ANOTHER boat has sunk in the broad Weston Lock on the Trent & Mersey Canal, with the navigation currently closed.
This is the third boat that the lock has claimed since September 2003 (pictured), with a further one sunk in the lock in August 2011 and the present one on the 31st October.
Caught on the cill
All have had their stern gear caught on the cill of the lock, and obviously none of the crews have closed the paddles on the bottom gate to stop the water being released.
Why this particular lock sees so many such sinkings could perhaps be blamed on the paddle gear on the bottom gates which is extremely stiff indeed, and would be virtually impossible to wind down quickly.
'Yorkshire' windlass
We passed down this lock in September of this year, and the person opening the two paddles had to call for our long 'Yorkshire' windlass (pictured at a ground paddle) as she was unable to move them with a normal length windlass, even though it meant only being able to wind a half turn at a time, the long windlass not clearing the lock beam.
The whole assembly is so tight it is just as difficult to wind down the paddle, so when an emergency happens with a boat caught on the cill, it could be that the crew could not get the paddles closed quickly enough to stop water being released, so the boat sank.
LATEST:
The boat has now been removed.