Navigating Locks When Boating

This past week I was teaching a Small Vessel Operator Proficiency (SVOP) course in Castlegar. This is a Transport Canada Accredited course for commercial operators.

I was instructing on a 22' jet boat on the Columbia River outside of town. The Hugh Keenleyside dam is just up the river. We decided to take the opportunity to go through the lock to allow everyone the experience of locking through.

Here are pictures showing a log boom exiting the lock,

the downstream door closing,

the upstream door closed.







The lock chamber is 50' wide, 200' long and 150' deep.

There are floating bollards (mooring points) contained in the vertical grooves in the lock walls. You take a mooring line around the bollard to secure your boat while the lock is filling or emptying. You should not tie the boat to the bollard in case the bollard gets stuck.

A Week at Malibu Club

The Dining Hall and Pool

I spent the last week at Malibu Club instructing the staff so they could acquire their Transport Canada certificates to operate the Small Non-Pleasure Vessels. Six persons attained both the MED A3 and the Small Vessel Operator Proficiency certificates.

Malibu Club is operated by Young Life and it is a tremendous facility. Originally a private lodge, it has been expanded and renovated with new construction underway.

Great people and a breathtaking location. The property is located overlooking Malibu Rapids at the entrance to Princess Louisa Inlet from Jervis Inlet.