Comments on: Beeston Iron Lock http://www.zulu-warrior.co.uk/beeston-iron-lock/ Various musings about life on the UK canals and beyond Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:28:55 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 By: Ruth http://www.zulu-warrior.co.uk/beeston-iron-lock/comment-page-1/#comment-437 Ruth Wed, 06 Oct 2010 13:23:42 +0000 http://www.zulu-warrior.co.uk/?p=431#comment-437 Having read your article I have a couple of points to make. Firstly. The 'mud' you refer to on the lower side of the iron lock is in fact a sloping brick wall. It is sloping as due to the unstable ground it was the design Thomas Telford used to keep the canal in and the surround ground out. Therefore, although annoying, it is a necessity and with the bridge so close it is easy enough to get off before hand. In regards to the warning signs at the iron lock in my opinion there should be some above and below the lock where boaters wait to go through such as they have at Bunbury staircase. At the iron lock you generally can't see the signs until you are already in! Therefore lack of attention to the signs is less a fault of the boaters and more of British Waterways. Thirdly. The reason boats get caught on the ledges is due to the change in design in boat since the lock was built. Old working narrowboats had curved sides without bits sticking out and so wouldn't get caught. Having been through this lock multiple times in an old boat, double breasted and without ropes I can say that with knowledge and experience there is no problem. There is only one area of the lock that has curved inwards and if this part is avoided then two boats can easily go up and down at the same time. In regards to the instruction from the hire company like anywhere else people will lie. As Mr Hardern has said above often people will go to hire companies and say they have masses of experience when in fact they don't. As a result all boaters have to sign a disclaimer if they are claiming to be experienced. If they don't wish to sign this then they will go through the same instruction as everyone else, which may I add has been highly commended. In the boat instruction books there is also detailed descriptions on how to carry out certain operation such as locks so the boaters have no excuses, especially as the owners of the hire company are available 24/7 for any queries. Having read your article I have a couple of points to make. Firstly. The ‘mud’ you refer to on the lower side of the iron lock is in fact a sloping brick wall. It is sloping as due to the unstable ground it was the design Thomas Telford used to keep the canal in and the surround ground out. Therefore, although annoying, it is a necessity and with the bridge so close it is easy enough to get off before hand.

In regards to the warning signs at the iron lock in my opinion there should be some above and below the lock where boaters wait to go through such as they have at Bunbury staircase. At the iron lock you generally can’t see the signs until you are already in! Therefore lack of attention to the signs is less a fault of the boaters and more of British Waterways.

Thirdly. The reason boats get caught on the ledges is due to the change in design in boat since the lock was built. Old working narrowboats had curved sides without bits sticking out and so wouldn’t get caught. Having been through this lock multiple times in an old boat, double breasted and without ropes I can say that with knowledge and experience there is no problem. There is only one area of the lock that has curved inwards and if this part is avoided then two boats can easily go up and down at the same time.

In regards to the instruction from the hire company like anywhere else people will lie. As Mr Hardern has said above often people will go to hire companies and say they have masses of experience when in fact they don’t. As a result all boaters have to sign a disclaimer if they are claiming to be experienced. If they don’t wish to sign this then they will go through the same instruction as everyone else, which may I add has been highly commended. In the boat instruction books there is also detailed descriptions on how to carry out certain operation such as locks so the boaters have no excuses, especially as the owners of the hire company are available 24/7 for any queries.

]]> By: Chas Hardern http://www.zulu-warrior.co.uk/beeston-iron-lock/comment-page-1/#comment-436 Chas Hardern Tue, 05 Oct 2010 20:28:54 +0000 http://www.zulu-warrior.co.uk/?p=431#comment-436 Hi Mike, You will have already quessed that I run the 'offending' boatyard below Beeston Iron Lock. The boat in question - 'Thorin'- was obviously crewed by supposedly 'experienced' hirers. All of our hirers are thoroughly quizzed regarding their previous experience, both at time of booking and on boarding the boat. If there is any doubt at all of their abilities they are accompanied 1/2 mile down the canal towards Chester, turned in the winding hole, and escorted through the Iron Lock, and through the Stone Lock also, if they are still unsure. However, there will always be some who have been on the canals maybe once or twice before, maybe many years ago, possibly on a dayboat, who will claim many years experience and therefore 'know it all' Quote from my colleague "I'VE BEEN BOATING FOR 30 YEARS!!" "Well, by gumm Lad, you must be a slow learner!" Hi Mike, You will have already quessed that I run the ‘offending’ boatyard below Beeston Iron Lock. The boat in question – ‘Thorin’- was obviously crewed by supposedly ‘experienced’ hirers. All of our hirers are thoroughly quizzed regarding their previous experience, both at time of booking and on boarding the boat. If there is any doubt at all of their abilities they are accompanied 1/2 mile down the canal towards Chester, turned in the winding hole, and escorted through the Iron Lock, and through the Stone Lock also, if they are still unsure. However, there will always be some who have been on the canals maybe once or twice before, maybe many years ago, possibly on a dayboat, who will claim many years experience and therefore ‘know it all’ Quote from my colleague “I’VE BEEN BOATING FOR 30 YEARS!!” “Well, by gumm Lad, you must be a slow learner!”

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