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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2020 8:42:56 GMT
I can assure you no such thing ever occurred again.
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Post by kris on Aug 29, 2020 8:43:13 GMT
Not being on the boat as it comes into the lock is quite a good idea as well. Be the horse. Do some bow hauling That way you can be on the lock side, no need to climb ladders. If there is a tail bridge over the lock then you'll need a boat hook as well, for rope manipulation. Never underestimate the satisfaction to be gained from bow hauling a narrow boat into a lock. Mind you this might not work so well now with all the idiots in a massive hurry to get somewhere. That’s the reality a lot of people seem to be in a rush to get somewhere or other.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2020 8:52:46 GMT
I expect that while useful the modern online canal planners may be partly responsible.
It gives people an expectation of arrival time. Rather than enjoying the journey their aim is to end it. That seems rather counterproductive given how pleasant canals can be if you treat things like locks as a fundamentally enjoyable experience, being allowed to use such a cool toy, rather than some awful obstacle course like challenge.
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Post by kris on Aug 29, 2020 9:11:23 GMT
I completely agree, it’s all in the perception. The journey being the destination.
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Post by naughtyfox on Aug 29, 2020 10:15:41 GMT
Why "no opportunity to use it" ? "there is a ladder which seems higher than it does in the photo" - a few more rungs, so what? Not like it goes all the way to The Moon. Use workgloves, like wot I do, if ladders a bit slimy. Because, ridiculous shithead of the first water, the bottom gates were closed behind me and almost simultaneously the top paddles were opened wide. Why not shout "Shut those paddles!" ?? And, honestly, how long does it take to jump on the roof and nip up the ladder - 20 seconds? Moaning after the milk is spilt - the trick is not to spill the milk in the first place! Rhetoric thoughts... no need to respond. "If only my foresight was as good as my hindsight. But in this instance I didn't even see the girl opening the paddles. The boat hadn't even stopped moving yet." - well, yeah, fair enough. Sort of. Must try harder.
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Post by naughtyfox on Aug 29, 2020 10:29:06 GMT
Not being on the boat as it comes into the lock is quite a good idea as well. Be the horse. Do some bow hauling That way you can be on the lock side, no need to climb ladders. If there is a tail bridge over the lock then you'll need a boat hook as well, for rope manipulation. Never underestimate the satisfaction to be gained from bow hauling a narrow boat into a lock. Mind you this might not work so well now with all the idiots in a massive hurry to get somewhere. That’s the reality a lot of people seem to be in a rush to get somewhere or other. I've had the same cars overtaking me for the past 4 years on the way to work, and for the past 2 weeks now on the way to work (another direction as new work station). I got to know the registration plates. I woke up in time for a reasonable start for the day - plug the car into the electricity (block heater + inside fan heater), shower, make sandwiches, have a drink, and drive to work around 80km/t (50mph)... saves fuel and wear & tear on the car and my nerves, good speed in case moose jumps out. The other cars were always in a hurry.... well, get out of bed 15 minutes earlier you lazy plonkers! Guess what - after all these years, they are still in a hurry. What has this rushing around achieved? Nothing. Nothing but accidents. Black ice - look at the shine on the tarmac. No, you cannot do 70mph on this.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2020 11:25:28 GMT
Because, ridiculous shithead of the first water, the bottom gates were closed behind me and almost simultaneously the top paddles were opened wide. Rhetoric thoughts... no need to respond. You are such a miserable twat.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2020 13:09:43 GMT
Top tip, only let a lock keeper or yourself be in charge of your lock paddles or boats ropes - tell everyone else to piss off and you will get sorted in your own good time - if it means them waiting longer so be it. Anyone that isn’t a lock keeper or part of your crew that tells you to stay on your boat needs telling to mind their own business. No one, and I mean no one assists us, unless it is one of our party of friends we travel with. These days it is rare for us to bother sharing locks with other boaters anyway, it’s just not worth the time saved vs the potential for an almighty cock up. I usually thank people politely for their offer of assistance, most accept it with good grace - the odd few need it spelling out to them in much simpler shorter words. No one yet has defied my request to leave me alone. These