09/10/05 - Erie Canal

[teflonmom]

Hi Everyone,

Pat and I just returned from two weeks on the Erie Canal. We launched at Seneca State Park in Geneva, good ramp and free secure parking.

It is only a short ride to Seneca Falls. They have free dockage and some of the spots even have electricity. They are installing new power poles on the other side of the canal but they may not be ready by Sept. The town has a good musuem, visiter center, and the Womens Rights Natl. Park. Plenty of good food and a big coffee house with lots of good food. Very important! a good canal side ice cream shop.

We went east to the Oswego Canal then up to Oswego a nice town with a good maritime musuem and plenty of good food. The trip into town as you are locking down is special. With any wind two persons are needed for lines. We were blown off of a single line, but , we recovered OK.

We do prefer the western end of the canal. We like Newark, free dockage, free showers, free washer and dryer. The 1940s Newark Diner is a must and Palmers Resturant is also a very good stop, all with-in walking distance from the docks.

Fairport is not to be missed. The best showers on the canal and a lot of canal side docking and the resturants could handle a lot of Sea Dogs. Good gift shops and a neat walking tour. We have been cruising to Fairport for over 10 years and it is still our favorite stop.

Pat and I will be coming to Lake Seneca from Ohio so our date of arrival is still not solid. We plan to head west as far as Fairport and hope to see some of you that are cruising the western end of the canal.

The idea of rafting for the single handers is good. We tried a single line, but the wind gave us problems. The best for us since Pat cannot work on the fore deck is, Pat in the starboard stern quarter grabs a free line, i leave the helm and scamper forward with the boat hook and snare the bow line. Well scamper my not be the best word! This works really well when you have a stern wind.

Sorry for the long post. See you in September.

Fred and Pat

[Wanderer]

Fran Sea,

You don't need six. Three will do. We liked to bring the starboard side to the wall. The CD 22 is small enough to turn around in the lock if need be.

Take a look at this very nice dock in Newark.

http://www.2wander.com/2wander/NY%20Canals/0507%20CS%20Canal-Fairport/9786.htm

For this type of dock, you will need longer than 50 feet of electric cord and water hose. We were as close as you could get and 50 feet barely made it.

[teflonmom]

Hi All,

Fred Heaps posted a message about needing fender boards and long lines for the Erie Canal. While boards may help keep your fenders clean they would probably be a pain on some of the rough walls. Pat and I just use two 9 inch by 22 inch HTM fenders mounted on our cleats. This set up seems to work very well for us. The locks on the Erie and all NY canals provide either free hanging ropes or fixed cables. When possiable we get one line and one cable, i usually hold the cable with the boat hook.

Look forward to meeting everyone in Sept.

Fred and Pat on C Trek 22ft from Red Lion,Pa.

[El and Bill]

Hey, potential Erie Canawlers -- we have just posted up the tale and pics from our July cruise on the western ERie Canal at:

http://www.geocities.com/bill_fiero/eriewestern.htm

Also, check out George and Penny's great photos of their trip on their website at:

www.2Wander.com

That should whet the appetite and make for some good weekend vicarious cruising. Hope to see you folks soon.

[El and Bill]

Another posting for Erie Canal folks:
www.geocities.com/bill_fiero/eriegeo.htm

[hughpenk]

Greetings all! I finally obtained a 16' cruizer and I'm psyched for a C-dory gathering. I live in Troy NY and look forward to seeing many C-dorys here on the east end of the Erie. Troy and Waterford are at the junction of the Erie, Champlain canals and the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers. I hope to share local knowledge of gunkholes and brew pubs and meet fellow C-dory owners.

[El and Bill]

HughPenk --
Can you come over to Seneca Falls and join the C-Dorys cruising the central and western Erie, beginning September 10. We'd enjoy your company and the knowledge of a local.

[The Fran Sea]

Well, we're ready to cast off from St Pete for the land portion of this trip on Saturday moring, but quite frankly, I'm having some doubts because of the gas situation, both cost and availability. Just saw on TV that in the Atlanta area the price of regular exceeded $5 (YES FIVE DOLLARS) a gallon, and the suppliers are rationing how much each station can buy.

