Hatton Locks record transit time

[neilb12]

Hi

 

I was just wondering if there was a recognised fastest time for the transit of Hatton Locks? I've had a quick Google and found a few times quoted but nothing concrete.

 

Just looking at doing a teambuilding exercise with about 5 people and this was one of the ideas that came up.

[monkeyhanger]

I seem to recall Tim and Pru doing it in a silly time like one and a half hours. Of course , the 12 Cart workers they had with them didn't help at all !

[RLWP]

I seem to recall Tim and Pru doing it in a silly time like one and a half hours. Of course , the 12 Cart workers they had with them didn't help at all !

 

That would be a very good time

 

The problem with it as a time challenge is that you have to share the flight with other boat users. It would respond well to forming a team though as it's a repetitive task, so you start out as a rabble and by half way up you'll have become a team anyway

 

Richard

Edited December 23, 2016 by RLWP

[koukouvagia]

Hi

 

I was just wondering if there was a recognised fastest time for the transit of Hatton Locks? I've had a quick Google and found a few times quoted but nothing concrete.

 

Just looking at doing a teambuilding exercise with about 5 people and this was one of the ideas that came up.

I don't want to be cynical but any team building operation I've watched operating locks takes about three times longer than the slowest single-handed boater.

I remember watching a team of bankers making a dog's dinner of the Marsworth locks.

[Batavia]

I don't want to be cynical but any team building operation I've watched operating locks takes about three times longer than the slowest single-handed boater.

I remember watching a team of bankers making a dog's dinner of the Marsworth locks.

Not to mention the trail of chaos and ill-feeling that these people used to leave behind them!

 

Chris G

[Bee]

I reckon I set a record a few years ago by bow hauling an old joey boat down the flight, by myself, in the rain. All B***** day.

[junior]

Sounds like a recipe for disaster to me.

[ditchcrawler]

Hi

 

I was just wondering if there was a recognised fastest time for the transit of Hatton Locks? I've had a quick Google and found a few times quoted but nothing concrete.

 

Just looking at doing a teambuilding exercise with about 5 people and this was one of the ideas that came up.

Yes they go down well on canals where the team is focused on getting the fastest time and sod the rest.

[churchward]

I seem to recall Tim and Pru doing it in a silly time like one and a half hours. Of course , the 12 Cart workers they had with them didn't help at all !

I am not sure that is possible even with lots of help and all locks set for you ahead.

 

The flight is between 1.5 to 2 miles length of canal. So even at normal cruising speed that would take aprox 30-40minutes without any of the locks in the way and between locks you probably won't get up to speed anyway. That would leave 1 hour or 50 mins just to operate the locks which would be an average of less than 3 mins a lock. Do the locks fill or drain in that time?

[RLWP]

which would be an average of less than 3 mins a lock. Do the locks fill or drain in that time?

 

They are quite quick, perhaps not surprising seeing they were built in the 1930's

 

Even so, 3 minutes is very quick

 

Richard

Edited December 23, 2016 by RLWP

[cuthound]

Best time we have done Hatton in was two hours and 10 minutes (crew of 2). We shared the locks with another boater who had the confidence to enter locks at the same time as us, and met a fair few boats coming down, so locks of locks set for us.

 

Edited for spillung.

Edited December 23, 2016 by cuthound

[churchward]

 

They are quite quick, perhaps not surprising seeing they were built in the 1930's

 

Even so, 3 minutes is very quick

 

Richard

Yes, I remember them being quite quick although the winding gear takes quite a few turns to get them fully open. When we went up with another boat with a good crew we did quite well and were quite efficient setting locks ahead when we could and didn't need to wait for another boat coming down. We also lashed both boats together and went in as one. Even so we did not get near the speed of 1.5 hours. When we came down on our own it was quiet in the winter they drained quicker than filling but I am not sure it was less than 3 mins. Also we had to fill some/most before getting into the lock.

[alan_fincher]

Just looking at doing a teambuilding exercise with about 5 people and this was one of the ideas that came up.

 

I agree with those saying this is a bad idea.

 

It's highly unlikely you will get exclusive use of the flight, so any attempt at time trials these days is likely to upset some other people.

 

By all means do a flight as fast as you reasonably can, and revel in the glory if you happen to get a good passage, but never attempt to do it as something that matters to you if you can't get a good time.

 

Team building exercises on canals do not have a great reputation amongst others that are affected by them. Our local hire boat firm has done a bit of this over the years, and having to hang around whilst they do the "how could we have done that better" analysis, whist continuing to hold people up, can really be quite annoying, (although at times highly amusing, particularly if they have just dragged a "team" member out of the cut!....)

[Mrs Trackman]

I used to love doing Hatton locks with 18 9-11 year olds and 2 boats. The children were divided into 3s each group with an adult, swapping rest breaks and tasks as we progressed. They loved the challenge of getting down faster than any previous trip. At the end we'd say, wow! That's amazing, you lot did it in.....can't even remember, have feeling might have done it in 2.20 but probably more like 2 45. They were always happy with that. Not likely to work with adults and as others have said does depend who else is on flight and whether locks for or against you. Hatton locks are slow and there's a lot of walking. Beautiful flight though.

[ditchcrawler]

I can see it now, two chaps on the top paddles, one bringing the boat in, as the boat is 90% in both top paddles up and the start to close the bottom gate while the other chap is 3 locks ahead setting them in advance and boats waiting to come down.

