Erie Canal

L

Larry Patrick

New member
This season wife and I will leave marina near Ithaca go 40 miles to upper end of Cayuga . Then see the sites at Seneca Falls ,Geneva, on Erie canal . Will travel over to Lake Seneca and down to Watkins Glen. Stay overnight near Watkins Glen,then return. Wondering if when going thru locks ,is it standard with our C-Dorys that I can single hand rope from driver window in lock. Was thinking its kinda center point ,should be able to hold it in place from there? Or maybe also have wife grab a rope from stern? Just wondering if you were by yourself is it do able gong thru locks? This will be first night on a real trip. We have already spent 6 nights on boat and plan on going Wednesday to see fireworks from boat. Enjoyng our boat and planning other trips. Might also go on Erie canal to Slyvan beach on Onieda Lake supposed to be 8 hrs from our marina. That would be next trip.
 
Larry, single handing can be done, many do it - but I would not rely on just one line. You can read some of my thoughts on this in my Trent Severn album by clicking on the pictures. If your mid cleat is near the boats fulcrum or swivel point it should work but it depends on wind and windage. For example, if you have a camper top deployed - the stern can be pushed off if there is a "off shore(wall)" wind.

I recently purchased a 20' half inch line that I plan on running from the bow eye to the cockpit of my "open" boat. I can then handle it from the helm or the port side. I also will use stern lines from both sides. The line from the bow eye and a line from the stern can be lead to the helm or the port side and both can be deployed around one lock cable. With these 2 lines in hand the bow and stern can both be controlled by 1 crewmember. Previously I used stern lines and lines from the mid cleats. After a struggle last summer(thread titled - boating too much excitement) I decided that a line from the bow eye will give me better leverage pulling the bow in with a strong "off wall" wind. Keeping the lock cable mid ship will make the lines easier to control.

No experience on the Erie but when on the Trent you are well advised to deploy fenders and lines on both sides. My first trip on the Trent I had fenders and lines all deployed to starboard. Just before entering the Bobcaygeon lock one day I was ordered over the PA to proceed to the port side. Luckily with no wind I was able to "heave to" while I switched fenders and lines to the port side. I stopped at the marina on the other side of the lock and bought extra fenders and lines to deploy on both sides. After that I noticed that this was a common practice with boats transiting locks. Areas where there are numerous locks closely spaced most boats leave fenders deployed until they are entering a larger body of water. The channels between them are usually speed restricted anyway, so the fenders won't be bouncing around.

Keep a boat hook handy as well.

Regards, Rob
 
What worked best for us while transiting the locks on the Erie Canal and Trent-Severn was: Joan on the bow with a boat hook, line to take a wrap on the cables, and gloves. She would hook the cable, take a wrap, then I would back the stern in and move to the cockpit, with a line and gloves. Fenders out on both sides of the boat.

On the big lock on the Hudson, the cables were spaced too far apart for the length of our 25 to have a line on fore and aft - it was a lot of effort to keep the boat in place by holding a line around the cable through the helm window.

If both of you on the boat are up to line handling, I think you will find it is much less effort to keep the boat under control with two people. We noticed wind and current was more of a factor as we came up in the locks.

Have fun - the Erie and the Finger Lakes are a great cruising area!

Jim
 
We plan on cruising the finger lakes and Erie starting in early August. Maybe we'll cross paths. Everyone seems to have enjoyed cruising the canal and we're looking forward to it.
 
Thanks Robert and James great ideas,will attach a line up front also may have wife work the bow is she is comfortable. She already thinks this trip is a little scary,but she wants to do it. I need to make this first trip enjoyable for her ,so she wants to do others. Simplicity hope to see you , wifes summer class is over beginning of august .So we are planning our trip around then.
 
We went through the Eire Canal in our sailboat, Our Journey. That was one of the best trips we took. Calm, the nicest people in the world and a look at the start of the American Industrial Age. Free stops along the way and don't miss the Eire Canal Museum at Rome, where they started digging. Here's our Trip Through the Eire Canal.

you're lucky that you're near the Eire Canal, i love to go through there in a C-dory, specifically Journey On.

