Seesaw,a16 cruiser from Amarillo, is on the road & wate

[ldraker]

See-Saw is out for the next 4 months in the east. First objective was to see the Smoky Mts by water. On the way there we stopped and floated the Arkansas R. at Ozark, Ark, then the Cumberland R, at Cordell-Hull Lake, then the Clinch river in TN. We spent 3 nights on Fontana Lake, doing the border of the Smoky Mt. Nat. Park.The view from the water is twice as nice because it is reflected. The new captain of See-Saw is Lindy, a schnoodle, who has taken over the boat. Next destination is the NY canals. First stop is the western part of the Erie Canal. We are sitting in the NY Lake Erie State Park, preparing the M/V See-Saw. I've read the blogs by Bruce, Bill& El, and others about where they launched. We find that our dog isn't accepted at several marinas. Are there suggestions for launching and leaving our PU camper & trailer at Tonawanda or Lockport?
Janda has blogged some details of this trip to a few friends, and we'll post some of that and pictures on here soon.
This trip, we have trailered for 3000 miles and floated for over 300 miles. In answer to those who have asked about extended cruising on a 16'--how easy it is for two people in their seventies to take a C-Dory and follow their dreams! Yes, we have lived on the 16' for as long as 16 days and once spent 3 nights without ever touching land. Lyle, Janda, and Lindy

[dotnmarty]

I remember you both at a Bellingham get together some years ago. It was my pleasure to welcome you aboard Lizzie and show you around a 16 foot cruiser. It's even nicer to see where you've been, where you are, and where you're planning to go on See-Saw (what a great name!) Here's wishing you both all the best in your travels.

[Wandering Sagebrush]

Lyle, I hope you and Janda make it to Lake Powell this year! Have fun on the road!

[Connie Fisher]

How cool is this, reading about you and your adventures on c-brats.com?

Haven't heard from you in a while but think of you often.

We have seventeen CD's signed up so far for the September Mississippi River Gathering.

The Dubuque venue is very nice and everyone there is enthused about the C-Dory's coming together there.

Hope you can stop on your way back, either at the gathering or to visit us, you are always welcome.

Glad to see that Lindy has found a good home.

My Computer Engineer friend Steve, has a German Short Haired Pointer named ”Wyatt” and on the back of Steve's truck there is a sticker that says “A WELL TRAINED DOG OWNER ON BOARD”, we all that have dogs can understand.

Yes, we absolutely enjoy or 19’ and believe it fits our needs perfectly.

OBTY, the Lake Powell photos in your album are wonderful, a must see for everyone.

Best regards,

Ron, Connie, Bear & Dolly Fisher

[texasair]

Hello, We will be in the East the first week in August at Pittsburgh, PA, then downriver on the Ohio River to the Dubuque gathering.

We were on the Big river in April at New Orleans, It was a bit calmer and lower than the raging torrent when we were there last year with you during the floods.

Have fun, Keep in touch

Tex and Sharon

[ldraker]

Well, that was an experience! We went to the Erie Canal museum in Lockport, New York, and bought a cruising guide there! We decided we wanted one, but too late to order it by mail, so we felt good to be able to buy one. It has been invaluable. It's big, for a 16'--nearly had to buy a dingy to carry it! Then we went to Locks E34 and E35 (right together) in Lockport and purchased our permit for the season for the Erie Canal--only $25 for a 15'11" boat! Everyone was VERY helpful! We launched into the Erie Canal on Friday, June 27, at the east side of Lockport, at Wide Waters--the marina and the little burger drive-in across the road. The marina has restrooms, showers, fuel, a boat launch, and no charge (except for the fuel)! The burger place provided a big gravel area where they allowed us to stay overnight, before we launched. After launching, we were able to leave our rig in the parking area at the marina. Great start!
Headed west, through Locks 34 and 35, the biggest locks, right away, we went to the Tonawandas and the beginning of the canal at the Niagara River. We stayed at North Tonawanda, Middleport, Holley, Spencerport, 2 nights at Rochester--north of the canal, for July 4th fireworks--and Fairport. Along the way, we saw deer, ducks, geese, orioles, woodchucks, and a young otter.
But by then we realized we weren't going to be able to finish the canal in a reasonable amount of time, partly because we could only average 7 miles an hour--because of the speed limits and the wait for locks and lift bridges--and because we couldn't pass up the pretty little towns and the great restaurants along the way. (Most of the restaurants had decks outside where we could eat with our doggie, Lindy.) And we had packed for a wilderness adventure, and instead there were tourist areas all along. The accommodations were quite adequate, with no charge, in most cases, but donations accepted. We'd met lots of interesting people and saw some fascinating boats. (Two C-Dories were docked at Allen's Canalside Marina, but we don't know what boats they were.) But even so, we turned back at Fairport, stayed nights in Spencerport again and Albion, then back to our rig at Lockport and another night at the burger place's parking area--a total of 9 nights on the canal, including the detour to Rochester. (We've written details into some "blogs" that we've sent to friends back home, so if any of you want more details, send us a private message, and we can forward those to you.)
We're now at Sampson State Park, south of Geneva, NY, on the Seneca River. We're preparing to launch this Friday to do another several-day cruise, through the Seneca-Cayuga Canal up to the Erie Canal. We'll report in later.
Lyle and Janda

