Rope under or over guardrail while in locks?

[kenaitch]

We’ve had conflicting advice as to whether I should throw the forward rope on to the lockside under the guardrail, or over it. Any advice or instructions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance. Kennedy

 

[hornsleys]

Use commonsense. What works?

 

[Chris_d]

Thread it under then throw from above, you will just end bending the rail if something goes wrong. Who told you over?

 

[kenaitch]

Thread it under then throw from above, you will just end bending the rail if something goes wrong. Who told you over?

A friend who was helping us when we first got the boat. A helpful Lockie suggested under, but couldn’t hear the reason why!

 

[Scapegoat]

As Chris-d said. Coil the rope into two loops, spread your arms then throw them beyond the bollard and pull any excess back.

 

[Time Out]

As Chris-d said. Coil the rope into two loops, spread your arms then throw them beyond the bollard and pull any excess back.

Make sure you start the coil from the boat end too! Also, ensure there is only one piece of rope / join connecting the two not several if that makes sense. On our recent Canal du Midi trip a good number of lock keepers were astonished at how my wife managed to secure the bollard by this method.

Takes some tweaking for different heights etc, I used to practice in the garden as a kid with a traffic cone!