Should be fined

THOUGH my partner and I have been boating now for six years I did not know of your site until I was linked to it from BBC Somerset, writes Justin Holloway.

It was a column by Victor Swift, and the link was the sunken boat on the Kennet & Avon, where we moor, and I thought it hit the nail on the head when it stated that the owners of boats that allow their boats to sink in locks should be fined for closing the canal.

Abysmal

There are many hire places around where we moor, and having spoken to many hirers when sharing locks, I know for a fact that the training before they are let out is abysmal, and though the canal must rate amongst the highest for its number of locks, very few hirers are taken though one and instructed on their use.

This means that the notices about keeping away from the cill doesn't mean a thing, for don't the authorities realise that new hirers won't even know what a cill is?  So if a hirer decides to keep to the back of the lock when going down, the boat gets caught, then of course not realising what is happening and not having been told what to do in such circumstances, the boat slowly sinks and the canal is closed until it can be rescued.

Frighten the life

I realise that no hire company is going to frighten the life out of a hirer by telling them that if the boat is sinking drop the paddles as quick as possible.  So of course they go unprepared, the boat's stern gets caught on the cill, and they don't know what to do.  It doesn't really matter if they have been drinking or not, if a hirer has not been told, the result is the same, down goes the boat upended and the canal is closed yet again.

The authorities should take responsibility to keep the canals open and thus make sure they are not closed simply by lack of instruction from hire companies, and so make sure that proper instruction on the use of locks is given, with  spots checks to see that it is.