Do we need lock volunteers?

THOUGH there have been favourable comments, there have been many complaints about the attitude towards boaters of volunteers assisting at locks during the past season, with some seemingly 'power-mad', whilst others are just not capable.

Our own experience over the year has been good, finding them very helpful, with the exception of the one at Sawley Lock, who told us—wrongly—where to place the boat in the filling lock. Having used both locks continuously over 18 years, we though we should by then know. He also insisted, again wrongly,  that every lock on the Trent, including the tidal ones, was manned by volunteers.

Astounded

Ian Gittins told us he was astounded at the attitude of two volunteers at Atherstone Flight on the Coventry Canal, where one of them walked down the line waiting at the bottom and picked out the order for boats to ascend, completely ignoring the well established 'first come first served' procedure. The second volunteer on the locks did absolutely nothing to help even when a single handed boater was chosen to ascend, with the boater later telling Ian that the volunteer had told him his job was to make sure everything was done properly by the boater 'according to the book'!

Then there were two separate volunteers at the top of the flight who did all in their powers to help, with Ian and his wife having very little to do, and when Ian complained about the two at the bottom he was told—they are a couple of power-mad little Hitlers!

Grindley Brook

Another of our regular contributors, R T Lang, met a volunteer on the Grindley Brook Staircase, who he states just did not know what he was doing having the boat on the bottom in a chamber then being told off for telling the volunteer he had not allowed enough water to come down.

In the current issue of NABO News, Hugh Cauldwell tells of his experience at being involved in a serious altercation with volunteers at Foxton Flight and being told he would be reported for being an awkward sod and to get out of the flight as soon as possible. He was told the volunteers were not there to help but to ensure that boaters behave themselves and work the flight correctly.

This was in addition, he wrote, after being delayed many hours at Watford Flight by volunteers, being told it was 'the nature of the beast', when asking why such a delay.

Others have also complained to us, but when asked for their names, have been worried about repercussions, so we of course have not included them.

Do locks themselves

It was way back in 2012 when lock volunteers first came on the scene that Ralph Freeman stated that most experienced boaters would prefer to do the locks themselves because, over the years, they have developed their own tried and tested method of doing that particular type of lock.

He suggested it is better for a single volunteer to 'pick up' a boat at the bottom/top of a flight then walk along the flight ahead of 'their' boat setting locks, thereby leaving the boat crews to actually do the locks themselves. However, it transpired that volunteers cannot go too far away from facilities, so this was not put into practice.

Our own David Hymers wrote that he had received little help from the much vaunted volunteers, except on Hanwell Flight, where it was very welcome, and on the Thames, where volunteers seem to have largely replaced the paid summer assistant lock keepers.

One lock keeper told him that he didn't want volunteers, as they needed so much 'baby-minding' that they weren't worth having.

More worrying

Though there are many good volunteers whose only concern is to assist boaters, there are too many of those whose concerns seem to be asserting themselves, whilst much more worrying are those who are just not capable, especially of working the flights, that indeed needs experience, that can only be found with a permanent lock keeper.