Boris
 
Larry,
The Erie Canal is a very un-scary trip. Lines fore and aft is the way to go.
Once in position it should be very easy to control the boat. The lock walls are lined with zebra muscles which are sharp. Fenders and leather gloves are in order.
The lock masters are very friendly and helpful. I think you're going to love it!

Bruce
Carpy
 
"Un-scary" - great description. The navigating is easy, the towns are closely spaced, and most have walls you can tie to that are inexpensive or free. We found the people we came in contact with friendly, as are the lock masters.

No need for a dinghy on the Erie, but we took folding bicycles and found them to be very handy getting around on land. The walking is easy, as well, and restaurants, shops, and groceries are generally nearby.

Each town along the way has a unique character. Farmers markets, festivals, and concerts.

I would think the Erie Canal would be a wonderful introduction to the cruising life for your wife. Certainly, cruising isn't for everyone, but the Erie Canal allows an adventure that isn't filled with unknowns (which does scare many people). After you've done a couple locks (working together as a team), she will develop more confidence.

I suggest that you take your time along the canal, not setting daily distance goals. Approach each town and lock with a serendipitous spirit. Try to find the best produce... or Italian food... interesting architecture... historical museums... or whatever your particular interests might be. You might want to spend a day or three in one place, or move on as the mood strikes you.

The canal isn't something to "do" - it is a bit of Americana to be experienced. Your boat is the perfect conveyance for that.

Have fun!

Jim
 
Appreciate the replies , sounds like fun. Just had the wife read them to boost her confidence. Im not worried ,just the wife is a little bit nervous. So I want to try and show her a relaxed first trip. I guess her concern is the locks and maybe going forward on bow. Great for her to read these replies ,she seems more excited and asked if you guys did it in C-Dorys .I said yeah a lot of members go thru locks with these boats. She liked the unscary part. She wanted to take a drive up there and watch boats go thru locks,but now says we don't have to,if we have time I will take her up to watch first. I have garmin blue charts active captain ,and people moored next to us said we could borrow their guide book on canal. Thanks for replies.
 
Whilst not Eire Canal locks, here's a trip Thru the Trent Severn Canal. There are several pics of Journey On in and about locks. Notice how smooth the water is when you're entering and leaving. With the water coming into the lock, there's some rocking, but you're tied up.

We ended up using 2 boat hooks, one at the bow and one for me to use in the cockpit. Also, never cleat the dock lines when you're in a dock. Even if it's to take a picture.

Boris
 
Thanks Journey On ,just watched both canal links,you guys sure have traveled. Large sailboat, the canals look nice ,surprised they load boats on that section interesting.Hope someday to have quarter of your boating expierence that would be a lot.
 
Larry, the mechanics of line handling, etc. will come with experience and I found you do refine this as well. The best advise would be to pick a day(or time of day) with low traffic and no wind for your first lock through. Wind can make your approach difficult because you are trying to come in close to and parallel to the wall. Its not just windy at the top either. A large, deep lock is a cold valley in the surrounding hotter landscape. Wind at the top will drop becoming trapped and swirl around in the lock.

Coming in parallel to the wall will sometimes push your stern fender behind the boat(where it doesn't do any good). Use at least 3 fenders on the wall side. We carry 5 fenders - 2 fore and aft - and a thinner one that we can reposition to either side mid ship.

As Boris suggested it is good to carry 2 boat hooks. They can be used for fending as well as hooking. We carry 2 as well as a 3rd heavier SS pole with a round tip(for fending) that double duties occasionally as a fender board when tying up to pilings. During busy hours, some locks order smaller boats like ours to come up the middle and raft off larger boats on the wall. Another good time to have a hook at hand. Looks scary at first but the boaters on the wall will be watching you come and most are prepared to fend as well - if only to protect their own.

If you can, hang your fenders(esp. the stern) from something other than the cleats. We found the best way(on our particular boat) was for me to position the boat so that my wife could easily grab the cable with a stern line then I would concentrate on the forward line. With a strong wind pushing the bow off, this required her to hold tight or take a few turns around the cleat to hold the stern while I engaged forward to bring the bow back into the wall. With both a fender and dock line on the normal sized boat cleat there is not a lot of horn left to bring the dock line back to and wrap around.

