"Mike Stevens" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >Some people seem to believe that the "officially correct" thing to do is to >leave a lock with all gates & paddles closed. Others ackniowledge that >that's the official view but think it's a daft one. Personally I believe >the official policy is better phrased as "leave the gates open in you're on >a canal, close them if you're on a river". > >Of course, if there are notices specific to a particular lock they should be >obeyed. And never shut gates in the face of an approaching boat.
I am of the "I think its daft" persuasion. It was not the rule during the waterways' freight days. It was introduced later as a convenience for the navigation authorities (and an inconvenience for boaters). It does not save (much) water, so I disagree with Mike and say that it makes no sense to distinguish between the practice on rivers and on canals. My suggested rule is always leave the gates open when you depart, unless there is a sign specific to that lock asking you to leave them closed, or unless you can see that the lock is leaking badly. That reduces the work overall for everyone. As Ron said, on the waterways around London one always leaves gates open. I live on one of those waterways. Very nice. Adrian Adrian Stott 07956-299966
