In a message dated 20/07/2008 12:19:58 GMT Daylight Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
In that case, why bother trying to keep in the middle of the lock at all? When I was going uphill single-handing Rumpus on the T&M, I had no choice but to leave her in forward nudging the top gate - so long as you kept an eagle eye on the front fender (to ensure it didn't get caught up on anything) this was a smooth and safe method of locking up. Following an experience on the Braunston flight some years ago where I kept back from the gates, I also 'ride the gates' when going up. We did all the right things, started by slowly raising the paddle on the same side as the boat and then increasing the flow gradually. We didn't put ropes out though and the water flow pulled us forward about 6 feet, straight into the top gates. It was at such a speed that no amount of reverse on the engine could stop the boat being slammed hard into the gate and the gates opened briefly. The glimpse of a strip of green water about 2 inches wide and 6 feet+ high between the opened gates was enough to convince me there was a better way. My principle is that if I actually touch the gates (and provided my paddle-opener keeps an eye on the boat) the boat won't be able to build up enough speed to hit the gate hard, I won't have to do any hard revving, and there's less chance of causing damage to the boat and/or gates. Oh, BTW, it was a hire boat. DaveD I raise money for charity just by searching the web! www.everyclick.com is an internet search engine with a big difference - it donates half its revenues to charity, please support them too! [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