[JamesTXSD]

Sorry I didn't see this earlier. We left our truck and trailer at Seneca Lake State Park, just outside Geneva. At that time (2009), they didn't charge for that, as long as you rented a slip, even for a night. We left it there for nearly two months.

Marinas won't be a major situation, since many of the towns have a wall you can tie off to, some with showers nearby. One even had free washer/dryer use for cruisers.

It isn't the size of the boat, as much as the attitude of the cruisers. Have fun - the Erie is an interesting cruise!

Best wishes,
Jim B.

You can check our blog: http://captnjim.blogspot.com/

Click on July and August 2009 for the Erie Canal and Hudson River info.

[ldraker]

In mid-July, we did several days on the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, with some time on parts of the Erie Canal that we hadn't done. We left our truck, camper, and trailer and launched See-Saw at the marina of Sampson State Park on Seneca Lake. We paid $7 for each night we left our rig there. Then we headed to the northeast end of the lake, about 12 miles, out into the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, and north just far enough to have lunch at the Crow's Nest, a renowned canal-side restaurant, that had a deck for Lindy, our boat-dog.

From there, we went through a lock, and about 5 miles farther is Seneca Falls, a quaint little town that was the home of the beginning of the women's rights movement. We stayed the night along the canal wall, where there is a nice facility with restrooms and showers, all at no charge. There's also a laundry.

Next morning, we left Seneca Falls and went 4 miles east on the Cayuga-Seneca and then made the turn south into Cayuga Lake. A large island blocks the view of the lake, so we went past that to see the expanse of the lake. We then headed back north, through a lock and back into the canal, which was by then more obviously a river than a canal, very scenic. The speed limit is also higher on the river part (up to 30 mph) than on the "dug" canal (5-10 mph), so we covered that territory quickly. After about four miles, we turned west, back in the Erie Canal, and motored 18 miles to Lyons. It was about the right distance and was reputed to have fine amenities, which it did--including a nice dock and showers in the fire station at the top of the stairs--all for no charge. When we arrived, there were LOTS of boats at the dock, and it turned out to be the weekend of Peppermint Days. There had been a big peppermint factory there, and that industry is commemorated with a parade, vendors on the square, and fireworks.

Many people on boats had come from around the area to partake of the festivities. We quickly spotted another C-Dory, the Pelican. But ours is 16', and that one was 29' (one of only 3 produced with diesel engines). It was being used to advertise the canal system of New York state. Behind that boat was docked an ELECTRIC pontoon boat, powered by solar panels on the awning on top. They were giving free--and VERY quiet--rides. And behind that was docked a couple that we'd met at Spencerport a week or so previously, Kiwis (New Zealanders) on a 1939-model 42' wooden yacht, Nan, from--so it says--Telluride, Colorado. They were headed for Clayton, where the boat was to be on display at the classic wooden boat show. We visited with the skippers, and John, on the C-Dory, is friends with one of Lyle's friends that he works out with at Gold's Gym in Amarillo! It's such a small world.

We went west on the Erie Canal to Newark, a very nice port, and only about 5 miles from Lyons, and had lunch. Along with other boats, another C-Dory, Snickers, was parked on the other side of the canal, but nobody was with it. (We later met the owner in Palmyra and visited with him.) We headed back east on the canal, skipping a few of the little towns on the western canal, between Fairport and Newark, the westernmost on our second leg, but we had already decided we wouldn't hit them all. We had just wanted to sample the area around the junction of the two canals and were ready to turn back. So we returned to Seneca Falls, covering about 32 miles that day.

