BOLLARDS

Bollards might not be of interest to most people but on the canals it's vital in every lock and most moorings. They come in many shapes, sizes and colours. Recently on Le Canal de la Marne au Rhin Est we came across a huge variety. In some cases the stone lock side is worn away by a couple of hundred years of holding back péniches with the mooring ropes.

Traditional bollard with many years of wear.

Further along the canal in a deeper lock we came across these more modern 'anchorage points', you can't really call them bollards. You move the rope from one to the next as you go up or down. Quite functional but no aesthetics.

An unusual built in 'bollard' or more accurately anchorage point.

In the very large locks such as Rèchicourt 2, with a 15.4 metre drop we had floating bollards that just move up and down alongside the boat. They may not look very much in the photograph but they are a 2-3 metre deep drum to ensure they float regardless of the strain put on them. They're very easy to use as they're always at the right height.

Floating bollards, the easiest kind.

There are lots of other types of bollards. Perhaps we'll do a future blog post on bollard colours and decoration! Don't hold your breath.