What is a canal lock?
A lock allows you to go up or down hills on the canal. It’s a simple piece of engineering that sometimes scares first time boaters… but they’re easy to get the hang of. You cruise into the lock, close the gates behind you so that you’re in a sealed area of water. You then open ‘paddles’ which let water trickle into the lock, raising the water (and your boat) to the higher level. Only then can you open the top gates and cruise out. Still confused? Don’t worry, We give thorough training on locks when you arrive and will make sure you fully understand before you cruise. Is there a steering wheel on a canal boat? There’s no steering wheel on a canal boat – instead you steer from the rear of the boat using a ’tiller’. It’s a pole-like handle that is attached to the rudder. Push it to the right and the canalboat will slowly turn to the left, push it to the left and you’ll turn to the right. Again, you’ll be trained on how to handle the canal boat when you arrive at your choice of canal boa
