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locks; can you do it on your own


katty45

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You should not do it on your own until you have some experience.  But, yes, it's definitely possible.  In winter its a little more hazardous because of the risk of slipping and hurting yourself on frosty, wet or icy surfaces.  The &-year-old is also an added worry, unless it is well trained and obedient!

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Probably not that easy at first but more time consuming. It would probably involve tying up, opening both the gates walking back to the boat and drive it into the lock. Tying the boat up very loosely so you can pull it back to the side if it drifts out. Filling or emptying the lock, opening the gates, drive out, tie up, close gates and drop the paddles. You will probably have to go up or down the lock ladder at least once per locking.

My main concern would be what to do with the seven year old because if a boat is going to be sunk anywhere a hand up in a lock is the most likely and you would not want the child trapped in a boat with its doors shut but then you would probably not want them wandering about the lock side.

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I don't want to appear as a wet blanket but although in another thread you said you did have boating experience a long time ago you are now asking such a heap of basic questions I think the answer to this question is "no - or at least not at the moment". In principal it is easy enough to do for a person with experience, but It's not going to be easy with a fairly heavy boat and a 7yr old child to mind at the same time. I've been boating professionally for most of my working life, and our children were born on and grew up on the boats, but even I would be a bit iffey about it, especially when you were mentioning rivers such as the Trent at one point. At this stage it is such an alien environment for you that you will find it difficult to watch boat and child simultaneously, to the potential detriment of one or the other.

Sorry, but that is what I reckon.

  • Greenie 1
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simple answer... yes you can but it's more awkward

moor up
get off boat
open lock gates
get on boat
put boat in lock
get off boat (possibly via a wet slippery ladder)
close gates
open paddles
fill / empty lock (while keeping boat secure)
open gates
close paddles
get on boat (possibly via a wet slippery ladder)
take boat out of lock
get off boat
close gates
get on boat and move on
* often you have to repeat these last 3 steps as gates come open again

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10 minutes ago, katty45 said:

I would be boating as a single woman with a child (7yr) ..I have several men around me to help but just wondering , how easy would it be to operate a lock on your own...my boat would be 60ft by 10ft widebeam for eg

A boat of those dimensions means that your cruising will be limited to 'wide canals only', this means that there are two lock gates to open and that you would have to open one, then go around the other side to open the other before you could enter / leave the lock. With a Narrowboat you can get thru just one gate.

Not impossible, just another aggravation for 'fat-boaters' (we are 14 feet wide) giving more complexity and time consuming for a single-hander.

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1 minute ago, Tam & Di said:

I don't want to appear as a wet blanket but although in another thread you said you did have boating experience a long time ago you are now asking such a heap of basic questions I think the answer to this question is "no - or at least not at the moment". In principal it is easy enough to do for a person with experience, but It's not going to be easy with a fairly heavy boat and a 7yr old child to mind at the same time. I've been boating professionally for most of my working life, and our children were born on and grew up on the boats, but even I would be a bit iffey about it, especially when you were mentioning rivers such as the Trent at one point. At this stage it is such an alien environment for you that you will find it difficult to watch boat and child simultaneously, to the potential detriment of one or the other.

Sorry, but that is what I reckon.

to clarify...i was on an ex life boat 31 ft with a partner 20 yrs ago...no child then so a) i have forgotten a lot of boating stuff like locks B) 

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Just now, Jess-- said:

simple answer... yes you can but it's more awkward

moor up
get off boat
open lock gates
get on boat
put boat in lock
get off boat (possibly via a wet slippery ladder)
close gates
open paddles
fill / empty lock (while keeping boat secure)
open gates
close paddles
get on boat (possibly via a wet slippery ladder)
take boat out of lock
get off boat
close gates
get on boat and move on
* often you have to repeat these last 3 steps as gates come open again

To this, add in the seven year old child. Then it gets complicated

Richard

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Just now, katty45 said:

to clarify...i was on an ex life boat 31 ft with a partner 20 yrs ago...no child then so a) i have forgotten a lot of boating stuff like locks B) 

Im sure it will all come back to me but im thinking f a much wider bigger boat and yes a child complicates the situation but chances are i would have men with me anyway but i like to ask the questions

 

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1 minute ago, RLWP said:

To this, add in the seven year old child. Then it gets complicated

Richard

A child may complicate things (although it depends on the child), at 7 I was able to safely steer boats (I used to have to stand on a corona drinks crate to see over the top) but I had been raised on the boats and as such had gained a lot of experience.