[Paul C]

A lock drains or refills typically in about 90 seconds. A typical narrow lock can be done in about 4 mins within a flight (including the travel between the locks), if everything is optimised ie the boat is driven into and out of the lock quickly and cleanly; and there's always people to open and close the gates promptly. So, given that Hatton is 21 locks, the 1 1/2 hour time is possible if there's enough crew to do all the gates and paddles with no delays.

 

Personally, I believe the 1 1/2 hour time can be used as a guideline to add a bit to allow for other boats, we did it in about 2 1/2 hours with another boat, and that included an amount of waiting round due to meeting boats coming in the opposite direction, some of which were clearly not very good at boat control or operating locks etc.

[frangar]

The last time we locked down the flight the vlockys had set three locks ahead of the boats coming up...us and the other boats descending voiced our opinion....the vlockys then hid in their hut....also had amusing discussion about letting the paddles descend in the correct manner.....they do seem to think the flight is their personal plaything.

 

I would strongly advise against any sort of team building unless you want to feel the wrath of other boaters just trying to work efficiently!

 

Gareth

[Dav and Pen]

These are good locks but doubt West really did it in 1 1/2 hours if he was steering. Been up them single handed and loaded in under 3 hours using one paddle to fill and one on the next lock to empty, afraid didn't close top gate. Lock keeper hid in his house until I got to the top lock. Happy days!.

[Jrtm]

You would need a team per lock around you i.e.

3-4 people per lock

3 teams one above you, one in the lock your in and one in the lock below

 

Rotating round the boat so a team can open and shut each gate and paddle.

 

Locks being set perfectly for you with a boat that is around 50 foot so you can shut gates asap and open paddles early as pos with boat ready as close to gates as pos so as soon as opening its trying to get out.

Edited December 23, 2016 by billybobbooth

[john6767]

I don't think 1:30 is possible, 2:00 wold be about the best that I would think is achievable, and anything under 2:30 is very fast. As has been said as well as the 21 locks there is a reasonable distance to travel the bottom 5 or so locks are spaced out. At 5 min per lock that is already 1:45, without the time between locks.

[IanM]

1hr 32 mins with 5 of us (4 on the locks, one steering) was our fastest time beating our previous best of 1hr 40.

[magpie patrick]

If you were to do a team-building exercise then the KPI's (Key Performance Indicator's - this is a business outing is it not?) would not be about speed but about how well the job was done: was the team courteous to other canal users? Did they wait their turn when the lock was against them? Did the operation respect the canal infrastructure without undue delay? Did the operation optimise the use of water by correctly setting the lock ahead etc

 

At the end, when moored out of everyone's way, you could review the above including whether it could have been done faster without harming other targets.

Edited December 23, 2016 by magpie patrick

[Tim Lewis]

Hi

 

I was just wondering if there was a recognised fastest time for the transit of Hatton Locks? I've had a quick Google and found a few times quoted but nothing concrete.

 

Just looking at doing a teambuilding exercise with about 5 people and this was one of the ideas that came up.

 

Many Years ago when we were younger and fitter we tried for a fastest attempt down Hatton Locks. There were about eight of us and the ground crew if not working gates and paddles were running. Being on a hire boat less than full length we got to a sequence that the top gates were shut and the bottom paddles open before the boat had stopped. We thus reckoned that at no time was the boat not moving either horizontally or vertically.

 

Out eventual time was 80 minutes (1hr 20mins) which we reckoned could not be beaten by any kind of a margin. I would add that every gate and paddle was closed after we used them.

 

Have looked it up and found that the date was 31st Dec 1985, picture:

 

 

As a matter of comparison about the same time we (Different crew) tried the same up the Wolverhampton 21, our time was 90 minutes (Slower filling locks)

 

Tim

Edited December 23, 2016 by Tim Lewis

[BEngo]

We once went up Hatton , in the pouring rain, with a Bavarian family in a hireboat about 50ft long. They were on a mission! Father lockwheeled all the way, in shorts (not leather), running between the locks at a good pace. Teenage son and daughter drove half each and mother worked her side of the locks. Rosemary dropped paddles did our gates and I got off at each lock and lifted our paddles.

 

As soon as their top gate was open enough the hireboat was off, throttle bent over the end stop, heading for the next lock while Mum tidied up her side as soon as it was clear. I was winding like hell to get the gear in and the speed wheel on to get back abreast of the hire boat into the bottom gates. The two drivers both quickly learned to keep plenty of power on as I came stonking in alongside winding like mad to hold back before the cill. Not even a good dousing of the front well and cabin from the leaky gates of middle lock slowed them down. We didn't meet much coming down and what there was didn't hold us up, so we were both out of the top and closed up in just on two hours. The family then tied up and retired to the café for breakfast whilst we put the kettle on for a much needed brew.

 

I doubt we shall ever beat that, unless the day returns when gates can be left open and paddles up. A pair of mob-handed, hard-driven motor boats employing all the time honoured methods of "getting 'em ahead with a vengeance" might well achieve better times but I doubt that the volockies will like it!

 

N

[john6767]

1hr 32 mins with 5 of us (4 on the locks, one steering) was our fastest time beating our previous best of 1hr 40.

That is impressive!