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Lock solo as a beginner on a leisure craft


Calranthe

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Hopefully starting the buying process next week on a 20ft buckingham as per another thread and I will be moving it from sawley to Aston marina via the trent & mersey something like a 3-4 day journey on my own talk about trial by fire, so this is my post asking for advice and ideas. 

All of the solo lock video's I have seen are from the perspective of a narrow boat, as some one pointed out to me try not to get into a lock with a narrow boat you are in a plastic boat which will bend and squish especially if up against a steel narrow boat.

So I probably need a lot of advice and if some one a video or some thing, I am all about studying before hand learning before hand so better prepared.

Thank you for any advice given.

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On 27/05/2017 at 00:00, Calranthe said:

Hopefully starting the buying process next week on a 20ft buckingham as per another thread and I will be moving it from sawley to Aston marina via the trent & mersey something like a 3-4 day journey on my own talk about trial by fire, so this is my post asking for advice and ideas. 

All of the solo lock video's I have seen are from the perspective of a narrow boat, as some one pointed out to me try not to get into a lock with a narrow boat you are in a plastic boat which will bend and squish especially if up against a steel narrow boat.

So I probably need a lot of advice and if some one a video or some thing, I am all about studying before hand learning before hand so better prepared.

Thank you for any advice given.

 

Chill. This is twaddle spouted by someone with no experience, and possibly in a pub. 

Steel narrow boats in a lock might surge back and forth if the skipper is an incompetent goon, but most are not. Even so there is no disgrace in choosing to wait and transit a lock by yourself.

Others will probably have better advice!

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When I had a Norman 23 and out by myself I often simply "walked" the boat in and out of locks using the ropes. Easy done with a boat that size. Only needed one lock gate as well on some navigations.  Regarding sharing with narrow boats, let them go in first and insist that they rope up. If they won't, let them go through first. Many locks have ground paddles as well as or instead of gate paddles. Ground paddles open at the side and the flow pushes the boats against the lock wall. Make sure you are not between the narrow boat and the wall in this instance. On "manned" locks the Locky will know which way to arrange your boat safely. Top rule, take your time and think about what is happening as paddles are opened etc. This way you will soon be aware of how boats react to flows.

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I'd agree with the above. It's important to distinguish between 

  • going alongside a narrow boat in a 14' wide lock, where Mr Norman has it spot on, to reduce the risk of sideways crushing. This applies whether going up or down. Your journey will start by going uphill in wide locks. 
  • going in front or behind of a 40' (say) narrow boat, in a 7' wide lock, which you will do from Burton on Trent onwards. When going uphill I would say it's again safer for the NB to go in first and put their bows onto the gate at the other end. The way the paddles operate will (normally) hold their boat onto the gate. You can do it the other way around - plastic at the front and steel at the back - but it requires a bit more alertness on the part of the NB to make sure they stay right at the back of the lock
  • going downhill in a narrow lock is much easier, again NB in first, keeping well forward, just make sure you don't get caught up on the cill.

Slightly off topic, there is a lot of useful stuff in the CRT boaters handbook, both written and video versions here.

And finally, you need to decide if you are happy going up and down ladders. Again that links to Mr Norman's point. You need to decide before the boat disappears down into an emptying lock!

 

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Thank you for all the interesting responses, I plan on taking my time after all do not see the point of rushing around on canals.

So if I am getting this right, if I am at all concern wait and go through alone, study the locks on the route I will be taking to learn where the water comes in and in a 20ft plastic boat I could do most of it by pulling the boat through from the lock and canal bank due to its ease of movement.

I do not think I have a problem going up and down a ladder but it should be interesting.

Please keep the advice coming :)

 

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1 hour ago, rasputin said:

Climbing a ladder with a rope in your teeth and a lock key that you forgot to leave at the top when opening the gates is even more interesting 

I find it perfectly easy to climb a ladder with a rope in my hand, or sometimes with a loop in the end round my arm. No way would I put it in my teeth - I know where it's been! Windlass tucked in belt. I've seen it stated here that it is not necessary to use ladders when singlehanding, but in some locks it certainly is.

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I  would most certainly pay an instructor to help me for half a day, a lot of things could go wrong in the first few hours..

You can't even be sure if you have the equipment in working order.

Ropes for mooring may not be suitable for locking for example.

The engine may splutter and die, what is your contingency plan, what about the breakdown Rescue Service, its a pre payment service.

Do you have a lifejacket, if so wear it, if not , get one!

 

Edited by LadyG
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8 hours ago, Calranthe said:

Thank you for all the interesting responses, I plan on taking my time after all do not see the point of rushing around on canals.

So if I am getting this right, if I am at all concern wait and go through alone, study the locks on the route I will be taking to learn where the water comes in and in a 20ft plastic boat I could do most of it by pulling the boat through from the lock and canal bank due to its ease of movement.

I do not think I have a problem going up and down a ladder but it should be interesting.

Please keep the advice coming :)

 

you only have 6 double locks (14ft) to do then they are all single (7ft) after stenson, can you get someone to help you through those 6 ?

