GL: Tying in locks

[John & Judy Gill]

John, Randy and List,

The general rule when locking through is to NEVER tie your lines.
The exceptions are the Peterborough and Kirkfield hydraulic lift
locks and the Marine Railway at Big Chute, all on the Trent-Severn
Waterway.

The other general rule is to always have a very SHARP KNIFE in
readiness just in case the line becomes jammed or tangled.  If you
must tie, remember the knife rule!!!

Several years ago, we heard of a boater on the Heartland Rivers who
had a cleaver way of "tieing" to the floating bollards.  He used a
small fan belt which he looped over the floating bollard post and
then looped his line through the fan belt and back to his mid ship
cleat  - if there was a problem he could cut the fan belt and not an
expensive dock line.

John and Judy Gill
Two Js V
Sassafras Harbor Marina, Georgetown, MD
AGLCA Loopers

Email:  < jjgill at twojscom.com >
Website:  <http://homepage.mac.com/twojscom/GreatLoop/>

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On Mar 10, 2009, at 10:50 AM, Truelove39 at aol.com wrote (SNIP)

> Hi  Randy,
>
> We can't get away with a loose tie in a lock. Our sailboat  hull's
> deep keel
> reacts by surging fore and aft, especially when  locking "up."  The
> pressure
> on the fenders is tremendous and if the boat is  allowed to get
> moving more
> than a foot or so it is not good. We  tie around one of the
> recessed pipes or
> wires to a  single amidships cleat, using a short piece of 3/4"
> braid and let the
>  (many!) fenders do the rest.