Dinghies on the Erie Canal

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Miafun1

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C Dory Year
2004
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25 Cruiser
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Lake Effect
We are preparing for an upcoming cruise on the Erie Canal and have a couple of questions for those have traveled before us.
Did you take your dinghy and if so, how much was it used?

Dan
 
We didn't see any need for a dinghy at all
D.D.
 
We took the dinghy on the foredeck of Our Journey and never took it off.

42a_Smile_on_entry.jpg

As you can see, it took up space Judy could have used locking through, etc. Should have deflated it and put it in the lazerette, but then that would have been smart.


My advice is take it but uninflated.

Boris
 
I agree, if you are going to stay on the canal a dingy wont be much use. Maybe if you take the Cayuga-Seneca canal off the Erie and go into the Finger Lakes you might find a use for the dink, but even there it's doubtful, just not places you would anchor at and use a dingy to go ashore for some reason. Especially on the Erie where the water ways are narrow and there are lots of sea walls to tie up at.

Instead of using the room for a dink give some thought to a couple bicycles, folders preferably. Kathie and I have a couple Green Zone folding bikes and its great to tie the boat up on a town wall and then peddle on the Erie Canal bike path or explore around town (the exercise is nice after sitting on the boat for hours also). Just my .02 worth!
Rich
 
Gotta go with Rich on the bicycles vs a dinghy for the Erie Canal. We left our dinghy in the truck and didn't miss it a bit, but the bicycles made exploring all the neat towns along the canal even more fun.

TyingOff2e.jpg

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
I have never seen a dinghy on the Canal.

We have enjoyed having our folding bicycles along.
 
Thanks to all for the friendly advice on dinghy usage on the Erie Canal.
It appears bringing bikes and leaving the dinghy at home is the consensus.
Dan
 
I vote for the bikes. Very usfull to explore the wonderful canal towns.

Fred and Pat we love the canal
 
We were glad to have asked the question about dinghy use on the Erie Canal and appreciate the sound advice.
We didn't miss it one bit. The folding bikes came in real handy though. Peggy enjoyed pedaling the tow path for many miles and we also found them very handy in exploring the many friendly towns along the way.
 
Agree with all you will not need the dink. As to folding bicycles
I purchased a folder from West Marine Port Runner. It has 7 speeds and workd very well. A friend of mine has a Dahon. It weights more and really does not work any better. You will need the gears.
 
Check the last two entries of my blog which are an overview of my trip around the east coast including 3 weeks on the canal. In short, no dink, yes folding bikes. We had inexpensive 3 speed bikes and that was enough.

Blog is at twobears2012.blogspot.com
 
We couldn't agree more with NO dinks! We hardly even used our bikes. We walked to most stores, bars, ice cream parlors etc. We found the "locals" VERY friendly, always offering us rides back to our boat. We thought we had "boater tattooed" on our foreheads. Just to prove a point, one day we dressed in jeans & biker T shirts & walked into a bar, the barmaid said "what boat are YOU on?" Oh well, we had a great time & are planning on doing the Erie again in the next 2 yrs. Roy
 
The people in up-state New York are the friendliest, nicest people in the world. That's why no bikers ever go there. Well, maybe one or two, but only if they're on their boat.

Your SoCal biker, Boris
 
We are planning to do the Erie Canal, the Trent Severn Waterway, then the Rideau Canal up to Montreal and over to Lake Champlain then will head down the Hudson to NYC and back up to the Erie. A very ambitious trip but we expect it to take 3-4 months next summer. I've read with interest the comments about dinghies on the Erie and agree, if the canal is what you are doing no dinghy is needed; for us however, we will be crossing Lake Ontario, transiting Lake Champlain, and crossing a number of other lakes on this cruise. A dinghy for us is as much a life raft as anything else. Given our plans what are your thoughts about taking our 8' inflatable??
 
colobear, Doing the trip you are planning a dink could come in handy. When we did the "LOOP" we had our 10'6" hard bottom dink with us. We used it once or twice on a big lake or exploring areas in Canada that our 42' boat couldn't go. it also a safety factor. Roy
 
Hi Barry,

I can't think of a situation where having your inflatable on top would be a problem. We put ours up on top while on the Trent-Severn, but didn't need it. If that is "the escape pod", better to have it and not need it.

Best wishes,
Jim
 
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