Bobbing Boat

For those of you wondering how canal locks work, this is how.

On a canal, locks are like lifts or elevators. To admit boats, they have a gate on each end: on the high side and the low side. Locks fill from the high side, and drain from the low side.

Referring to the photo and labels:

A. Is the ground paddle. This one has been raised, to let water flow through. A ground paddle lets water through a channel in the ground.

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#CanalLife #canal #boating #narrowboat #boat #lock #gate #paddle #UK

Jun 13 at 11:53amWeb
Show threadBobbing BoatJun 13

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B. Push the beam to rotate the gate open. A typical gate weighs a ton, but is balanced, so it's "easy" to open or close. Lower the paddles.

C. Bring the boat into the lock chamber and close the gate.

D. Open the gate paddles to drain the lock. Gate paddles let water flow through the bottom of the gate instead of a ground channel.

E. Open the gate, move the boat out, and close the gate, lower the paddles.

And that's how a lock works on UK canals. This design is from the late 1700s.

Show threadMaria Langer | 📝🛥️💎Jun 13
@PKYo Excellent! I've been through about 100 locks in various river and Canal systems in the US and Canada, but every single one has been operated by either a team of lock tenders or a single lock master. They open the gate, we drive in and secure to the side, they close the gate, they raise or lower the water level, they open the gate, we drive out. All of the locks I've been in are considerably larger than yours. For example: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chain_of_Rocks_Lock
Show threadPhil Thane ✅Jun 13
@PKYo For added fun, describe how a single-handed boater does it. Advanced students should consider how a single-handed boater makes a vlog of themselves operating a lock.
Show threadBobbing BoatJun 13

@pthane

I don't understand people who youtube themselves while boating, particularly if they narrate on camera. It must be so much effort to plan the shot, get the camera in place, say everything correctly, not have roaring trains or barking dogs interfere, while other boats wait for you, and the risk boating injuries due to divided attention is higher. No thank you. 😅

I have a hard enough time just taking a photo at the right time for these text posts. (That's why I never appear in the pics.)