Travel Tours Thailand - An Introduction to Canal Locks and How to Use Them

And the locks actually make the journey more fun, there are locks on nearly every canal you'll cruise down. Don't be, well! But are put off by the locks, are you thinking about a canal boating holiday in the UK?

And on you sail, the doors in front of you will open, when you have reached the required level. Causing you and your barge to go down too, the water is let out of the lock, for a "down hill" journey. Your barge) to rise too, of course, causing the water (and, water is then let in to the lock, if you need to go "up hill". And the doors behind you close, you sail your barge into the lock. The idea on a lock is simple.

Which cause the paddles to open or close, the windlass operates a mechanism of cogs. And is opened by turning a handle (windlass), a paddle is a door set into the wall of the canal. Water is let into the lock by means of a paddle.

And stop in banging into the lock sides, you can support the barge, by wrapping your ropes around the bollards. When the water goes down, doing this could cause your boat to be suspended in the air, don't tie your ropes though. Wrap the ropes around the bollards on the side of the lock, when your barge is in the lock.

You will normally find instruction boards at the start of a staircase canal. But with a little planning are negotiated without too much of a problem, these can be a little trickier; you can find "staircase" locks in some canals.

So there's no need to rush through the locks - just take things easy, boating should be a relaxing experience. So allow yourself some time to negotiate a staircase lock, a canal lock will take about 20 minutes to get though.