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7 minutes ago, RLWP said:

To this, add in the seven year old child. Then it gets complicated

Best thing would be to buy son/daughter a windlass and then work the boat two-handed.      :captain:

Jess beat me to it - our kids ditto and that was with 72' loaded boats

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9 minutes ago, katty45 said:

to clarify...i was on an ex life boat 31 ft with a partner 20 yrs ago...no child then so a) i have forgotten a lot of boating stuff like locks B) 

And as for the basic questions..i would rather ask these questions than go out and buy a boat, not be able to handle it, child ends up in the river and boat goes adrift..

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I was not making any slur on needing to ask the basic questions, but it does mean you are taking a young dependent son/daughter into an alien and potentially dangerous environment and I don't think you would be sensible to work locks on your own until you have become much more used to the work involved in company with others.

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Children are quick learners, get them a decent life jacket

 I am sure they will only fall in once. 

They learn to do locks and bridges very quickly. 

Our two do  all the bridges and help with all the locks.

 

You will have a wb. Might be quicker and easier to teach them to steer in and out of locks. Not that I'm suggesting it 

 

Edited by thebfg
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If I were to try to make up the most difficult set of circumstances for a boater to go through locks I'd have said a female boater single-handing a widebeam whilst simultaneously having a young child in their sole charge. And perhaps a dog. 

The only things to make it worse would be boating in the dark, in icy conditions. 

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12 minutes ago, Tam & Di said:

Best thing would be to buy son/daughter a windlass and then work the boat two-handed.      :captain:

Jess beat me to it - our kids ditto and that was with 72' loaded boats

Just one parent and a child?

Richard

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2 minutes ago, thebfg said:

Children are quick learners, get them a decent life jacket

 I am sure they will only fall in once. 

They learn to do locks and bridges very quickly. 

Our two do  all the bridges and help with all the locks.

 

You will have a wb. Might be quicker and easier to teach them to steer on and put of locks

 

he wud deffo have a life jacket and yes he is a very well behaved child who would be learning everything with his dad and me first.I am not intending to take a widebeam into locks with a child on my own but i just wondered if it was possible and how difficult it may be. His safety is paramount

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At 7 I was helping operate the locks, mainly wide ones on the River Avon. There were a few rules, such as always having to wear a lifejacket. I would suggest getting some help from someone with experience to refresh you on the basic operation and to help you work out what works best for you when it is just you and your child.

Remember the dangers of slips and trips, explain them to your child and the importance of keeping an eye on the boat to make sure it doesn't get caught up in the lock.

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22 minutes ago, thebfg said:

Children are quick learners, get them a decent life jacket

 I am sure they will only fall in once. 

They learn to do locks and bridges very quickly. 

Our two do  all the bridges and help with all the locks.

 

You will have a wb. Might be quicker and easier to teach them to steer in and out of locks. Not that I'm suggesting it 

 

Our insurers required an adult to be on the boat at all times when it was under way. I raised this issue with them specifically. They would not allow my very capable then 13 year old to steer between locks in a flight with both parents on the towpath/lockside.

So an inexperienced 7 year old steering into locks would be a  complete no no.!

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35 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

If I were to try to make up the most difficult set of circumstances for a boater to go through locks I'd have said a female boater single-handing a widebeam whilst simultaneously having a young child in their sole charge. And perhaps a dog. 

The only things to make it worse would be boating in the dark, in icy conditions. 

years ago in the wind and rain, our lifeboat got stuck in the lock and it was nearly a case of in the the water i went...we had started work on the boat and it was a bit slippy on the top

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My sons were quite competent at handling a narrowboat when they were seven or so.  However a wide beam with one child, going through locks? Enough adults have died in or around locks let alone a child.

And relying on having men around?  How experienced are they?  things can happen very quickly, especially on wide locks on rivers.

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