days it’s a bit easier as Mrs Gazza and the dwarf usually do the lock work - You will find single handing up the Nene a bit easier, position your boat at the tail of the lock by the guilotine gate, there’s nearly always a ladder to climb. Take your ropes up with you. Drop the gate. Slowly raise only the boat side vee gate paddle, the incoming water will keep your boat gently up against the lock wall allowing you to check you ropes and pull in the slack as she rises. Once just about full you may need to open the opposite vee gate paddle to defeat any leaks in the guilotine gate. Open gates when the water level equalises, motor out onto the lock landing stage then shut the vee gates and empty the lock - unless a boat travelling downstream happens to be in view. Do not sod off up the river leaving the lock pen full - plenty of notices around the locks telling you how to operate them and what condition to leave them in. Btw, tree has been cleared at Ashton 👍 Thanks again Gazza, excellent advice. This is going to sound thick, but are there no paddles in any of the guillotine gates, or does the design mean theyre not needed?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2020 13:28:11 GMT
I expect that while useful the modern online canal planners may be partly responsible. It gives people an expectation of arrival time. Rather than enjoying the journey their aim is to end it. That seems rather counterproductive given how pleasant canals can be if you treat things like locks as a fundamentally enjoyable experience, being allowed to use such a cool toy, rather than some awful obstacle course like challenge. I think on these particular waters, as lovely as they are, there is the issue of finding a mooring that I think affects some boaters- especially as the daylight hours are reducing. When I leave March tomorrow morning (which I'm going to do early) I have a 10 mile cruise to the next public mooring places at Whittlesey. I'll check the prop again, but I'm finding that for some reason I'm not able to go very fast up this waterway, without going up to 2,000 rpm- which gets quite loud and feels like its going to drink fuel and cause unnecessary engine wear. There seems to be a very slight current, but not enough to slow me down I would have thought. So I'll be (reluctantly) revving the arse off her tomorrow, because once I leave here I'm committed- I have to make Whittlesey and get through the Ashline lock by the evening because there is nowhere I can moor before then, so I will be quite focused on pressing on. Not just that, but it looks like there is only one set of moorings, and there are a few boats headed the same way as me, who will doubtless also be focused on these issues. On the CRT canals I can ease up, but here you do have to have one eye on your destination point, and the realistic arrival time.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2020 13:33:22 GMT
Top tip, only let a lock keeper or yourself be in charge of your lock paddles or boats ropes - tell everyone else to piss off and you will get sorted in your own good time - if it means them waiting longer so be it. Anyone that isn’t a lock keeper or part of your crew that tells you to stay on your boat needs telling to mind their own business. No one, and I mean no one assists us, unless it is one of our party of friends we travel with. These days it is rare for us to bother sharing locks with other boaters anyway, it’s just not worth the time saved vs the potential for an almighty cock up. I usually thank people politely for their offer of assistance, most accept it with good grace - the odd few need it spelling out to them in much simpler shorter words. No one yet has defied my request to leave me alone. These days it’s a bit easier as Mrs Gazza and the dwarf usually do the lock work - You will find single handing up the Nene a bit easier, position your boat at the tail of the lock by the guilotine gate, there’s nearly always a ladder to climb. Take your ropes up with you. Drop the gate. Slowly raise only the boat side vee gate paddle, the incoming water will keep your boat gently up against the lock wall allowing you to check you ropes and pull in the slack as she rises. Once just about full you may need to open the opposite vee gate paddle to defeat any leaks in the guilotine gate. Open gates when the water level equalises, motor out onto the lock landing stage then shut the vee gates and empty the lock - unless a boat travelling downstream happens to be in view. Do not sod off up the river leaving the lock pen full - plenty of notices around the locks telling you how to operate them and what condition to leave them in. Btw, tree has been cleared at Ashton 👍 Thanks again Gazza, excellent advice. This is going to sound thick, but are there no paddles in any of the guillotine gates, or does the design mean theyre not needed? No. The act of lifting the gate itself controls the flow of water. Most of the guillotine gates are electrically controlled by means of a motor.Some of them are still operated by turning a bloody great wheel.