The next day we had a quick trip back to Sampson State Park and our rig. Our 16' cruiser is just great for short trips like this. We love it!

If anyone wants more information, feel free to contact us.

[Munchkin]

Lyle and Janda,

I have been following your posts. Will you guys be anywhere near North Carolina in Sept. We would love to see you guys at the gathering this year.

Erma And Ernie
Munchkin

[ldraker]

Hi, Erma and Ernie,

Sorry we won't be able to join y'all this year! We really loved your gathering last year--the people, the setting, the water, the camaraderie! It was fabulous! Alas, we have to be home in Amarillo by Sept. 17, so we're in Pennsylvania now, already heading westward. We plan to stop at the Mississippi River gathering in Dubuque on the way home, but can't stretch the time to make North Carolina!

We know you'll be hosting another great event this year!

Lyle and Janda

[ldraker]

Before we journeyed into the St. Lawrence River/Seaway--the boundary between Ontario and New York--we spent a day in Chaumont Bay, a large freshwater bay of Lake Ontario, south of where the lake water goes into the St. Lawrence. We trailered See-Saw behind our truck camper, camped on the point for a few days, and launched on July 28, from Long Point State Park, NY, a remote little park with camping and docks.

We headed north out of the little bay on the east side of Long Point and into Chaumont Bay. We stayed within 1/2 of a mile of shore and headed east and then south along the eastern shore of Point Peninsula. The weather was perfect, the water very calm, and we had a good view of the houses, docks, and boats along the way. We motored between Cherry Island and the peninsula and found Shangri La, a marina/restaurant, but we thought the restaurant didn't look open. Also we'd decided that, with the water so calm, we should take advantage of that and venture out farther, rather than stop for lunch so early. So we went all the way down the eastern shore and around the the south end of the peninsula, with Stony Island and Galloo Islands off in the distance to our south. We passed west of them and were in the open water of Lake Ontario, with a couple of BIG sailboats to our port side! If we had headed straight east, the next landfall would have been about 30 miles away, at Prince Edward Point in Ontario, and the next, in 120 miles, would have been Toronto! Cool! But, alas, we turned back!

Our sea dog, Lindy, did get tired of all this boating and didn't much like the open water where she couldn't see land from her view at the sides of the boat. I held her up to look out the windshield once, so she could see land out the front, but she was not impressed. She paced around and just couldn't get settled comfortably for her midday nap!

We headed back up along the shore of the peninsula, rounded the north end of Long Point, and headed north across Chaumont Bay the couple of miles to Three Mile Bay, both a bay and a small community. Into the
northernmost corner we headed, with a goal. Our neighbors had told us about Wimpy's. We found a tiny dock, tied up, and then walked across the street to a small building, formerly a service station, with outdoor picnic tables and a friendly young lady who served us excellent hot dogs and lemonade, with ice cream for dessert. Success!

We were amazed that the weather was holding that late into the afternoon, but rather than getting bigger, the small swells flattened, and the lake became almost glassy. We motored back, south across Chaumont, along the western edge of our peninsula to wave to campers on that side and then back into our little bay to put the boat back on the trailer and take it to camp, preparing to head for the St. Lawrence the next day. The 16' C-Dory is the perfect size to trailer easily to wherever your tow vehicle can go, and it CAN go out in big waters!

Lyle, Janda, and Lindy

[ldraker]

Our 16'-C-Dory-excursion into the Thousand Islands went like this:

On Sunday, July 29, trailering See-Saw, we drove north to the Tibbetts Point Lighthouse. That's where the St. Lawrence River/Seaway comes OUT of Lake Ontario and starts its journey to the Atlantic. We then drove east along the river through Cape Vincent and on to Cedar Point State Park, right on the St. Lawrence River. Huge freighters, giant yachts, little fishing boats, and everything in between made their way through the river, one of the major passages in North America. At sunset, kayaks appeared, seeming to enjoy the peace and quiet!

On Monday, we drove into Clayton to see the antique boat museum, the largest collection in North America. The museum occupies about 6 separate buildings--some involved with restoration of antique boats, others housing collections of human-powered boats (mostly skiffs and canoes), sailboats, and boats which have won or come close to winning the Gold Cup (the award for the fastest power boat of its time). And there were the first jet-skis, the first outboard motors, dugouts, art about boating, beautifully crafted wooden boats of all sizes--just an amazing collection.

