Teddington Skiff Lock

When we got to Teddington Lock on our way down to Brentford last summer I looked out for the Skiff Lock. I'd read that it was the smallest lock on the Thames, and I'd missed it on the way up as then we were crammed into the Barge Lock with loads of other narrowboats who had also made their way upstream. The Teddington Lock website gives the dimensions of the Skiff Lock as 15.08m long by 1.77m wide (or 49'6" by 5"10") - too narrow even for a narrowboat! (I suppose slipper launches could use it - do they?) The length dimension is academic as any boats using the lock will have to negotiate the tight bend at the tail! I wonder why it was built like that. The website says that the Skiff Lock isn't used very much.


The paddle gear looks interesting: that on the top gate looks like it's a simple lever pivoted to give very little mechanical advantage. Perhaps it's used only when the lock is nearly full.