LOCK SAFETY

Locks are to most people a point of interest, something for everyone to do and children in particular seem to have a fascination for them. They are however potentially dangerous places. A wide lock can easily use 90,000 gallons of water, and can fill or empty this quantity in just a few minutes. The turbulence this causes has to be seen to be believed, and to fall in anywhere near this would be very dangerous, even life threatening, so care is needed.

Ensure any non swimmers wear buoyancy aids, lock chambers are deep and the water within may be very turbulent when the paddles are open.

Don't let anybody rush you. There will be times when you'll be glad of help from other crews, but make sure they work to your pace. Two enthusiastic paddle openers can set up a terrific current within the confines of a lock, which will move your boat very quickly, and often lead to a collision with the gates. OK, you may upset some one, but if you'd rather just be left alone to work the lock at your own pace then say so. You are responsible for the safety of your crew and your boat. If the others seem to be in a rush  you should offer them the opportunity to go first. They may be on a fixed schedule to complete a cruise, or may just be on the wrong sort of holiday, either way you are far better off with them out of the way.

Don't leave windlasses (lock handles) on the spindles, if the ratchet slips the windlass can fly a surprisingly and dangerously large and uncontrolled distance, strangely this always seems to be in the direction of a person.

Don't stand on the wrong side of the balance beam you may get pushed in as the lock gates open.

When using the windlass make sure that your thumb is one the same side of the handle as your fingers. I know this seems an odd way to grip something, but if there is a sudden movement of the handle it will ensure you don't break your thumb !

Open paddles SLOWLY, particularly when going up hill. The sudden inrush of water can move a boat quite suddenly and violently backwards, then forwards. In a wide lock you can add sideways to this too. If possible always work wide locks with another boat - it saves water, saves effort and makes it safer.

Due to the large amount of wear and tear on the area around locks the floor may be worn and slippery, particularly when wet.

These pictures show bypass weirs, designed to allow any extra water to flow down a level and create an interesting navigation hazard to narrowboats. The first picture is at the upper level and a large amount of  water is obviously travelling at speed. They tend to be well guarded so the odds of you or the boat falling down one (there are some big enough) are remote but try and keep out of the way, particularly on rivers. The next picture shows what happens when the water comes out the other end. What you have here is a large volume of water that will push your boat across with considerable force, instantly destroying your carefully lined up approach. The third picture shows a typical bywash, note the turbulence on the surface of the water.

Whilst not dangerous bypass weirs can catch out the steerer and lead to some 'interesting' manoeuvres, always when there are loads of people watching.