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16 hours ago, Calranthe said:

Hopefully starting the buying process next week on a 20ft buckingham as per another thread and I will be moving it from sawley to Aston marina via the trent & mersey something like a 3-4 day journey on my own talk about trial by fire, so this is my post asking for advice and ideas. 

All of the solo lock video's I have seen are from the perspective of a narrow boat, as some one pointed out to me try not to get into a lock with a narrow boat you are in a plastic boat which will bend and squish especially if up against a steel narrow boat.

So I probably need a lot of advice and if some one a video or some thing, I am all about studying before hand learning before hand so better prepared.

Thank you for any advice given.

My boat Juno is a 23 foot GRP Viking Cruiser, I've shared width ways and length ways with narrow boats and wide beams. Juno goes into the lock after the steel boats, so normally at the back (the only exception was a lock full of GRP boats on the Avon). The biggest risk isn't whilst the lock fills or empties, but a big fat steel job coming in behind or alongside and misjudging the maneuver, possibly at speed

If you are on your own and not sharing the lock I'd be tempted to rope in and out when the lock is empty, small GRP boats are quite "tippy" and whilst I will stand on Lutine's roof to reach the lock ladder I'm not sure I'd fancy it on Juno 

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Rope length is a good point. I don't know what the maximum rise and fall of the locks on the Trent & Mersey are. If it were 12 feet for example, your ropes would need to be at least 24 feet. Don't go for the cheapest ropes! The amount of use they get can play very heck with your hands! Gloves are useful!

One other item I found very useful when coming into moorings etc was a DIY affair of a longish broom handle with a large wire loop (the galvanised stuff as used for fences etc) securely fastened to the end by a fine'ish drill through. Great for steadying the boat when coming alongside or even holding the boat whilst someone else opens a lock or lifts/swings a bridge! Make sure the loop is large enough to fit over bollards as well as mooring posts.

And, yes, you can pull the boat through almost any lock. I've yet to find one that I couldn't! The ladders can get very slippery with both water and general slimey muck. Occasionally some are damaged and rather wobbly! There was one at Fall Ings in Wakefield that was terryfying to climb!

Edited by Mr Norman
Forgot a bit!
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Best advice for locking is to take it slowly and do watch what is happening. So many accidents happen because the person working the lock is not watching the boat. If you are nervous,I suggest you just use one paddle until you get the feel of it. You will need to use ropes as a single hander. Statement of the blindingly obvious,dont tie the boat up tight when locking down. If roping the boat into a lock with a bridge below the bottom gates,,you will need to develop a method of passing the rope under the bridge. Best of luck for your first cruise.

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We bought a good set of life jackets automatic inflate and rated most situations, our offer on the boat was accepted conditional on taking the boat out to make sure it feels right all should come together next Thursday, we visited Ashton Marina, love it so that will be home base, moving the boat up from Sawley may be a bit of trial by fire so I am investigating getting the boat transported up to Ashton (it is only a 20ft), as for locks ropes and all that yes I will be taking my time and getting a good rope plus I like the idea of the broom/tool.

Thank you.

 

 

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You have to make your own decision about what is right for you/what you are happy with etc., using the useful bits of info you get given... But as ever, consider the provenance of the posters whose advice you are considering when sorting the wheat from the chaff.

Experienced narrowboaters/canal boaters, regular single handers, those familiar with the stretch, those who lock with small boats, GRP boats etc., are good picks for a start-but beware of those who see fit to offer advice framed as if coming from an old hand despite never having owned or hired a narrow/canal craft.

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21 hours ago, LadyG said:

I  would most certainly pay an instructor to help me for half a day, a lot of things could go wrong in the first few hours..

You can't even be sure if you have the equipment in working order.

Ropes for mooring may not be suitable for locking for example.

The engine may splutter and die, what is your contingency plan, what about the breakdown Rescue Service, its a pre payment service.

Do you have a lifejacket, if so wear it, if not , get one!

 

Bear in mind LadyG in handing down this advice has NO experience of narrowboating or canals. 

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1 hour ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Bear in mind LadyG in handing down this advice has NO experience of narrowboating or canals. 

............."I  would most certainly pay an instructor to help me for half a day, a lot of things could go wrong in the first few hours.."[UNQUOTE]

Now which bit of advice is wrong?

instructor?

lifejacket?

equipment?

When I make my first challenging navigation, that is exactly what I will be doing. In fact I think that is the way I framed my response to OP's post.

First thing I   will be doing is to have an instructional full engine service, and familiarisation.

Just because I have no experience of narrow boat locking does not mean I have not used canals, or used locks .... numerous times as it happens.

Edited by LadyG
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22 minutes ago, LadyG said:

Just because I have no experience of narrow boat locking does not mean I have not used canals, or used locks .... numerous times as it happens.

There is just a 'wee bit of difference' between Stenson lock (on the T&M) and those on the Crinan / Caledonian canals.

 

Edited by Alan de Enfield
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4 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

There is just a we bit of difference between Stenson lock and those on the Crinan / Caledonian canals.

