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A near miss


Rob-M

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Had a bit of a scare this afternoon working through Junction lock. Going up the lock as we normally do Mrs-M went off to set the next lock, I dropped the offside  paddle, opened the gate, dropped the other paddle took the boat out of the lock and engaged reverse once past the gate as I always do. I then stepped off closed the gate with the boat gently reversing back. As it was raining and the boat had moved more to the offside I walked across the gate to get back on the boat, as I stepped off the end of the gate my foot slipped (even though I was wearing my working boots) and I fell landing on the edge of the side with the boat still in reverse only inches from me. Fortunately I didn't go in to the water and I was able to roll away from the water but another few inches and I could have been in the water between the reversing boat and the lock gate with consequences I don't really want to think about.

I didn't see this as a high risk activity but it has made me think about leaving the boat in gear with nobody on it.

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I suppose it depends on the boat / prop but I would never leave ours in reverse "unattended" as it tends to pick up speed backwards fairly quickly even at tickover. I do as others have suggested - bring the boat to a stop, put it in neutral, before getting off to shut a bottom gate.

Well than said, when entering a lock to go down I normally put it in reverse and get off to close the gate, whilst Jeff waits at the bottom paddles. If I have under-cooked it maybe the boat will bump the bottom gate (gently, with its fender) but if I have over-cooked it the boat may start coming back towards the gate I'm still closing. At this point I gesticulate wildly to Jeff to wind paddle, and when he does so of course it both helps to stop the boat!s backward trajectory, and help finish the gate closing. I have never though of this as being dangerous and perhaps because I don't cross the lock, and the boat is well penned in the lock, it isn't. But I'll have another think about it when I'm sober!

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2 hours ago, midsmatt said:

Eek! :o 

That really is an eye opener... I'm fairly confident in the ability of my work/walking boots to provide a lot of grip. I wonder what would be considered the best footwear for both working locks and time on the back of the boat in all weathers? 

not sure, as yesterday in my excellent boots, almost went helter skelter at the top of Braunston when stepping on the CILL painted bit, balancing between front end and one hand on the wheeled BBQ......I survived.

note to self and others, CILL markings are slippy when wet.

  • Horror 1
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I too have slipped almost disastrously walking along a balance beam in the wet when the temp was below zero and I hadn't realised. 

Learned me NEVER to trust my footwear.

I decided long ago never to alight from the bote whilst in astern gear (shortly after being present at the scene when the lady died at Varney's Lock on the southern Oxford), in case I should happen to fall in.

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Glad to hear you’re alright and here to tell the story.

reminds me of my Grandad teaching me when using a knife  to always cut away away from oneself therefore is the knife should slip avoid cutting yourself by accident. I usually apply this logic to most things i.e. allowing for what might happen if something unexpected should go wrong and removing the dangerous situation.

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11 hours ago, midsmatt said:

Eek! :o 

That really is an eye opener... I'm fairly confident in the ability of my work/walking boots to provide a lot of grip. I wonder what would be considered the best footwear for both working locks and time on the back of the boat in all weathers? 

I always wear my walking boots when boating, particularly after  a simular incident a couple of years ago, except was mooring up at the time so was a risk of swimming rather than getting crushed.   

 

However an incident this this summer really brought it home.    Coming down Wooton Rivers flight on the K&A, I was just holding the boat on lock landing whilst Mrs Dharl was helping a fellow boater who was coming up.    I heard a splash and a cry from the lock, I dashed down as Mrs Dharl said the other boater had fallen in the filling lock, the other boaters wife was just standing on the other side as I shouted to drop the paddles whilst I grabbed our windlass and did the same on the towpath side.    Meantime a passerby had jumped on to their boat which I also did to help the guy out of the water (looking back I am not 100% sure how I managed this as it was a single boat and had drifted to the middle of the lock!).     After helping the chap out nad checking he was ok the first thing he said was 'oh well perhaps I shouldn't be wearing these sandals!"  Apparently he had fallen in a lock before (slipped off the side deck) whilst wearing these foot

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It is food for thought. I close top gates by the same method although I have never needed to cross the gate to re-board the boat. Will try stopping the boat and leaving it in neutral. I only ever boat wearing walking boots as it's so easy to slip on wet surfaces even with decent footwear.

