lock virgin - need advice

[jimh]

planning to visit chatham and maybe st kats this weekend - (weather permitting of course) both entered via locks, as you know.
So never having negotiated a lock before, would appreciate advice on the procedure ie; fenders - no. of / port + stbd? warps to have ready / do you tie off in the lock? vhf - when to call up the marina office? etc etc

appreciate another learning 'experience' is required - just thought i'd find out as much before hand as poss.

tia



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[Renegade_Master]

At Chatham you call them on Ch 80 when your outside requesting instructions to enter lock. They call back "please wait till green light and moor to port (or stb)" depending if theres a queue. if so they will advise the name of the boat or the like which you follow in.

You enter as instructed, lasso the cleat and you can tie off in Chatham cos the whole thing goes up and down, (dont know about St Kats) In the event they dont in St Kats then for gods sake DONT tie off

When lock opens proceed through in order of entry. CGN

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[Chris_B4]

Often you don't know whether you will be Port or Starboard side to till the last minute so if you have enough fenders and lines (and if you do locks often like we do at Port Solent it's a good idea) then fenders out both sides and mooring lines already made up on cleats both sides and you're ready for anything.

Your fenders should be set high, ie. gunwhale height to give better protection.

As Sun-Coast has suggested if the bits you make fast to don't move up and down with the water level make sure you have crew on hand to adjust the lines as you rise/fall. In that case don't tie off but do take at least one turn cos when the sluices/gates open things start moving around quite a bit.

Sorry if any of that was too obvious


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[Guest]

St Kats can be very iffy if you havn`t been before. If there is a queue outside then you are very likely to be squeezed in tightly even rafted up if nec.If you are going to be starboard to then your fenders do not need to be too high as there is a wooden pontoon that goes the depth of the water so it`s just a question of adjusting your lines accordingly. On the port side there is just a walkway with bollards to tie onto we have 2 fenders high and 2 low ready for the rise or fall.Watch the swell especially at high water at the walls as you turn in to head for the lock it can be very strong , We always try and go in nice and slowly so that we have full control at all times, not like some who tend to charge in there because of the swell then slam there engines into reverse cause considerable wash in the lock and end up horizontal across the lock and then they blame the wind,seen it so many times in there.Great place to visit. The lock by the way is very slow have been in there up to an hour at times.

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[tcm]

Oh heck oh heck. Locks.

You have to set the wheel dead ahead, and give the boat enough jabbing of throttle to have some "way on" on way in. Don't dither about, specially if its windy.

The one in chatham, I think the sides float up and down with the water level so you can tie off on the cleats nice and tight. In st kats, I don't think the cleats do float up and down, so you can't tie off nice and tight and have to adjust as level rises or falls.

In either case there can be surge of watr at the start or the end, or anytime. So it's an idea to have "spring" lines from stern going forwards to dock cleat, and another from bows going to a cleat backwards to stop the boat lurching about too much.

On the way out, again give enough acceleration to give "way on" and directional stability - dithering leads to losing steerage and lightly crucnhing the sides. Mind you, too much throttle leads to whacking the sides quite hard, with a great big noisy crucnhing noise and much gnashing of GRP against concrete.

Keep the camera ready for a total muckup. If someone does seem to have a problem, make sure you point and laugh at them very loudly. After all they'd do the same for you.

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[Deleted User YDKXO]

Another thing to be aware of at St Kats is the strong current particularly on the ebb unless you aim to arrive dead on HW. If you have to enter the lock with a current running, firstly make sure you approach into the current, aim a liittle upstream of the lock to allow for the current and dont follow too close to the boat in front - you want to avoid having to stop beam-on to the current
St Kats is a great place to visit but it is worth taking the time to go further upstream to see the sights of London from the water. Stay alert to avoid the trip boats and the rubbish in the water and dont forget to check in with Woolwich Radio if you're passing through the Barrier.
One last piece of advice. I strongly reccomend that everbody on board wears a lifejacket because the Thames through London can be a very fast moving river

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[mike_kolling]

We are heading for Chatham too on Sunday down from the Thames.
Will keep a look out for your burgee and give you a wave!


