Saves balancing gates

I WAS talking to a single hander outside the Mucky Duck at Fradley the other day and he said, "have you seen the latest 'Bright Idea' from CaRT?—Props to hold gates closed!" Writes Ralph Freeman.

Now, my route was from the Coventry Canal north up the Trent & Mersey so I had no need to use Junction lock, but curiosity got the better of me so I had to take a look.

Installed incorrectly

The bottom gates here, like several in the area, more often than not do not stay closed when the lock is empty. This is no doubt due to the lock gates having been installed incorrectly in the recent past. My single hander's solution to this problem is to put my boat into the lock, climb up the ladder, lift a ground paddle a tad and then close the bottom gates. The water flowing into the lock would then keep the gates closed. Simples!

Apparently Central Shires is not aware of this simple solution and have instead decided to fit 'props' to the bottom gates. However, does this not render the bottom gates more susceptible to damage as they are now 'wedged' shut when the lock is empty and the strut is left in place?

Would not a sign saying 'Raise a ground paddle X clicks before closing the bottom gates' have achieved the same result and been cheaper/safer from the damage point of view? The photo shows an empty lock, but the leg still in place!

So it would appear the design of locks and in particular the 'art' of hanging gates, has been lost/forgotten at Central Shires. Instead, belt and braces solutions have been introduced.

When will CaRT start and listen to boaters before carrying out 'silly' mods to a system that has worked for 200 years? Is that humming I can hear the likes of Brindley, Jessop and Outram spinning in their graves?