locking thru on the ohio

[ironhead70]

i am in need a of a little info on locking thru iits been about 20 years since i have and i was a little guy then so what are the steps i need to take so i dont look stuiped thanks

[raporter]

Great question. I don't have a clue either but would like to know.

[Fisherjoe]

I used to lock thru Markland several years ago and it was pretty simple. Pull your boat up to a designated area before the locks and wait. When the lock is ready, the gates will open and you can enter the lock (assuming no traffic exiting). Pull boat to side wall and hook rope to sliding ring and boat cleat. Boat is supposed to be "secured" during lockage. After water level adjusts, gates will open, untie boat, and exit lock.

This is a very simplified version of the process. Commercial traffic has priority over recreational. Some locks have pull chain to notify desire to lock. The lockmaster uses lights and horns to signal boaters. If you have a VHF you can contact lockmaster for directions.

There is a link on the USACE website that describes the process in detail, including all the signals. Look for links to "navigation". If I can find them again, I will post the links here.

In some instances, you will be allowed to lock thru with commercial traffic. I only did so once. It was a tug moving a couple of small barges and there was plenty of room to avoid each other. Like everything on the water, use some common sense and all will be OK.

Joe

[markmac60]

The main objective of this pamphlet is YOUR SAFETY when “locking through”!
Navigation locks and dams on Pittsburgh's three rivers – the Ohio, Monongahela and Allegheny – are operated and maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The lockmaster has full authority over the movement of boats in the lock and its approaches.
Please do not get impatient on busy boating days when traffic through the locks is heavy. The lock crews are interested in locking you through – safely – and in your turn. Allow yourself enough time for your trip on days when traffic is heavy.

LOCKAGE PRIORITY
Here is how the Secretary of the Army has ordered us to pass shipping through the locks:
�� U.S. Military Craft
�� Mail Boats
�� Commercial Passenger
�� Commercial Tows
�� Commercial Fishermen
�� Recreation Boats

Sometimes small craft are required to wait and lock through with other craft.
FOR YOUR SAFETY RECOGNIZE AND OBEY ALL BUOYS AND MARKERS
The main points on passing through a lock are set forth in this pamphlet. However, if you wish a copy of the full regulations governing lockages, you may request them at any lock.

SIGNALS USED AT LOCKS
Traffic Light Signals
Flashing Red
Stand clear, do not enter
Flashing Amber
Approach lock under full control
Flashing Green
Enter lock

Air Horn Signals
1 Long Blast – Enter landward lock
2 Long Blasts – Enter riverward lock
1 Short Blast – Leave landward lock
2 Short Blasts – Leave riverward lock

A fixed crest dam is difficult to see from small boats moving downriver since the crest (top of the concrete) is normally covered with flowing water. Be DAM CONSCIOUS and know your location on the river with regard to each dam and lock. Keep a lookout for the "DANGER DAM" signs and the white and orange pillar buoys which mark the dam. But be aware the buoys are not in the river year round and they can move off-station due to river flows. All water immediately above and below each dam are DANGER areas. It is recommended that boaters use Navigation Charts which provide valuable information on the location of the dams and other structures in the river.

LockingThroughTHINGS YOU SHOULDKNOW IF YOU USENAVIGATION LOCKS
Head your boat directly for the lock. Do not approach spillway sections of the dam! Currents may draw your boat into or over the dam.

HOW TO LOCK THROUGH
1. Stay between red and green buoys. They mark the river's navigable channel.
2. Personal watercraft of the “sit down” variety are allowed to lock through but must enter and depart according to the lock operator's instructions. The craft must remain stable. The operator must wear a Coast Guard-approved PFD at all times and remain seated when the craft is not in motion. The "stand up" variety of personal watercraft must be tied-off to an approved vessel during approach, lockage and departure with the operator remaining on-board the approved vessel until clear of the lock approach wall.
3. When approaching a lock, wait for the green light and the whistle signal from the lock operator to enter. Boats going downstream should stay in the clear 400 feet upstream from the end of the guide wall while awaiting lockage. This is particularly true if large vessels are about to leave the lock and are headed in your direction.
4. On approaching the lock, boats desiring lockage shall give the following signal at a distance of not more than one mile from the lock: one long blast of the whistle followed by one short blast. Pull cords, which sound an alarm letting the lock operator know that you desire lockage, are provided at the upstream and downstream ends of the lock wall.
5. Traffic signal lights guide you at all navigation locks on the Monongahela, Allegheny and Ohio Rivers. They look like automobile traffic lights.
6. The lock operator may, in addition to the traffic lights, signal you with an air horn.
7. Carry aboard at least 75 feet of mooring line. You will need it during lockage to tie your boat safely to the lock wall. If you do not have a proper mooring line you may not be locked. Do not tie up to ladders or recessed mooring pins along the wall. Follow the instructions of the lock operator as to the location where you will moor.
8. Make sure there is a mooring ring or similar device on your boat to which a mooring line can be tied.
9. Small boats with only one person aboard may use one long line securely fastened at one end of the boat with the bight of the line around the mooring post on the lock wall and the free end of the line around a cleat at the other end of the boat. This will allow the person at the free end of the line to pay out or take in mooring as the water level changes.
10. Larger boats should use two separate mooring lines leading from bow to stern to separate mooring posts on the lock wall. This will require a person at each end of the boat to pay out or take in mooring lines as the water level changes.
11. Stand by to pay out or take in mooring line as the water level in the lock rises or falls.
12. In locks with floating mooring bitts you should place your mooring line around the mooring posts on the floating mooring bitt. It will not be necessary for the lock operator to handle your line.
13. Use fenders to save damage to your boat and to lock walls. (Old rope makes good fenders!)
14. Passengers should remain seated in your boat during lockage.
15. Always wear a PFD when it is necessary to handle lines on deck or in rough weather.
16. Lock operators have been given the same authority over your boat in the lock as traffic policemen have over your car at intersections. For your own safety you must obey their instructions.
17. Wait for the lock operator's signal to leave the lock. Travel at reduced speed on entering and leaving the lock.
18. Keep away from the stern of passing tows. The stern waves are apt to capsize small boats.
19. Avoid passing across the head or line of travel of tows. Tows cannot be maneuvered to change course quickly.
20. Keep away from the head of barges moored along the shore. Small boats may be carried under the barges by the undertow.

[Chris D]

When you approach the lock there is a chain that hangs down pull this chain a couple times this will alert the lockmaster. One word of caution DO NOT MAKE ANY WAKE INSIDE THE LOCK AREA this will really po the lockmaster. and also do not enter or leave the lock till the horn or siren sounds!!