Mike Todd

Seems to be a long queue at New Marton (at least when we go that way!) even though there is no obvious reason. It must be a quiet complicated situation involving hire boat times, popular overnight moorings etc etc. The queue is often much longer than at Grindley Brook.

To a large extent in 'government contracts' the government is the customer. It is the private enterprise contractor who underbid to get the work who runs over schedule! Or where the 'rules' change part way through - like requiring bat tunnels!

Traditionally, a stern strap was passed around the gate (esp when descending a narrow lock) which closed the lock and stopped the boat in one move. Of course, such a practice is now deprecated as too many people get it wrong and cause more damage than anything else. There are videos about that show some of the ways in which 'traditional' boaters saved time and/or effort - such as opening bottom gates in a wide lock when descending. These are fascinating and important to understand if seeking to discover the reasons for certain aspects of lock design. Bit it does mean that answering the question about what is the right way is complicated because, for an experienced steerer, the best and/or traditional technique is no longer available. For example, in some places where a narrow top gate once had a reinforced upstand to the outer vertical edge, that is now obstructed so that a rope cannot be passed around, or newer locks omit the feature. AFAIK, the original designers of locks and canals did not issue a manual about the correct way to use them. Hence, even traditional means what users gradually worked out for themselves - with owner and operator having conflicting objectives!

I did hear a figure for the annual cost of back pumping on K&A - alas I have forgotten the detail! - it was said that it makes the K&A the most expensive navigation on the network.

Perhaps due to increase in train weights? Or traffic density?

Depends on specific lock design. Some intentionally create a strong forward pull on the boat, so long as it us close enough to the top. The closeness depends on the lock! In some cases, the pull us too strong for the boat in full reverse to resist and the result is a substantial impact in cill or gate. It us quite easy to muss tge pull staring until it us too late to do anything about it. My understanding us that this was intentional for full length boats, not many short boats anyway. In some locks there is a specific bumper board that hangs in front of the cill. I am not sure whether it is to limit the effect of unintentional impacts or whether it was accepted practice. Although the practice is called riding the cill, I suspect that it is a misnomer in the sense that the cill is the angled shape that the gates fit against, below water, to create a seal, along with the way in which the champhered edges come together vertically. In most cases, the riding is against the main bulk of the lock below the cill. This arrangement can be seen clearly in deeper locks where the lower water level is below the cill. I also suspect that damage is largely done on an impact rather than sustained pressure on what is a large wall. So, if tte steere comes into the lock and reaches the far end at 'zero' speed then not much happens. In many narrow locks the gate itself is protected with a thick steel plate, again seemingly intended to mitigate the effect of a boat's bow on it. It also ensures that the bist does not catch under the balance beam. There are various reasons why the practice is helpful to traditional boaters which are different to today's boating scenario. How many boats will enter a full lock from above and fail to come to a full halt before reaching the bottom gates. Impact here is more likely to have a serious consequence. Hanging too far back risks either the rudder or something else being trapped between the gates, leading to a sinking. Overall, there many ways of working a lock, whether single handed or not. I do not believe that any if them are without some downside so it is up to the steerer to make their own risk assessment.

Try white spirit instead - with orange or tonic as you please.

People were generally shorter and smaller back then depending on diet. If you study old seating plans for parish churches with pews you will soon discover the differences between then and now

It is not like a parking charge where you pay for the time you are there and anyone else can use it otherwise. More like the cost if having your own front drive and knowing that you can park there whenever you want it. Overall, you are likely to end up paying the same in the long term so that the provider's revenue matches the costs involved in its provision or, in the case of much on-street town centre parking, a means of sharing out use fairly. A means of controlling long term stayers . Oops! Careful what you wish for. . .

Which Aston Lock?

Bow haul as far as you can then flush?

And continental, I hear.

Or that there are so many people running a business with no experience of what government is about. In which case it is surprising how often I see their names on a boat.

I have just seen an online item https://insolvencyintel.co.uk/louis-and-joshua-boat-builders-limited/ that seems to suggest that Louiss amd Joshua have appointed liquidators. Does anyone know if true (sad of so) and what is the background? I don't know how reliable insolvencyintel are. Actually I have now also see the official Gazette https://www.thegazette.co.uk/notice/4911379

In today's economy that is highly likely as most models of almost anything only have a short market life. The 'new' model inevitably has something different about it - if only claim 'newer and better'. This happened to us with our previous boat when we had an engine replacement. We went like-for-like, ie Beta 3x (3?,5?) on the basis that it should make the job easier for the boatyard and hey quoted a price on that basis. When the engine was delivered they found the footprint ie location of mounts, had changed and they had to do some 'engineering' to make it fit. They were (still are) a good old fashioned boatyard and did not renege on the quote! I would expect that the EA locks were often bespoke designed anyway. As with motorway bridges which most people think as having the same design for many miles but to a briodge engineer they are all bespoke, not least to fit a different landscape each time. IIRC the mechanisation of the Nene locks took place over a longish period so it is probable that the availability of parts as in the first would be unlikely and buying in a sufficient stock to cover a many-year project would be uneconomic, especially in a j-i-t supply chain.