Don't leave them open

I must say I was amazed at you including that about leaving lock gates open from Adrian Stott, as he has had this bee in his bonnet for years back in Waterways World, writes Jimmy Lockwood.

He admits he is not into narrowboats, having a broad beam, and ought to realise that working a narrowboat is much different from a broad beam boat through locks, as whilst he wants both gates open, a narrowboat needs only one, and meeting both gates of a broad lock open is not only harder for a narrowboater, but never mind what he says is more dangerous.

Travel alone

To say narrowboats work in pairs shows his ignorance, as there are very, very few who do, and with so few boats about now, especially out of season, I for one nearly always travel alone, and with boats passing singly, obviously others do too.

I, and I have of course spoken to many others, prefer the gates to be closed when approaching a broad lock rather than them both open, and I hated going down the bottom of the Grand Union where some idle boaters left the bottom gates open on lock after lock—both of them at that, and often the paddles up, what must be sheer idleness as they have to be lowered by someone else.

Over lock gates

When both are open, this means that one of us has to clamber over the lock gates to go round to close the offside gate, then the nearside one, and most likely have to wind down the paddles too.

If approaching a lock from below with all gates closed, it just means opening one gate, then in we go, keeping away from the mitre. But if both already open, it is no advantage as Mr Stott says, as again, it means dangerously going over the top lock gates to get round, or climb ladders whilst the boat is not really secured in the lock, to close the gate, that under no circumstances will either of us risk, and at my age could be fatal.

Ridiculous

For him to say it saves time and is safer is absolutely ridiculous, and when I first read his views on this years ago in Waterways World, I thought to myself 'it is just a fad he has got', so took little notice, and for me nothing has altered.

His also saying leaving lock gates closed doesn't save water is also ridiculous, for if say the top gates leak (and all too many do) then leaving the bottom gates open the water goes, most likely over a weir, but if firmly closed, will simply fill the lock, then stop.  Any fool can see that.

I was reading a book on the Erewash Canal earlier this year (broad locks) and there is an illustration of a notice stating that boaters will be fined for leaving lock gates and/or paddles open!