From there we headed toward Wellesley Island. We paid our $3.75 for the toll to the island and hauled See-Saw over the REALLY BIG BRIDGE! The island is about 8 miles long by 3 miles wide, strangely shaped, and oriented northeast to southwest. A large bay (called "Lake of the Isles") within the island runs from the top of the island down past the middle, making the shape of the island like a slanted "H" with the bottom filled in. We drove on to the west side of the island to Wellesley Island State Park, on the northwest corner.

We searched out the marina, to see where we'd launch. The next day, we launched there, left our rig parked near the marina, and motored along the northern shore, veering in and out of Canadian waters, as we watched the charts for submerged rocks and shallows. We had the depth finder and the electronic chart plotter that came with the boat, the paper map of the river, a brochure with a tourist map of the area, the iNavX app on the iPad that brings up all the charts in North America, and "Maps" on the iPad that constantly shows just where the boat AND iPad are in relation to the river. So we were moving along the St. Lawrence with six sources of information as to our location, complicating my enjoyment of the scenery. (I miss the simplicity of canoeing or kayaking with a map and a compass!) With all that, we made it to the Rift, which looks on the maps to be much scarier than it is. It's a narrow passageway that links the northwestern shore with Lake of the Isles, that runs into the center of the island from the northern end. Just as we arrived at the beginning of the Rift, we came upon two men in a bass boat, standing up fishing. One called out, "C-Brat?"

Lyle called back, "Of course. Are you?" We stopped to chat a minute, saw the man's face, and realized this was one of those "small world" events. He was Terry, from Attica, NY, the skipper of Last Dance, whom we'd met last year in Guttenberg, Iowa, at the Mississippi River Gathering. He plans to be at the gathering this year in Dubuque, and we plan to meet him there. The Rift is about 40 feet wide and maybe a mile long, but plenty deep enough for most boats to pass through, though there are lots of algae and other types of vegetation to untangle from the prop every so often. Once into the end of Lake of the Isles, we went north into the St. Lawrence, on the far north end of the island. Then we made our way between small islands, rocks, and an increasing number of boats of all sizes and shapes going in every direction at varying speeds--mostly fast, faster, and fastest! We saw many tour boats, from companies on both sides of the river--American and Canadian. The passengers waved and took pictures of us in our little boat. We had a challenging time, keeping track of where we were on the charts, controlling the boat with all the different currents and wakes from other boats creating turbulence, and trying to enjoy the view. Soon we spotted Boldt Castle, one of the goals for this part of the trip. We could have docked at their free dock, but we didn't plan to go inside, so we just went around the island--Heart Island--dodging traffic, and because of all the traffic, watching the navigation aids.

Still fighting heavy boat traffic, we went on across the St. Lawrence to the east side--the mainland--and into Alexandria Bay, a busy little tourist town--and bay--with an excellent town dock, with LOTS of boats at the dock and many more coming and going. We tied up, walked a couple of blocks, and ate at a sandwich shop with outside tables, where Lindy was welcome. After lunch, we headed down the river--still along the mainland side--a few miles and stopped at Grass Point State Park. We parked in a slip on a dock in front of the campground and soon "battened down the hatches" as a big thunderstorm hit, providing a good start toward helping the area catch up on their annual moisture. We enjoyed the evening, playing a couple of games of Farkle until the storm passed.

Wednesday morning, we made our way back across the river, through the multitude of small islands, as we headed past the southern end of Wellesley Island, over to the northeastern corner of Grindstone Island, the island west of Wellesley. The state park there is Canoe Point, a pretty point with a lot of dockage and a campground for boat-in campers only. So the hillside was covered with brightly colored tents and shelters among the picnic tables. The restrooms do have showers. Large groups of people were staying on big boats, and others in the tents. We were the only ones staying on a boat on our part of the dock. We aimed See-Saw east, so as the full moon came up, it was framed in our windshield, right over our heads when we went to bed. And we heard the loons. A fabulous night!

