# Dismal Swamp and the Hazards of Locks



## AtlanticBryan (Jun 27, 2001)

On May 1 of this year I transited the Dismal Swamp Canal, moving northward from Elizabeth City towards Norfolk in our 32-foot Jeanneau. When I entered the Deep Creek Lock, I was the second of two boats being locked through. There was a 2-knot current behind me, so I entered with no throttle - I was just letting the current carry me. The lockmaster tied me up bow line first, causing my stern to swing out into the lock. He then started yelling commands at me to power forward. I couldn't see what he was doing but assumed he was going to use the bow line as a spring to bring in the stern. In fact, he had already tied off the bow line quite short, resulting in the bow of my boat striking the side of the lock twice and bending its bow roller. Eventually we got the boat under control and I later spoke with the lockmaster, telling him that tying off a moving boat bow first was not correct. He told me that the fault was mine, that I was moving too fast (remember that I was moving only with the current - going into reverse would have caused me to lose steerage way). 
The same situation happened earlier in the day, to the boat that locked through the South Mills lock behind me. The lockmaster snubbed off the bow line of the moving boat, causing its stern to swing out into the lock. In this case there was less current and the boat was a trawler with bow thrusters and counter-rotating props, so no damage was done.
It appears to me that these two incidents demonstrate a training problem with the lock staff. Everyone with experience in boating knows that the way to stop a moving boat is with an aft spring or a stern line. Snubbing off a bow line always causes the stern to swing out away from the dock and the helmsman to lose all control of the boat. I suspect that the lock staff use the bow line because it allows them to determine where the bow will be in relation to the boat ahead, but that is no to create a situation that could cause serious damage to a boat or injury to its crew.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Thanks for the heads up... I'd agree that it is a training or lack of understanding on the part of the lock crew. It is probably worth writing the government agency responsible and seeing if they will pay for the repairs to your boat, as well as re-train/train the staff in question.


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## AtlanticBryan (Jun 27, 2001)

Thanks, Dog. I did write to the US ACOE about this - we'll see if they respond. I also contacted Dozier (the Waterway Guide folks) and Skipper Bob. 

The damage to my roller wasn't too severe - the aluminum ears were bent. I'm hoping (there's that word again) that I'll be able to bend them back with a big adjustable wrench. Another cruiser who was a millwright in a former life thought it could be done.

It isn't just the Dismal Swamp lockmasters who make this mistake, of course. I've had numerous "dockmasters" try to tie me up bow first with the same result - a major league Chinese fire drill.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Brian...as captain...you should order exactly what you wish done. It is not for those on land to decide...though they will if given the chance. I say this not to criticize but to caution others as you have done. With a following current, the stern line should be taken first...or an aft spring, depending on how your boat handles. But the captain must give the orders. 
I handle 100's of boat dockings a year and tell the captains and crew what to do...since I know boats and my marina...but I always back off when the captain tells me what HE/SHE wants to do. I'd say the % of dockhands that know what they are doing is about the same as the % of dockers that can actually handle their boats and make good docking decisions! If you know what you are doing...don't leave your boat in others hands.


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Cam's got a good point.. ultimately, you really have to take command of your boat.


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## Stillraining (Jan 11, 2008)

Iv had gas dock personnel do the same thing the first line they want to grab is the bow...I asked one guy last summer not to pull on the bow line and he said fine dock your on $#@!$ boat...I did..by myself


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## AtlanticBryan (Jun 27, 2001)

Cam, you're absolutely right. I should've ordered the lockmaster to take the stern line. I'm not sure, though, what he would have done. My experience with guys on the dock or on shore taking lines has been 50/50 at best - many don't understand the concept that the skipper is responsible and has the authority to give orders.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

AB...yup..I agree...but they usually respond to loud and authoritative commands out of the calculation that they won't get tipped if they don't do what the captain says. (Most boats don't tip...but hope springs eternal!!)


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## NautiG (Apr 23, 2007)

I went through the Dismal Swamp Canal about the same time as AtlanticBryan. I enjoyed the trip, but will back up his caveat about the Deep Creek lock. The current will pull you in there fine. And my locking was quick and deep. It's at least an eight foot drop. I exited the lock backwards because I wasn't able to handle the lines competently by myself.

Scott
Gemini Catamaran Split Decision
Captain's Blog


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## AtlanticBryan (Jun 27, 2001)

Cam, your point about tips applies to low paid assistant dockmasters, but a lockmaster is a reasonably well paid public servant employed by the Corps of Engineers. The situations aren't totally comparable.


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## camaraderie (May 22, 2002)

Yep...hence the double smiley...but I still believe in loud and authoritative commands. Yelling begins when they don't obey. Name taking begins when what they do when they do not causes damage. Nothing worse for a public servant than a complaint to the boss.


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## hertfordnc (Sep 10, 2007)

Were you by yourself? I went through there a month earlier and an older man just put the bight of my line around the cleat and left me to tend it. I had complete control during the whole evolution. 

After we got through the lock (southbound) he had to jump in his truck to open the bridge. I suppose they've added some people as the summer heats up.


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## AtlanticBryan (Jun 27, 2001)

No, my wife was on the bow. He took her line first, used it to check my progress, then handed it back to her while my stern swung out and slowly strolled back to pick up my line, arriving in time to watch it fall into the water. 

He was still alone when I went through.


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## PBzeer (Nov 11, 2002)

AB - first of all, nice to see you got your problem fixed in Beaufort (dockhand said you had an engine problem). Sorry I didn't see you there, after meeting you at Golden Isles.

My experience on the Dismal, coming south last year, was quite positive. While I will heed what the lockmaster says, I will override if I think it's bad for my boat. I'll be going through next month, so I'll be sure to keep your experience in mine when I go through. Fair winds the rest of your trip.


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## AtlanticBryan (Jun 27, 2001)

Thanks, John. I hadn't made the connection between Aria and PBZeer. Yes, I had a faulty relay in my starting circuit fixed and a leaky waterpump diagnosed that was eventually repaired in Charleston.

In Cape May now, hunting weather windows for continued travel north. 

Safe travels.


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## xort (Aug 4, 2006)

Lesson learned is... do not hand them a line you don't want tied. Ask them to go for the stern line and keep the bow line aboard until the stern line is handled.
Lots of shoreside 'help' that causes more problems than solutions.


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## adewall (Oct 18, 2002)

I'm surprised that no one picked up on the 2-knot following current entering the lock. I've been through the Deep Creek lock several times and have not experienced this kind of current. It sounds as though the lock tender may have allowed traffic to enter the lock too soon, or had not completely closed the gates on the north end of the lock.


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## Rockter (Sep 11, 2006)

Yes, you must stop the boat by the stern under those circumstances.
The lock keeper was wrong.
Into a real punchy headwind, make the bow line fast first, but that is rare, as the closed lock in front normally shields you from the worst of it.
I have found the most awkward circumstances to be when I am trying to get into the lock and I have a powerful following wind. Priority is then given to the stern line. Once the line is ashore, shorten up and rev the motor astern to stop the ship, indeed rev it a bit more until you are going slightly backwards as the prop wash over the hull tends to draw you forward again a wee bit when you stop revving.
In a big boat melee, I try to be last into the lock. It's safer that way.


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