BLUEMOMENT

Interesting. Thanks for the photos and update.

Donald

Cool. I might trundle along on mah bike for a look.

interesting post
glad we didn't know about the "plugs" along the length of the canal in the early '80s, that'd have been quite a temptation during the Tobermory race or the weekend of West Highland week.....
disappointing that they didn't take the opportunity to remove the silt and rubbish whilst the canal was drained. Definitely a missed opportunity. Surely the old lock gates and more obvious larger items will be moved?

The new lock gates have proved to be less than an improvement, requiring much more time and effort than before. Perhaps canal builders in the past knew more about what they were doing?
The Cairnbaan flight with four old locks can be passed in around one hour, the Dunardry flight with three old and two new sets of gates now takes an experienced operator three to four hours. Some of this can be explained by the absence of Russ who managed that flight for the last few summers but most is down to the new gates. Reusing the old pumps with new sluices has been a mistake and some of the sluices with their sophisticated? seals can not be moved when the lock is full. The awkward position of the pumps also makes it harder. The physical effort required to move the new gates at 12 and 13 is usually beyond the effort of one person and SC have acknowledged this with notices on the swing bars. MacKenzies workers talked a better story but the job they have left is even worse than the contractors from the previous winter.
However the major issue arises from the decision to replace from the bottom up, the new lower gates below the old leaky one further up the flight means that the pressure from the flow of water overtopping the new gates means that the gates can not be opened until the water level in the reach above has dropped adding up to an hour to the locking time for each set. Scottish Canals decision not to bother with grouting the lock walls when they were empty is another puzzling decision.
Age may be a factor but the extended time and effort required this year demands a day of recovery now after nearly every transit.

Corona,

All your observations are spot on.