The next morning, Thursday, we decided we'd like to stay out another couple of days, so we headed east, across to Wellesley Island State Park--completing a circumnavigation of the island--, to our truck and camper to replenish supplies and to the marina to get more gas for SeeSaw. Then we started another circuit of the island--just too much cool stuff to do! From there, we motored to the northeast, along the shore of the island, just a couple more miles to Waterson Point State Park, another boat-in only park, but one that doesn't allow camping on the shore; staying only on boats is allowed there. Several groups were there for just day use, stopping to picnic, swim, play ball, etc. By nightfall, there were five big cabin cruisers and yachts and our 16' C-Dory! We saw little minks there, swimming and diving for fish in the water near the shore and the docks, then running around on the rocky shore with their catch of small fish. The couple next to us--New Yorkers recently moved to Edinburg, TX, except for the summers when they live on their boat in New York waters, invited us onto their 42' yacht for a Pepsi before bedtime and a tour of their boat, followed by stimulating conversation.

Friday morning, several more big cabin cruisers came over from Canada, just across the river from the point. All those people knew each other, all stay at the same marina there, in sight of Waterson Point, and they come over and spend almost every weekend during the summer. We said our goodbyes and took off, headed through the Rift again, and then back into the Lake of the Isles. That time we turned south in the lake, and about halfway down the lake, on the western shore, is DeWolfe Point State Park. It's near the highway that crosses Wellesley Island, so it has a tiny campground with 14 RV or tent sites, 14 small cabins, and room for 12 boats at the dock. We tied up there to spend the night on the dock. Throughout the afternoon, a steady stream of jet skis, ski boats, bass boats, etc., roared up and down the lake. There was a pavilion and many picnic tables in the shade of big trees where we had lunch and took time to catch up on our blog to the folks back home!

Next day, we left DeWolf Point State Park, went back north through Lake of the Isles, and out to the northeastern corner of the island, about 8 miles, to Mary Island State Park, a tiny island, maybe a mile long and 1/4 of a mile wide. It's a boat-in only campground, with camping allowed on the shore--tents and such--and staying on boats on the small docks, which is what we did--the only people on the dock! We went ashore for the afternoon, cooked freeze-dried food on our backpacker stove, caught up on Internet stuff, and worked sudoku puzzles. The view from there was fabulous--with lots of boat traffic on the main channel of the St. Lawrence to the east, including giant freighters and many tour boats--as Boldt Castle was probably only a mile away to the southeast--, and just across on the mainland, a mansion with boat houses.

We planned to head back early the next day to our truck and camper, probably 5 miles back down the western side of Wellesley Island, as storms were predicted for the afternoon. We sure did hate to leave that leisurely life on the water! Not unexpectedly, Sunday's storm predicted for afternoon came in early. Before dawn, the wind whipped up, and See-Saw was rocking, though safely tied to the dock. Lindy apparently noticed it before we did, as she was panting hard when I awoke, chewing her fingernails and wondering what was happening and what we were going to do about it! As the rain began, we comforted her, and Lyle added another rope to the dock lines, just to keep us all from worrying. NOAA weather on our marine radio predicted rain off and on all morning, with strong winds, more rain, and possible hail in the afternoon. The rain was intermittent for a couple of hours, and we were up at 7, preparing to head out. The man who staffed the little park came in from Keewaydin, a park on the mainland over by Boldt Castle, in a little open motorboat, and he agreed with our decision--get out of there and back to Wellesley Island State Park and our truck and trailer as soon as possible. So at 8 a.m., we headed out through a mile of wind-whipped open water, then into the interior of the island, through the north end of Lake of the Isles, back into the Rift, out the other end, and into more open water. There were occasional blue skies, but very few boats were out. In light rain but no high waves, we made our way past Waterson Point State Park, where we'd docked two nights previously. Surprisingly our new friends from the 42-foot yacht were waving at us from the end of the dock. We were sorry not to stop for a brief chat, but we wanted to be sure to beat the brunt of the storm to Wellesley. Soon the marina came into view, and we saw our truck and camper, a welcome sight!

We pulled into a slip, and Lyle hopped off to go get our rig and back it into the boat launch. The wind was really blowing in the little harbor, gusting from one direction and then another. Motoring over to the ramp went well, but it took two tries to get the boat on the trailer. We'd done 8 miles in almost exactly 1 hour, including getting the boat on the trailer! We had spent parts of six days and five nights on the boat, at five different campgrounds, on three different land masses, and we'd never been more than seven miles, as the crow flies--or the osprey or the gull--from our rig at Wellesley Island's marina, going around the island once and all the way up one side again and back. What a cool adventure for our 16'!

Lyle, Janda, and Lindy