 

hmm, not sure that makes much difference, water comes in, boat rises, water goes out, boat falls. 

http://canalplan.org.uk/cgi-bin/gazetteer.cgi?where=Stenson+Lock+No+6

The canalplan.org site is a fantastic source of information.

 

Edited by LadyG
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1 minute ago, LadyG said:

hmm, not sure that makes much difference, water comes in, boat rises, water goes out, boat falls. 

 

Absolutely correct - but just shows your ignorance of the reality of the 'narrow' canal locks.

Giving advice without at least some knowledge is dangerous.

Starcoaster is 'spot on' - any advice from you should be ignored - stick to asking questions.

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11 hours ago, Starcoaster said:

You have to make your own decision about what is right for you/what you are happy with etc., using the useful bits of info you get given... But as ever, consider the provenance of the posters whose advice you are considering when sorting the wheat from the chaff.

Experienced narrowboaters/canal boaters, regular single handers, those familiar with the stretch, those who lock with small boats, GRP boats etc., are good picks for a start-but beware of those who see fit to offer advice framed as if coming from an old hand despite never having owned or hired a narrow/canal craft.

I don't see much advice being given to OP from all these experienced narrowboaters on here, no doubt they have forgotten more than I have learned about narrow locks, but oddly enough, using locks in Scotland, the boats are jammed in tight, often five to a lock designed to take one puffer.

There's even a dedicated song with VHS type video.

 
My post was general boating common sense for the singlehander novice, not specific to  Stenson Lock or narrow boats. 

But please do, tell me, what is the difference between locking through Stenson and Crinan? Except that you would not be able to walk through as the water is a scarce resource so boats go through in batches.

Edited by LadyG
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37 minutes ago, LadyG said:

 

But please do, tell me what is the difference between locking through Stenson and Crinan?

For the record, I am one of those very experienced boaters, having handled narrow beam and broad beam boats of a variety of lengths and build types generally but not exclusively on the English and Welsh canal system (the other bits include the Bristol Channel and the Cross Florida Waterway)

In my view there was nothing wrong with your advice, it was honest and sensible. If I have two caveats they would be that it was a possibly a little too cautious for the canal system, where a breakdown tends to result in nestling against the trees on the far bank and nothing more, and that it didn't offer specific advice on GRP cruisers in narrow or deep canal locks, but then that's for others to give who have that experience.

Since you asked, Stenson is deep by canal standards (12 feet), has top ground and gate paddles, the ground paddles vent just below the lower surface level rather than near the floor which catches even experienced crews out, the gate paddles vent seven feet above the water level when the lock is empty. There are two risks, one is being blase, the other is being too terrified to use it! The biggest risk to a single hander is sailing in and someone, thinking they are being helpful, whipping all the top paddles up at once: this happens. The bridge over the bottom carries a main road and makes roping the boat in and out virtually impossible, which leaves on shinning up the ladder with a rope and windlass.

I'd like to do the Crinan one day, but never have, my guess is that the locks have significantly different, and possibly more user friendly, characteristics. 

Edited to add, my technique for single handing through Stenson is to put the kettle on and wait for another boat to turn up

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Oh, 

30 minutes ago, magpie patrick said:

For the record, I am one of those very experienced boaters, having handled narrow beam and broad beam boats of a variety of lengths and build types generally but not exclusively on the English and Welsh canal system (the other bits include the Bristol Channel and the Cross Florida Waterway)

In my view there was nothing wrong with your advice, it was honest and sensible. If I have two caveats they would be that it was a possibly a little too cautious for the canal system, where a breakdown tends to result in nestling against the trees on the far bank and nothing more, and that it didn't offer specific advice on GRP cruisers in narrow or deep canal locks, but then that's for others to give who have that experience.

Since you asked, Stenson is deep by canal standards (12 feet), has top ground and gate paddles, the ground paddles vent just below the lower surface level rather than near the floor which catches even experienced crews out, the gate paddles vent seven feet above the water level when the lock is empty. There are two risks, one is being blase, the other is being too terrified to use it! The biggest risk to a single hander is sailing in and someone, thinking they are being helpful, whipping all the top paddles up at once: this happens. The bridge over the bottom carries a main road and makes roping the boat in and out virtually impossible, which leaves on shinning up the ladder with a rope and windlass.

I'd like to do the Crinan one day, but never have, my guess is that the locks have significantly different, and possibly more user friendly, characteristics. 

Ty

https://www.scottishcanals.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/crinan-canal-WEB.pdf

note particularly that returning the rope from boat to mooring ring to boat is unsafe, so the ropes are usually secured to the shore [bollards or captive rings] and the boat handler controls the boat from the deck, feeding the rope through a block, so the first thing to do is to put a bowline in the shore end of the rope.

The sea locks are pretty deep, but are manned. Two good ropes of 12metre minimum,  are required.

The inrush ofwater can be pretty fierce, due in most part to over-enthusiastic lock handlers, no doubt in a rush to get to the Crinan Hotel.

 

Edited by LadyG
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