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Post by duncan on Aug 29, 2020 13:38:28 GMT
Thanks again Gazza, excellent advice. This is going to sound thick, but are there no paddles in any of the guillotine gates, or does the design mean theyre not needed? No. The act of lifting the gate itself controls the flow of water. Most of the guillotine gates are electrically controlled by means of a motor.Some of them are still operated by turning a bloody great wheel. When I was a kid we did all our boating on a hire boat on the Gt Ouse. All the guillotine gates were manual operation with a windlass. I remember there were two spindles, one low geared to break the water pressure and a high geared one to help bring the gate up level with the counter weight. A weeks holiday certainly got you fit.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2020 13:38:43 GMT
Thanks Rusty- do the electric ones work on the EA abloy key or is it a different type?
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2020 13:42:00 GMT
I expect that while useful the modern online canal planners may be partly responsible. It gives people an expectation of arrival time. Rather than enjoying the journey their aim is to end it. That seems rather counterproductive given how pleasant canals can be if you treat things like locks as a fundamentally enjoyable experience, being allowed to use such a cool toy, rather than some awful obstacle course like challenge. I think on these particular waters, as lovely as they are, there is the issue of finding a mooring that I think affects some boaters- especially as the daylight hours are reducing. When I leave March tomorrow morning (which I'm going to do early) I have a 10 mile cruise to the next public mooring places at Whittlesey. I'll check the prop again, but I'm finding that for some reason I'm not able to go very fast up this waterway, without going up to 2,000 rpm- which gets quite loud and feels like its going to drink fuel and cause unnecessary engine wear. There seems to be a very slight current, but not enough to slow me down I would have thought. So I'll be (reluctantly) revving the arse off her tomorrow, because once I leave here I'm committed- I have to make Whittlesey and get through the Ashline lock by the evening because there is nowhere I can moor before then, so I will be quite focused on pressing on. Not just that, but it looks like there is only one set of moorings, and there are a few boats headed the same way as me, who will doubtless also be focused on these issues. On the CRT canals I can ease up, but here you do have to have one eye on your destination point, and the realistic arrival time. The engine thing sounds like weed. The middle level link is the most weedy waterway I have experienced but I think @gazza mentioned they now have a week cutter vessel of some sort which gets used. Other thing is you may be "sucking the bottom" which is also a phenomenon experienced on badly dredged canals. The more throttle you apply displaces more water, drops the back end down and just results in increased intensity of bottom-sucking. I hate sucking the bottom.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2020 13:44:16 GMT
I expect that while useful the modern online canal planners may be partly responsible. It gives people an expectation of arrival time. Rather than enjoying the journey their aim is to end it. That seems rather counterproductive given how pleasant canals can be if you treat things like locks as a fundamentally enjoyable experience, being allowed to use such a cool toy, rather than some awful obstacle course like challenge. I think on these particular waters, as lovely as they are, there is the issue of finding a mooring that I think affects some boaters- especially as the daylight hours are reducing. When I leave March tomorrow morning (which I'm going to do early) I have a 10 mile cruise to the next public mooring places at Whittlesey. I'll check the prop again, but I'm finding that for some reason I'm not able to go very fast up this waterway, without going up to 2,000 rpm- which gets quite loud and feels like its going to drink fuel and cause unnecessary engine wear. There seems to be a very slight current, but not enough to slow me down I would have thought. So I'll be (reluctantly) revving the arse off her tomorrow, because once I leave here I'm committed- I have to make Whittlesey and get through the Ashline lock by the evening because there is nowhere I can moor before then, so I will be quite focused on pressing on. Not just that, but it looks like there is only one set of moorings, and there are a few boats headed the same way as me, who will doubtless also be focused on these issues. On the CRT canals I can ease up, but here you do have to have one eye on your destination point, and the realistic arrival time. You will find things pick up a bit on the Nene in terms of cruising speed as the depth of water is greater in most places. There are places to stop before Whittlesey, but as with most places on the ML, it can be tricky to get ashore,and the depth at the side is not always as great as you would like it to be. Bear in mind it is always worth asking if you can raft up alongside another boat if moorings are full, as long you are not blocking the navigation. It can be a bit trickier in todays covid world, but still easily possible. Rafting is less prevalent on the inland waterways than it is on coastal vessels, but still an acceptable approach IMO if limited mooring spaces exist.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 29, 2020 13:47:49 GMT
Thanks Rusty- do the electric ones work on the EA abloy key or is it a different type? The control box is opened with the EA abloy key, the gate controls are within the box. The wheels are locked with a padlock, or a sliding bolt arrangement , also accessed with the abloy key. Some of the control boxes are a bit tricky to open.
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