Lock dangers

To our knowledge in the last couple of years, several people have drowned in locks.

The usual culprit is getting the back of the boat caught on the cill of the lock.  The cill is a ledge on the base of the lock gates, visible in an attached photo. As water is released to lower the boat, the stern can catch, if one is not alert. Last year a man drowned after getting his mother and dog off the sinking boat, jammed on a cill. He returned to retrieve her handbag, then couldn't escape as the furniture was floating, blocking the exits.

Or you can get the front jammed in the gate- which we nearly did 2 days ago. As the water was being released, the large rope fender on the bow jammed into a space in the gate. One of us went to stop the water release, but then the boat, engine hard reversed, unjammed. Phew.

In an earlier lock, the lock keeper warned us of protruding stones, which had recently jammed a boat as water levels were rising.

Can I add slippery ladders, tripping ropes, and poor communication between the crew causing homicidal thoughts?

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