Paddle pawl stops to be removed!

THE decision to attach metal 'stops' on paddle gear by Canal & River Trust to prevent the pawls being lifted clear has proved yet another in the long list of bad decisions by the Trust, as they are all now to be removed!

The Trust had has to accede to the massive amount of complaints not only by boaters and narrowboatworld but even the Navigation Advisory Group and the Inland Waterways Association, telling CaRT the 'stop' is downright dangerous.

Cannot be quickly released

The Trust now admits that it received complaints from around '100 boaters' together with great internet derision of the scheme, and has now accepted that it was wrong to modify the pawls so that they cannot be released quickly in the case of emergency, such as if a boat is caught on the cill and the paddles need to be quickly dropped.

The Trust admits that concerns were raised in consultation responses that the new catches may interfere with the ability to drop paddles quickly if a boat becomes hung-up in a lock. It has also been commented that a design, which requires the pawl catch to be held up by one hand, could create difficulties where paddles are stiff and require both hands to operate. Children and the frail may also struggle to wind down paddles one-handed.

Communication and education

The Trust adds that  it 'intends to then review the data and consult further with boaters to develop any future plans for pawl modifications, or giving boaters the information they need to operate safely through communication and education'.

As all that was a waste of money and effort, that would have been better spent on repairing actual paddles, it now states that in the meantime, it will continue to replace worn or faulty spindles.

Bollards

It was BW/Cart that installed three bollards on all narrow locks that subsequently had to be removed when the safety implication were pointed out, all amounting to many thousands of pounds being wasted,

Then, after removing, it was decided to install taller square bollards, another bad decision as safety concerns meant that they had to be converted to safer round ones, but after realising that boaters were not using them anyway, they were simply left to rot away.

And so the pawl 'stops' installed, again with no regard to their safety implications, have to be removed.

Whatever next?