Canal cruising is beautiful. After spending the summer on the open waters of Lake Erie, we love spending a few weeks in Sept. on the Trent. Protected waters, meeting and talking to boaters from far and wide, places and things to explore - you will love it.

Regards, Rob
 
We were a bit nervous when we did the Erie last summer but we found it very easy and fun, with wonderful lock masters along the way. At one lock, I think it was 17, we stopped and just hung out for a bit while the lock master toured us around as he locked boats through. Pretty cool process and the equipment is so historic and well maintained. All the thick bright brass that was used back then (and still is) for the electrical components!

As for the locking process itself, we definitely agree with the need for boat hooks and gloves. They were very standard and well used. We also always wore our lightweight low profile life vests, donned them before hailing the lock master and kept them on till well out of the lock. While we found locking to be easy and fun, you can never fully anticipate everything and better to be safely prepared. Additionally, you never know who might be in the lock with you and if they have a clue what is going on or their level of possible intoxication, especially in the summer. I should say, we never experienced any sort of problem but the vests felt good to wear regardless.

We always used at least four fenders. Two attached between the cabin area, one we kept tied to the bow pulpit just back from the anchor, and one we had hanging just forward from the stern - both of these were positioned at what we considered pivot points if the boat tried to move away from the wall. While we could sometimes use the boat hooks to grab two lines hanging down inside the locks, other times these lines were simply spaced too far apart to grab two. We could often determine this soon after we entered the lock and were slowly drifting parallel to the wall. It is pretty easy to position the boat in the lock since there is little movement once inside it. We would normally be on the starboard side and I would simply grab a line from the helm seat.

When you are being lowered the boats settles in nicely. When you are going up though, it has a tendency to want to move around a bit based on the incoming flow of water. Not a problem, but that is when your bow and stern fenders come in extra handy. If you are only holding one line that is when we found the boat would pivot on the line, sometimes bowing out a bit and sometimes the stern drifting out. Still not a problem, just want good fender coverage fore and aft.

Thanks to suggestions from C-Brats friends, prior to locking we quickly built a wonderful and cheap fender board. We simply bought a six foot section of two inch diameter PVC pipe from Lowe's. Drilled a hole in each end and tired approximately four feet of line in each end. We then tied the lose end of each line to the hand rail on the cabin top. As we approached a lock we would drop the section of PVC pipe and it would hang parallel to the boat, across the mid section of two fenders - but on the outside of the fenders. In this manner as we laid against the lock it was the PVC fender board that touched the lock, not generally the fenders. As the boat went up or down in the lock, it was the fender board that took any abuse from the grime and/or shells and/or rough cement of the lock walls. Our fenders lasted the locks in great shape and are still clean and smooth. If you do a Google search for "fender board" you'll find several photos just like I am describing.

We loved our east coast boating trip, including all of the canals. Nothing to be concerned about, as I was assured as we somewhat nervously prepared for it.

Rob :D
 
And... I highly recommend you buy a copy of "The Cruising Guide to the New York State Canal System." It is similar to a chart book and was last published in 2006, but since there has been little change in the canal(s) it is still fully current. You can buy it from their website, http://www.canans.state.ny.us The website is full of helpful info and you can also sign up to receive e-mail alerts that notify you of any sudden navigation hazards, weather closures, or problems in the operation of a particular lock.

And... you will need to buy a recreational vessel pass in order to transit the canal(s). They are quite inexpensive and you can buy one for the season or for a shorter inclusive time period. Each pass has a number and the lock master will want to see and record the number each time you pass through a lock. You will want to keep the pass readily accessible, but safe from water damage. You can buy a pass in advance from the same website, or you can buy it at the time from a variety of vendors, including many marinas. If you buy a time-limited pass, like a 10-day pass, the time will start counting from your first transit through a lock, not before.

Rob
 
Thanks Robert H and Rob Mclain a lot of great ideas. We got to enjoy lake Erie last year Presque Isle area ,caught a lot of perch. Just ordered extra fenders for canal trip,pvc pipe sounds like a good feature. Rob I believe you bought boat from Dave when it was named Cocoon ,if so he was nice enough to take us out for our 1st C-Dory trip when we were in florida. Very nice boat well taken care of. One of our neighbors is lending us their copy of erie canal book. We just spent 2 days on boat watching fireworks and boating. Already spent 8 nights on boat.
 