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[boatone]

Intend to be in Limehouse Marina Sat night and St Kats sunday so keep an eye open for 'Tahoe' {Princess 32). Weather looks a bit cr*p tho so plans may change.
TonyR

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[Happy1]

Although I have my boat at Chatham I have not been there for a few weeks as my boat has been at the dealers. BUT there is a new system that they were trying out at Chatham where they only opened the lock at certain times, i guess it was to save money, but they said it was to be efficient e.g. you can now ring up whilst on the way down in your car and book a lock out time and reserve a place. You should call them 01634 899200 and see if it is still in force or fallen flat on it's face. Ihave been in the lock when it has been busy, they have on some occassions had 9 boats in it, three each side and some down the middle, I haven't witnessed that but I have been in when a yacht has 'gone wild' swirling about and nearly smashed up my boat, my son had to fend it off with his legs whilst I helped them with ropes, it was very scary for the skipper of the yacht. Like TCM says get some power on when you enter and exit, best to give the water a few minutes to settle from the swirl. The swirl is mainly at big differences in the tide height, on some occassions it is on free flow when you can go straight through, that can be a bit dodgy.

Outside the lock the have red and green lights, call on Ch 80 and request to enter, they will tell you what the situation is and to wait for the green light. You will be told which side to go, but if it is quiet you can ask for the other if convenient. The berths are clearly marked and it is a nice marina with very posh showers and toilets.



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[paulrossall]

One mistake lots of people make is having warps which are not long enough. I have both long and shorter warps at stern port and starboard and at the bow so I am ready for all eventuality. Hang out all the fenders you have, to both sides if possible. Manouver as slowly as possible. No speed, no damage is what I was taught years ago. Have crew standing by at bow and side to fend off. No use having them all at stern and then having to rush to fend off, that is when accidents happen. Good luck. Paul

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[kingfisher]

1) When you have to change your warps to another bollard, because the boat is going up/down, ALWAYS attach your warp to the next bollard BEFORE removing the original one

2) Wind/current on the nose: first the front warp. Wind/current in the rear, first the rear warp. Do not attach the other warp until the main warp is atrtached, otherwise you'll sciccor against the wall

3) The most powerfull crew member handles the warps, the most delicate one handles the steering. If this sounds logical, why do I always see Mr Hubby on the flybridge shouting desperate orders to fragile SWMBO who is trying hard to fend off a 10t boat from a concrete wall.
If the line handlers can't attache a warp, it 's the fault of the one who does the manoeuvring

4) 2 words: boat hook

5) have a spare fender at hand, which can be shoved in at critical points

6) for the first time: let others in first, and raft up, that will save at least the line handling part. While waiting for the lock to open, talk to the other skippers and explain the situation. If they're any sort of decent chaps, they will be heplfull.

<hr width=100% size=1>Group of people on the pontoon: skipper is the one with the toolbox.
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[tcm]

I would tell them over the radio that you are novice crew, and this is your first-ever lock. Then they won't ask you to do mad squeezy-in things, and may even let you go first, and will (usually) be specially helpful.


However, saying you are novice crew unfortunately won't work for longer than about four years or five years, in my experience, cos they begine to recognise you...

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[Guest]

Just blame the wind that`s what the raggies do and seem to get away with it.I`ve got a lovely picture of a raggy entering a berth. A 5ft scratch about an inch deep along a motor cruisers side all done with the petruding anchor,for which the poor wind was to blame.

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[Laurin]

I remember going into Chatham last year. Skippering a friends 12T Van der Staat (raggie boat I know but you should see the engine on her... 6 cylinder diesel out of a 747 tow vehicle from Heathrow). I, (the girlie) on the helm, blokie ready with the warps. Quite a lot of cross tide so plenty of way on, but I know that she will stop on a sixpence. Got a lot of very worried looks from owners of plastic boats when they saw a girlie at the helm of a heavy steel boat entering the lock at a reasonable speed. Highly entertaining when I stopped perfectly alongside.

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[nicho]

I don't know St Kats, but at Hythe lock, that also has no floating bollards/pontoons, they have several chains fixed to the top and bottom of both lock sides, which hang vertically down the walls. These chains are covered with thick plastic tubing on to which you can tie off a centre boat cleat with a short piece of line. This holds the boat steady, both fore and aft in any turbulance as the water rushes in., thus reducing strain on a crews arm muscles. The line happily slides up and down the chain with the water level. A lot of single handed boaters do this, then they only have to tend the line at the stern to hold the boat straight.

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[Renegade_Master]

Sames true of Limehouse, can make yer ropes a manky though

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[nicho]

I guess so, but in Hythe there are lock ropes to held on to, so our normal mooring lines are not used. I have just one small piece of mooring line (about 3 metres long) that is used for the centre cleat, so it's easy to wash it off if it gets dirty. I only use this when it's low water, and there's a lot of water to be moved, hence related turbulence. Certainly saves the old arms!!

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