page_title: Lock (water navigation)
section_title: Basic construction and operation
hierarchical_section_title: Lock (water navigation) / Basic construction and operation
caption_attribution_description: English: Photo sequence showing the operation of a canal lock Čeština: Posloupnost fotografií dokumentující funkci zdymadla. Zdroj:cs::en:Image:Canal-sequence.jpg Licence: autor http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Matt_Crypto obrázku ho uvolnil do PD.
context_page_description: A lock is a device used for raising and lowering boats, ships and other watercraft between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is the chamber itself that rises and falls.
  Locks are used to make a river more easily navigable, or to allow a canal to cross land that is not level. Later canals used more and larger locks to allow a more direct route to be taken.
  Since 2016, the largest lock worldwide is the Kieldrecht Lock in the Port of Antwerp, Belgium.
context_section_description: All pound locks have three elements:
  A watertight chamber connecting the upper and lower canals, and large enough to enclose one or more boats. The position of the chamber is fixed, but its water level can vary.
  A gate (often a pair of "pointing" half-gates) at each end of the chamber. A gate is opened to allow a boat to enter or leave the chamber; when closed, the gate is watertight.
  A set of lock gear to empty or fill the chamber as required. This is usually a simple valve (traditionally, a flat panel (paddle) lifted by manually winding a rack and pinion mechanism) which allows water to drain into or out of the chamber; larger locks may use pumps.
  The principle of operating a lock is simple. For instance, if a boat travelling downstream finds the lock already full of water:
  The entrance gates are opened and the boat moves in.
  The entrance gates are closed.
  A valve is opened, this lowers the boat by draining water from the chamber.
  The exit gates are opened and the boat moves out.
  If the lock were empty, the boat would have had to wait 5 to 10 minutes while the lock was filled. For a boat travelling upstream, the process is reversed; the boat enters the empty lock, and then the chamber is filled by opening a valve that allows water to enter the chamber from the upper level. The whole operation will usually take between 10 and 20 minutes, depending on the size of the lock and whether the water in the lock was originally set at the boat's level.
  Boaters approaching a lock are usually pleased to meet another boat coming towards them, because this boat will have just exited the lock on their level and therefore set the lock in their favour – saving about 5 to 10 minutes. However, this is not true for staircase locks, where it is quicker for boats to go through in convoy.
caption: Operation of a canal lock
   1–3. Boat enters 'empty' lock
   4. Bottom gates are closed, bottom paddles closed, top paddles opened, lock starts to fill
   5. Lock is filling with water, lifting boat to the higher level
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