A25 solo locking

[Sunsetrider]

I am anticipating (with some trepidation) single-handed travel through the NY Canal system if not this fall then surely next. I will try to entice a crew member, but people have lives and I may not succeed. I am posting this in this section because I imagine the techniques vary depending on the vessel - wondering whether others might have succeeded in this on the same boat. If so, how was the experience?

[DCatSea]

I've no experience in US locks, but plenty in UK and France. I know this sounds trite, but its not as daunting as people think; (it's a bit like riding a bike.), and the second one will be easier and so on. Its been a while since I did this, but the last time was with a 68' narrow boat (2 deckhands). Some thoughts which may be useful.

The trick is to have at least 2 nice long mooring lines - rigged for'd and aft - which you can pass up to the lock staff or assistants, to loop round the bollards and pass back to you. Then you have control over the vessel in the lock, making sure you keep lines taut as water enters (or leaves) the pound. You don't need to be at the helm during lock operations, just controlling/maintaining position with your lines. A midships line passed round the risers (if there) will be useful.
Fenders out on both sides because of the other crazy people in there, and a good solid boat hook, with a soft end to it as well as the hooky bit. (preferably not expandable). A light heaving line is comforting.

Once secure - engine off (noxious fumes in a large hole - not good)

Slow is always good. (if anyone yells at you to go faster - it is NY after all - you probably know what they can do and where to do it

If you have crew on board, toss one ashore in the lock cut before you enter the lock, so they can meet you on the appropriate side of the pound and take lines. If locks are deep, give him/her a boathook to take lines up.

Gloves be good, because lock walls and fixtures often be slimy and icky.

Lock staff usually have a good idea of what's going on, so listen to them, but you are the captain. Stay safe out there.

Hope this helps - you going to love it

[Beta Don]

If you will be doing much locking, 2 or 3 over sized fenders are a must! When you think you've decided on what 'oversize' for your boat might actually be, buy the next size up. Round ones work the best . . . . 12" minimum, 15" is better

Don

[kerrye]

You’ll get no help from the lockmasters on the NY canals. One person needs to hold the boat at the center if the lock has a fixed cable from top to bottom Not as easy when the lines are only attached at the top. If there’s a breeze not being in the center can be quite problematic. I’d want 2 on the boat

[kerrye]

Down locks are easier than up. Deep up locks are the most turbulent

[kerrye]

The deep locks have cables fixed top and bottom. Shallow locks don’t in our experience

[kerrye]

I know a guy who singlehanded a Morgan 41 from Buffalo to Seneca Lake. It is a center cockpit boat though which makes it easier

[DesertAlbin736]

Well, as you may know & I may have talked about when we were at your place last year, we've been there, done that. However, not single handed. I suppose it's possible to handle locking without crew, but would be much easier with at least one crew person that's willing & able to drive the boat. What we found worked best was for me to be up on deck with boat hook in hand as we entered a lock, with Helen at the wheel driving in & over to the side of the lock. At least on the sections of the Erie and Cayuga-Seneca Canals we traversed (11 different locks each way on a round trip between Seneca Lake & Fairport, NY), the locks had ropes hanging down the sides of the walls spaced about 15 or 20 feet apart. As we approached the wall of the lock I would stand on the foredeck & snag a bow line with the boat hook. Then as I walked aft holding that line I would hook a stern line and hand it off to Helen as she came up on deck, leaving the engine idling in neutral. You don't tie these lines off, just hold onto them as the boat goes up or down with the water level.

So my suggestion is that you have at least a pair of fat 'basketball' type fenders available plus your regular fenders, and preferably make up a fender board & extra fenders to keep the boat from scraping the sides of the walls, which are nearly century old concrete & very rough. Also bring heavy duty leather or rubber work gloves because those lines are slimy from constant immersion. The top photo is not quite typical of most of the locks in that this one had recessed cables down the sides that others did not. In that case I was able to loop one of my own dock lines around that cable to slide up or down. Most others you just had to grab a rope. As with all photos, click on it to see enlarged full screen view.

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Most locks had lines hanging down like this one.

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This picture taken while tied up at the Newark, NY town dock & shows our fender arrangement, the orange ball fenders fore and aft plus fender board 'midships.

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Be sure to check the canal schedules because they get closed & drained for the winter at some point in late fall.

PS, don't fall overboard.

[Sunsetrider]

All helpful comments, thanks. Especially the photos, Steve!

[kerrye]

Our method was different. I stayed at the helm and my first mate stood in the cockpit. I stopped the boat with the cockpit adjacent to either a fixed cable or hanging line. She grabbed it. I left the helm and replaced her at that line. She then went to the bow and used a boat hook to grab a line (always a line and never a fixed cable because there were never fixed cables that close together) and we each held on to our lines for the duration. We kept a loose unattached line to loop around the fixed cable. You need a 12' boat hook an not an 8' boat hook because 8' is only barely long enough in some locks.

[kerrye]

We used regular 8" (?) tubular fenders. One at center, one about a third of the way from center towards the bow and one on the back corner. Worked fine. Some of the walls in the Erie Canal locks can be quite rough so sometime we had to pick the location to hold on carefully to avoid the fenders getting hung up.

[DesertAlbin736]

Our method was different. I stayed at the helm and my first mate stood in the cockpit.

Either way works. In our case we have the original style cockpit enclosure, which unless we unsnapped it & folded it forward to open up the cockpit it's not practical to climb in and out of the cockpit from the side, but instead have to climb down from the aft cabin top. So it worked better to have someone up on deck ahead of time as we pulled in. Purely a matter of preference. The Admiral was more comfortable driving than trying to grab ropes with a boat hook.

[kerrye]

Good point about the original cockpit enclosure. Solo locking would require the removal of that enclosure in order to make locking possible I believe.

[Sunsetrider]

That has been my primary concern - driving and getting on deck at the same time. I have similar concerns about anchoring in active weather.

[kerrye]

We locked thru with a couple in a Nimble Nomad a few times. It had a window right at the helm and he could reach out with a boat hook and hold on to either the fixed cable or a hanging line. So if you removed the starboard window at the helm, locking would become much easier.