace, he accused us of leaving all the bottom gates open and swore at my wife.

 

I explained that we had closed all the gates but it was a very windy day and it was blowing in a direction to open them.

 

His boat was still not insight.

 

As we left the lock, I informed my wife to leave the bottom gates open, which she did, again his language was abusive and foul.

 

What he had not seen and which I then informed him of, there was, a boat waiting to enter the lock.

 

I could almost see the steam coming out of his ears.

[sociable_hermit]

I've had the exact opposite of that. On the one flight on the Macc, we were half way down a lock when someone appeared up the steps and started having a go about us 'shutting the gates in their face'.

 

It took a long while for him to comprehend that the people who swung the gates shut were the crew of the boat in front of theirs, going the opposite way to us. They'd gone in, up and out, and we'd come into a full lock with the gates left open for us (thanks very much). Consequently we were working the lock in the best possible way and would, incidentally, have been very irritated if he'd appeared and emptied it again.

 

We then went on our way to the next lock, which his wife was only just leaving on their boat (so it hadn't even been close, aside from anything else). She started having a pop at Dan, who told her to get her facts right and then, under provocation, also told her her fortune in no uncertain terms. She then accused him of having "anger management issues" which remains a winning line whenever he gets animated, to this day

[Speedwheel]

You do know that the working boaters would often open the top paddles when the bottom gates were open to stop the boat, don't you.

 

Some of us still do. If you are boating with a Bolinder it is by far the easiest way to stop the boat (obviously going up hill in a narrow lock). Unfortunately many of these skills are slowly being lost and those coming onto the canals do not understand the hows and whys.

 

Some BCN locks have a passage that comes out behind the bottom gate so opening a top paddle closes the bottom gate.

 

That's interesting, I was unaware of that. Do you know any specific locks that have this?

[RLWP]

Some of us still do. If you are boating with a Bolinder it is by far the easiest way to stop the boat (obviously going up hill in a narrow lock). Unfortunately many of these skills are slowly being lost and those coming onto the canals do not understand the hows and whys.

 

 

 

That's interesting, I was unaware of that. Do you know any specific locks that have this?

 

No, although one of the ones in the Garrison flight still seems to do this (I know it's not BCN). Trouble is, the passages silt up, so many don't do this anymore

 

Richard

[Speedwheel]

No, although one of the ones in the Garrison flight still seems to do this (I know it's not BCN). Trouble is, the passages silt up, so many don't do this anymore

 

Richard

 

Interesting thanks. I will have to investigate a bit more. A simple but very good idea.

[Keeping Up]

That's interesting, I was unaware of that. Do you know any specific locks that have this?

I do0n't believe any of them still do. I was told they were deliberately blocked up, so that people wouldn't be tempted to use them to shut the gates.

[RLWP]

I do0n't believe any of them still do. I was told they were deliberately blocked up, so that people wouldn't be tempted to use them to shut the gates.

 

There was definately one on the Garrison in 2009 that still seemed to work

 

Richard

Edited February 12, 2011 by RLWP

[GUMPY]

I seem to remember them on perry bar but it was at least 10 years ago.

[RichardN]

I was told today that the cost of back pumping on the K&A is £400,000 a year. Sounds like a good reason to shut gates.

[Albion]

I seem to remember them on perry bar but it was at least 10 years ago.

 

Yes, there were definitely some like that on the Perry Bar flight about 5 years ago.

Roger

[sociable_hermit]

I was told today that the cost of back pumping on the K&A is £400,000 a year. Sounds like a good reason to shut gates.

Sounds like a good reason to fix them, too