JP

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Many years ago now my missus crossed over the gates at the bottom of a lock in the rain and slipped and nearly fell a considerable way onto what would have been the steel of our boat. She now never does that and always walks round as even though it takes longer it is much safer. I stay safe by always staying on the boat whilst she does the work.

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Short strides are best for walking on slippery surfaces,'' The John Wayne walk''.  Observe how folk in cold countries walk, always short steps.  Finlanders for example, short strides, like how Kimi Riekenon and Mikka Hakkenon do, its bred into them, they still do it even on holiday in hot countries, always looking down too at where they're walking, hands out of pockets, ready to grasp hold of things to save them if they should slip.

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On the issue of walking across lock gates, do many of you step across from one gate to the other or do you walk around to the other side? I'm 6' tall and usually step across and so does my wife who is only 5' 4" . I think the key issues are as well as ensuring our footwear is suitable, never to hurry. Also windless secured in a belt to free up both hands.

We then always pause briefly at the edge of one gate, focus on the gate we are crossing on to, including the handrail, and then make step across. By concentrating and being fully focused together with not hurrying, I think it's perfectly safe to do this.

How about you others?

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3 minutes ago, Grassman said:

On the issue of walking across lock gates, do many of you step across from one gate to the other or do you walk around to the other side? I'm 6' tall and usually step across and so does my wife who is only 5' 4" . I think the key issues are as well as ensuring our footwear is suitable, never to hurry. Also windless secured in a belt to free up both hands.

We then always pause briefly at the edge of one gate, focus on the gate we are crossing on to, including the handrail, and then make step across. By concentrating and being fully focused together with not hurrying, I think it's perfectly safe to do this.

How about you others?

 

I usually step across too, but only in good weather conditions, good daylight and other people are around. It's hard to argue that walking around isn't safer, even so!

There are a number of 'risk conditions' which when present and will make me decide to walk around. Rain, frost, wind, tiredness, poor light (i.e. dusk), boating totally alone, distracted state of mind (e.g. annoyed about something).

 

And sometimes I just feel nervous of doing it for reasons I can't explain, in which case I don't force myself. I walk around. 

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51 minutes ago, mrsmelly said:

Many years ago now my missus crossed over the gates at the bottom of a lock in the rain and slipped and nearly fell a considerable way onto what would have been the steel of our boat. She now never does that and always walks round as even though it takes longer it is much safer. I stay safe by always staying on the boat whilst she does the work.

Not that safe for you, think what might happen if she fell on you!

 

 

<note to those easily offended on others behalf, mrs smelly is not of a noticeably rotund nature>

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Since I had a total immersion by doing a back flip off a top gate in the Wolverhampton flight, I try not to cross lock gates at all. I always had a hand on a rail as I crossed but as the rails on the bottom gates on the 21 had a big gap in the middle, I decided that I would only cross the top gates. However, the rail was so low that it was uncomfortable holding the rail as I crossed and I don't know what happened but in I went. Haven't done the 21 since and I now very seldom cross a gate at all. Neither does Iain and he does the off side of the lock as well as driving Kelpie. When stepping off to shut gates, he puts the boat in reverse too which caused much hilarity at Audlem once when weed got round the prop and the boat kept going down the pound :-) . It did come back after a bit like the well trained boat it is.

haggis

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I wear these suede slip ons when it is slippery. They provide excellent grip on most surfaces. They are also waterproof (but the dye isn't,  so the black one especially can  stainless  soaks ifor allowed to get really wet).

http://www.cottontraders.com/page/search?q=Suede+slip+ons

Main problem is getting all of the mud out of the treads when cleaning I get them.

 

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I have been tempted to step across the gates in narrow locks, but have always told myself that it will be O.K. until the one time that I slip or miss my grip on the handrail. Walking takes longer, but is far safer.

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Having been brought up around boats from an early age I have been taught 'one hand for you and one for the ship'! 

Most of the time I walk to be the lock gates and 100% if it has been raining or that little voice in the back of your head tells me so!! 

 

Slight aside i have a dog a dog lead which with clips you can extend or make shorter, find this very useful as a sling to hang a windlass   

 

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