Hi, Your comments are always most welcome
Very compelling story…. I can still remember the first time I went through one of the locks on the Ohio River.
Sorry to hear about your day. I don't know what you could have done different to stop that happening in the lock. Why can't you close the guillotine gate like you would a paddle when things go awry ? We have no experience with those kind of G gates. Can you not close them again ?
It was a bit mean about the farmers wife but I suppose she had a bad experience with previous boaters.
We had a similar experience on the Llangollen once at the end of the summer. Every local we came across had an issue with boaters. We had an argument with a moored boat about wash and then we got wrongly accused of mooring outside a lock cottage. The lady who lived there thought we were to blame because she saw us speaking to the real culprit. I guess they were just up to the gunwhales with boaters taking liberties all summer and were very over sensitive.
Never mind, chin-up. You came out the other side, wiser for the experience. You could have just retired to a cottage and been bored out of your mind !!! 
Dave,
I guess those locks are massive?
Mark,
The problem with guillotine locks is that to totally raise or lower them takes almost 200 turns on a big wheel!
On normal locks, its just a matter of 'dropping' paddles shut instantly, with these Vic had already turned the wheel probably 30 times just to raise it a foot.... it won't just drop if you let go the wheel, you have to wind it down! He is a super guy, but there is no way he would have been able to wind the wheel 30 times in the opposite direction in a matter of seconds.
Yes tis a pity a minority of narrowboat crews spoil it for the rest, and that is just what is happening. I tend to try and be as understanding as I can, normally I would have moved on in that situation, but it was very late and I was exhausted with the trials of the day. 
Sounds very frightening. Hope he trip is more relaxing from now on.
We have some discussions on the Ownerships webboard referenced in the link - where I've found some web pictures of the lock.
Peter,
Thanks for that, yes I have been over and had a look at the pics ... there really should be warnings on a poster at the locks, it is very dangerous. We were very lucky
Wow what a bad day you had then. Had to laugh at your description of the little cruiser, first mooring upstream from yarwell lock. that was my easily crushable little boat in april, since moved out of your way into the relative uncrushable safety of the mill race. And i have one of those caravans along riverside against the downstream lock mooring. Its paradise there even when the wind blows, but have to admit we have witnessed quite a few narrowboats catch the wind turning into the lock. Oh what fun! Since the lock was electrified two years ago previous comments on winding the handle dont apply now. Since i have never suffered being snagged in a lock i relly dont know how quickly me old grey matter would react. i would
have thought you take your finger off the raise gate button and bang it on the lower gate button. havent even tried the emergency button. Shame about the farmers wife tho. It really is one of the nicest and quietest river stretches in the country.
