Locking
Göta Canal offers many experiences
Sluicing upwards
Locking up takes about 10 minutes per lock chamber. If the lock is not open when you arrive, you will lie down and wait at a pier near the lock. Most of the time, we will inform you when it will be time and in which place in the lock you should place your boat. Sometimes it happens that we don’t have time for that. Then it helps if you or someone else comes and asks. Never be afraid to ask!
As there are many currents, especially at the front of the lock, we would like to place sailboats or larger boats there. These parry the rapids better and calm down the water, so that the boats at the back avoid the currents. This is why we sometimes deviate slightly from the queuing order to combine the right boats and thus make the lock less strenuous for the smaller boats.
1. Place the boat in the lock
When you receive signs or instructions on where to place the boat in the lock, for example at the front on the starboard side, you must first ensure that there is sufficient fendering on the starboard side. The tamps should of course also be attached on this side. A practical solution is to make a loop about half a meter in diameter at the end of the rope that will be ashore. This saves you having to tie and untie the mooring line in each lock chamber. Instead, you can put a loop around the ring attachment on the lock edge.
2. preparation and attachment of tampers
When it is time to enter the lock, at least one person goes ashore and prepares to receive the stern ramp at about the middle of the lock. In the case of a double lock or a lock staircase, this is usually at the first “crease” where the stone quay turns upwards towards the next level. When the stern of the boat is level with the center of the lock, throw the rope up to the person on shore, who will put the loop on the ring fastener. Do not use the bollards, they are too far from the edge. You can now brake the boat and attach the rope. The rope should be as short as possible and preferably go vertically down to the boat’s attachment.
- Attach to the stern with a short tamp held stretched vertically into a ring.
- Attach the stem to the boat and thread the other end through a ring or around a bollard, so that it can be held taut from the boat or from the shore.
- Sailboats can use the winch.
3. the antechamber
Now you can easily throw the mooring line to the person on land, who will place it on a ring 3-4 meters in front of the boat. If you are not sure which ring to choose, it is better to choose a ring further forward than too far back. It is ALWAYS easier to use a winch than to pull the rope by hand. If you pull by hand, it is easier for you on the boat to pull than for the person on land.
If you have a sailboat, you can pull the rope through a breaking block at the bow and stern, so that you can bring the rope home with the boat’s winch.
4. Stretch out the tamps
Stretch the rams so that the boat is close to the stone wall. When the water starts to fill up, it flows in through the front hatches, turns at the lower lock gate and pushes the boat forward. You should therefore NEVER unload or take home on the stern ramp. It takes care of itself.
When the boat is pushed forward, the bowsprit will tend to slacken. To avoid this, you should have the bowsprit well tensioned at the start of the lock, and then bring the bowsprit home slowly, evenly and throughout the lock. If the rope is allowed to slacken, there is a risk of the boat cutting out into the lock. The currents can then push the boat back against the lock wall with great force, which can cause injury to both boat and crew.
5. The lock is ready
Once the locking is complete, just lift off the loops, get on the boat and move on. In the case of a double lock or lock staircase, the easiest way to move to the next lock chamber is to detach the bowsprit from the winch and the sternsprit from the bracket, so that they run freely. The person on shore lifts the stern rope loop from the ring, holds the rope and moves forward with the boat. When the person passes the bow rope loop, he or she also lifts it off and moves forward.
In the next lock chamber, the person ashore puts the stern loop on the ring corresponding to the one in the previous lock chamber. You can then slow down the boat by tightening the stern rope, while the person ashore continues forward and puts the loop on the bow rope around a ring corresponding to the ring in the previous chamber. Locking continues in this way.
Summary: Currents push the boat forward. Therefore, NEVER let go of the stern ramp. Take in the bow slowly and evenly as the water rises. Keep the rope stretched at all times.
Sluicing downwards
1. to sluice downwards
Locking down takes about 7 minutes per lock chamber and is much easier than locking up. There will be no currents and requires no effort from you. Drive into the lock and let at least one person off. Thread the rams through the rings that are roughly next to the fasteners on the boat. Put the ring out towards the lock and thread the rope from the bottom up through the ring. NEVER tie the rope to both the dock and the boat, as this can cause the boat to hang! If you are at the back of the lock, you must make sure that you have crossed the yellow line, so that your rudder does not end up on the lock threshold.
2. During the lockdown
During the lock operation, a person should be on shore to move the tamps. This is particularly necessary if you are far back in a double lock or lock staircase, as the edge of the next lock chamber is much higher at the back of the lock than it was in the first lock chamber. Therefore, you should also bear in mind that you will need twice as long a stern in the second lock chamber. You can pull the boat by hand between the lock chambers to avoid starting the engine.
3. After the lockout
While the water level is dropping, just let go of the rope. When the lock is ready and it is time to leave the lock, pull the rope back through the ring from below the lock. But pull slowly to avoid the rope tying itself in knots. In the last lock chamber, it is easiest if everyone is on board when the locking begins, so you avoid any problems with getting on board when the boat is far from the quayside. There are many other ways to lock your boat, but this is a proven and simple way. Remember to have the engine turned off during locking, as exhaust fumes and gasoline vapors tend to stay in the lock. Therefore, you should not smoke during the lockage either. Finally, it helps if more than one person on board can maneuver the boat.
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Göta Kanal Charter Mem-sjötorp
Göta Kanal Charter has been renting out pleasure boats on the Göta Canal in Sweden since 1999. Since 2014, the business is owned and operated by Pontus Björsner.
