Caught on the cill

I AMAZES me how so many boats can be caught on the cill in locks and thus sunk, writes James Henry.

Twice now I have been held up by a boat cocked-up on a cill—once at Weston (Broad) Lock [pictured] and behind that one recently at Kegworth Deep Lock (sorry it's now Kegworth New Lock, so as not to frighten the children!).

Caught on the cill

I have to admit, and I should imagine so do many other boaters, to being caught on a cill, but both my wife—who was opening the paddle—and myself on the boat not taking a lot of notice—realised together as the boat tipped, so she quickly dropped both paddles, scuttling across the bottom lock gate in record time!

Having given a somewhat dirty look, she then went back and opened the top paddles until the boat floated off the cill, and I did what I should have done in the first place, stayed at the front of the lock whilst going down.

Stupid people at CaRT

Luckily at that time the stupid people at CaRT—no other word to describe them—had not welded on a strip to stop the pawl latch being thrown off, otherwise she would not have been able to drop the paddles so quickly in the emergency.

CaRT is always using the 'health and safety' card to excuse itself, but welding on strips of metal to stop the catch being thrown off, thus then requiring two hands to lower a paddle, whilst perched on a lock gate in an emergency, is one of the most stupid things it has ever done.

But getting back to my theme—if the boat is caught on the cill, there is always ample time to do something about it before it gets to the stage where it sinks, so why so many thus caught, thus stopping the navigation?  Lack of knowledge/common sense or not taking notice of what is happening?