Hi All,
I have to jump in on this subject. To Stan and I one of the main
attractions to the English canal system was the fact that we could
work the locks. We still love it even though we do not have a boat
in England anymore. The challenges of working locks efficiently,
working well as a team was great fun. And then when we were cruising
with friends helping each other, lockwheeling, etc....t'was great.
And then the staircase locks and the queues and coming across folks
from hire boats who just didn't get that it didn't work if all 4
paddles were up. I loved cruising on the Thames but the locks were
quite boring 'cause we couldn't work them most of the time. We
learned a lot from folks on the L & L who were born on working boats.
We were so lucky to have the experiences that we had.
The English canal system and narrow boats are very unique and
wonderful.
Toodle pip
Judy
>Not all UK locks are self-service, but most of the canal locks are. Hence
>the number of complaints on this list whenever anyone hints at the use of
>"questionable" locking methods which could damage mechanism or gates;
>everyone using the cut gets to manhandle the gear, and the absence of
>lockies means that damage can go unreported and/or un-repaired for a long
>time.
>The sheer luxury of boating on the Thames this summer was like to turn my
>head. :-) Having done all my previous boating on the Kennet & Avon, with its
>notoriously cranky paddle gear and appallingly leaky gates (the former are
>not as bad as their reputation in my opinion, whilst the latter inevitably
>get worse), I was never entirely sure by the end of the day that I had done
>enough hard labour to have earned a drink or two. Gently flinging a rope
>over a bollard and then standing there holding it while someone else did the
>lockwheeling left me with a vague feeling of guilt, until I got used to it.
>The run back up to Newbury soon fixed that though!
>Caroline
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>Yahoo! Groups Links
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--
Judy & Stan Voets, POB 103, San Geronimo, CA 94963
Tel: 415.488.0985
You may never know what results come from your action,
But if you do nothing, there will be no results - Gandhi
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