Hi Larry, yep our boat was formerly Cocoon. Dave loved Cocoon and I had to pry it from his arms, but I am pleased to say we have kept her in the same loving condition. I flew down to Tampa before we bought the boat and he took me on a very nice introductory cruise. I loved the area and perhaps someday we'll tow back down there and do some extended cruising. You're going to love your boat and all the opportunities it provides.

Rob
 
Casey and I have been on the Erie Canal for almost a month now and I'm hoping that you enjoy it as much as we have! We have found that the best part is WEST of Oneida Lake. In fact, it seems it just keeps getting better and better! Currently in Pittsford. Many of these beautiful little All-American towns provide FREE docking, FREE electricity, FREE water, FREE bathrooms/showers, and FREE wifi. Newark even offered FREE laundry!! If there is any fee at all, its generally very low ($7 for our sized boats). There are restaurants, ice cream shops, pubs, libraries and a feeling of small town America that makes you think you've walked back in time.


Once you do a lock or two you will realize you've been worried for nothing. Take it slow and its very easy. We have our fenders on the starboard side. Casey eases up to the wall and puts it in neutral as he walks to the cockpit and grabs a line. The boat still has a bit of forward momentum that takes me (standing on the bow with the boat hook, balancing against the bow rail) to the next line. I grab it and thats all there is to it. When the lock starts to fill, there is a tiny bit of current and turbulence, but nothing that would prevent you from being able to hold the boat into position.

You've gotten excellent advice from all. The only thing I wanted to add is this:
You wrote:
will attach a line up front
Click to expand...

We don't attach the line to the boat. The locks will have lines hanging from the sides and you simply grab one. If there is a cable (which we haven't had since the first lock in Troy), you can wrap a rope around it to hold onto it and slide up the cable ... but it shouldn't be tied to the boat.

The Erie Canal is a perfect place to gain boating experience as there are no tides, currents, or navigation issues to even think about. And very low mileage days to get from great town to great town. (Palmyra to Macedon 5 miles, Macedon to Fairport 7 miles, Fairport to Bushnells's Basin 4 miles, Bushnell's Basin to Pittsford 3 miles) All the good stuff and none of the bad.

Hope you have a FANTASTIC time and that "the wife" (what is her NAME?! LOL) enjoys the boat. Would love to see you on the canal but we are probably already past where you'll be. Feel free to have her friend me on Facebook (under Mary Burtner Casebeer) where I post photos of our stops). The only negative I can think of is that there is some train noise as sometimes the trains parallel the canal. In popular towns like Fairport, there is live music at the bars and restaurants. Many places are very quiet but take ear plugs and you'll be covered.

Here is a fantastic site that documents almost every town and lock on the Erie Canal as traveled by a 34' American Tug. With mile markers, photos, descriptions and history. If you want to see what's coming up at the next town or lock, or calculate a distance between towns, its perfect: http://www.tug44.org
 
One more thing, go to NYCANALS.com and you can sign up for email updates for all kinds of info. Here is an example from today that will pertain to the area you will be in. (Not sure when you'll get started, you said early August).

Notice to Mariners

Cayuga-Seneca Canal – Waterloo

August 5, 2015

Mariners are advised that Lock CS-4 Waterloo will be closed for maintenance at 7:30 am on Thursday, August 6th. It is anticipated that the lock will reopen at 10:00 am on the same day. Plan morning itineraries accordingly.
 
Thanks signed up for NY canal info. Just got back Joanne and I from several day trip went thru some locks ,your right nothing to it. Went other end of Cayuga then thru 2 locks to Seneca Falls. Because of work had limited time wanted to go farther. Maybee next season will get pass that you got for canals. We paid ten dollars for 2 nights ,after we realized should have asked about a season pass. Five dollars a day is reasonable,but if your traveling a lot it makes sense to get a season pass. We are going to try and book a slip at Liberty Harbor for next 4th possibly after hearing about your trip there. We are thinking of driving to Newburg in fall to walk over the walkway over the Hudson and checking out truck and trailer parking ect for next years trip.
 
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