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Locks allow boats to go up or down hills, and are a chamber enclosed by gates at each end. They rely on water pressure to hold the appropriate gates shut until water level in the lock is equal to that of either the upper or lower canal level. The lock chamber and both levels of the canal can be connected by opening the various paddles thus allowing the water level to be raised or lowered as required. Whilst it is not possible to open gates in the wrong order, it is possible to open all the paddles at once, and whilst this isn't generally dangerous it wastes thousands of gallons of precious water without getting the boat through the lock. When working a lock it is worth checking that the last crew through shut all the paddles, don't just look, go and check. Children and adults alike are fascinated by locks, but remember they are potentially dangerous. |
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| The illustration
below is courtesy of HarperCollins, publishers of the excellent 'Nicholsons' guide book
series. This illustration is of a narrow lock (7 ft), and shows a single top
gate with ground paddles
only. On some narrow locks you will find gate paddles and no ground paddles. On wide locks there will be two gates top and bottom, and
normally both gate and ground paddles on the top gates. Wherever you find
both ground and gate paddles it is important to open the ground paddles
first and wait until the current has established itself in the lock before
opening the gate paddles. Failing to do this will almost certainly cause the
boat to surge forward and then get flooded by the water coming in through
the gate paddles.
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