Still getting ready to leave Saturday, but quite frankly will make a last minute decision Friday night.... will let you know if we take a pass, but if you hear nothing, we're on our way...... if we don't show up by the 10th, we're probably OOGOSOR (Out Of Gas On Side Of Road).

[fiddlersgreen6]

Hi-All-- anyone know what the gas situation is like in up state N.Y. I'm arriving on the 6th and hopefully the prices will be better than Atlanta's. Maybe I should fill extra gas cans if the price is right for the later arrivals, since the price seems to be going up daily. Rich

[CTYankee]

Hi Rich and Roger,

The price in the north east is still around $2.80 here (CT), and should be less in upstate NY. I don't know what it is in the mid-atlantic, but I've got to believe these price spikes are temporary. If I don't believe that, we might as well all sell our boats and tow vehicles because none of us wil be going anywhere!

I hope you both can still make it.

Rich, do you have a cell phone #?

Dun

[The Fran Sea]

Having gone thru the gas shortages of the 70's, I'm too old to risk getting stuck on the highway. I've been following things closely and it's going to get worst before it gets better. Our governer is already talking about rationing, etc and local newspapers in cities along the way report stations out of gas and lines forming it. All this not to mention price and a Jeep Cherokee towing a C-Dory that'll be lucky to get 10MPG

AS A RESULT OF ALL THIS AND DISCRETION BEING THE BETTER PART OF VALOR, WE'VE DECIDED THIS AM TO CANCEL OUR TRIP UP NORTH FOR THE ERIE CANAL CRUISE. This is a big dissapointment for both of us as this is a cruise we were both locking forward too very much. Perhaps if conditions are right next summer, following the Cheasapeak Gathering we'll continue on up the the Erie and try again.

[fiddlersgreen6]

Hi Dun-- I've got to make it --my motorhome and boat are in storage in Rochester at the present time, I just can't remember if I topped off all the tanks before storage, probably not! Rich

[teflonmom]

Hi All,

Our travel plans are now looking like we will be able to launch at Seneca Lake State Park late PM Sunday Sept 11. We will then probably proceed to Seneca Falls and spend the night on the dock. I will contact you via cell phone when we are in the water. Looking forward to all the fun.

Fred and Pat and Mr Black (the cat)

[CTYankee]

Glad to see you all are going to make it. The long range weather forecast looks good......and at 10 mph we won't be burning much gas

El and Bill, if you're out there, are you still planning on meeting up with us? Your knowledge of the area from previous trips will prove invaluable, as will Fred and Pat's. Hope to see you soon.

[El and Bill]

Yep, we're out here -- in Colorado. We've been here, first to be with family, then to escape the high heat and humidity of the east, then awaiting the arrival of our new Hondas at the dealer in NY (they've just arrived).

So, we can't get the engines put on and the 20-hour break-in completed before the canal cruise, so we've made an appointment for installation on the 19th -- after the canal cruise -- and we'll 'break-in' the engines on the Finger lakes.

Now, with the question of fuel availability for our drive from CO to NY, there is a smidgen of doubt about our cross-country drive. we're monitoring the situation. Prices will be up, but that's inevitable until the refineries and supply systems of the Gulf Coast are reestablished -- not happy with higher fuel prices, but we'll bite that bullet like everyone. It's the availability of fuel heading east that might be a concern. We think there's a certain amount of panic (remember when Johnny Carson, or somesuch, said in jest there was a shortage of toilet paper, so everyone went out and bought 50 rolls and that MADE the shortage in toilet paper?) Well, we know that in the s.e. distribution systems have been disrupted and fuel is desperately needed in New Orleans, MS, and AL but probably this will be, in part, resolved by next week (at least for the rest of the country).

So, Dun, we are still planning to leave next Tuesday, drive to NY in time to launch Halcyon (with one good engine) on Saturday at Seneca Lake SP and meet the group. El and Bill p.s. Dun, when at Seneca Lake SP ---psssst -- don't drink the water.