Finger Lakes/West Erie Canal Adventure
- Thread starter gulfcoast john
- Start date
gulfcoast john":26cgrifh said:
Yup Cornell is "far above Cayuga's waters". If you get up there again go to the front desk in Willard Straight Hall and hook up with a campus tour. Walk across the suspension bridge. Kiss your wife in the middle of the bridge. If you don't the bridge will fall into the gorge. Ithaca is of course, "Gorges".
gulfcoast john
New member
C-Brat Friends,
The muddy ugly water level in our Ithaca marina rose an inch yesterday and another inch today.
This particular log came by today inquiring whether we would rather tangle with him here, or in the middle of the lake. We told him ‘check back with us in 2-3 weeks.’
When the going gets tough, the tough take their toys and go home, except for the boat. Rather than end this adventure, we decided to suspend it. Tomorrow at noon we catch a bus to Syracuse, Lyft to Pirates Cove (several Loopers are stuck there), drive the rig back here to repack, then head back to Pensacola, leaving the boat at an Ithaca marina.
I’ll watch some YouTubes on trailer wheel bearings. I may have to put Colby on my speed dial and speakerphone. When the western locks re-open we’ll truck back and leave the rig in Tonawanda or Buffalo, then bus back to Ithaca to resume our adventure. As always, in our experience the logistics are challenging, but it should work. And in our experience, when it doesn’t work, if you supply enough Boat Units it will likely work after all. Many decades ago, we were stuck in Hong Kong with a cancelled flight to Singapore when the gate agent said, “Ahh, you have American Express! No problem!”
Problem solved.
It’s time for Hot Air Balloon ride pictures! The smokey haze is from the California fires, carried by the Jet Stream to New York. This is a must-do adventure you will remember for the rest of your life, much like taking the seaplane from Key West to Dry Tortugas when you’re there (and someday, you should be There).
We were a flight of two, with us in the much larger yellow balloon. The pilot is the owner of the company (1,900 flight hours).
This is a view of the southern end of Cayuga Lake
We weren’t really as close to those high-tension electric lines crossing the canal as it looks here.
Cornell rowing team house and the canal bike/walking trail into town. In the late 1800’s CU was muscling in on the Ivy Leagues, and the competition involved tens of thousands of rowdy spectators with a lot of drinking and betting, on a train with an engine at each end that would follow along the action.
OK, so maybe not all that much has changed after all…..
So who’s concerned re flying between trees with those power lines?
A hot-air balloon pilot can’t steer or change course, but can rotate the balloon so I could get this shot of Cat O’ Mine. If any of our Brat family has a shot of their Dory from a balloon, it’s time to share it! Drones don’t count, unless you are in the drone.
Wish us luck and safe travels!
And also for you and yours!
John
The muddy ugly water level in our Ithaca marina rose an inch yesterday and another inch today.
This particular log came by today inquiring whether we would rather tangle with him here, or in the middle of the lake. We told him ‘check back with us in 2-3 weeks.’
When the going gets tough, the tough take their toys and go home, except for the boat. Rather than end this adventure, we decided to suspend it. Tomorrow at noon we catch a bus to Syracuse, Lyft to Pirates Cove (several Loopers are stuck there), drive the rig back here to repack, then head back to Pensacola, leaving the boat at an Ithaca marina.
I’ll watch some YouTubes on trailer wheel bearings. I may have to put Colby on my speed dial and speakerphone. When the western locks re-open we’ll truck back and leave the rig in Tonawanda or Buffalo, then bus back to Ithaca to resume our adventure. As always, in our experience the logistics are challenging, but it should work. And in our experience, when it doesn’t work, if you supply enough Boat Units it will likely work after all. Many decades ago, we were stuck in Hong Kong with a cancelled flight to Singapore when the gate agent said, “Ahh, you have American Express! No problem!”
Problem solved.
It’s time for Hot Air Balloon ride pictures! The smokey haze is from the California fires, carried by the Jet Stream to New York. This is a must-do adventure you will remember for the rest of your life, much like taking the seaplane from Key West to Dry Tortugas when you’re there (and someday, you should be There).
We were a flight of two, with us in the much larger yellow balloon. The pilot is the owner of the company (1,900 flight hours).
This is a view of the southern end of Cayuga Lake
We weren’t really as close to those high-tension electric lines crossing the canal as it looks here.
Cornell rowing team house and the canal bike/walking trail into town. In the late 1800’s CU was muscling in on the Ivy Leagues, and the competition involved tens of thousands of rowdy spectators with a lot of drinking and betting, on a train with an engine at each end that would follow along the action.
OK, so maybe not all that much has changed after all…..
So who’s concerned re flying between trees with those power lines?
A hot-air balloon pilot can’t steer or change course, but can rotate the balloon so I could get this shot of Cat O’ Mine. If any of our Brat family has a shot of their Dory from a balloon, it’s time to share it! Drones don’t count, unless you are in the drone.
Wish us luck and safe travels!
And also for you and yours!
John
Oh, that silence, and then whishshshshsh and still the feeling of motionlessness, but the world falls away. Fun flying. Great. Sure hope you stayed clear of those lines. They don't mix well with the HAB. But it just never seems like you are far from the ground. (Believe me, I know because I don't like heights. :shock:
So, You are leaving the boat there. Is there any prediction in how much flood there will be, or is it all due to some other factor that every thing is shut down?
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
So, You are leaving the boat there. Is there any prediction in how much flood there will be, or is it all due to some other factor that every thing is shut down?
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
AS you know, the balloons always go down wind. They change course by changing their flight altitude, either up or down, to find a level that has a different direction. sometimes it is only a few feet, 50-100 and sometimes it takes several hundred feet. I believe the rotation can be accomplished by selecting which vents are opened and for how long. Not sure how else the rotation would be accomplished. Maybe John can help out there.
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
gulfcoast john
New member
Harvey et al,
Flooding is the only issue, not counting closures that last less than an hour or so. Locks 2-19 reopened yesterday, but no help to us. Rochester opens today. This has made us hopeful that the locks we need (CS1 and E25 and higher) might open up soon. No more rain and the humidity is 44% today.
We took the OURbus from Ithaca (2 mile walk) to Syracuse and a Lyft 35 miles to Pirates Cove to pick up the rig and drove it back to Ithaca Treman marina ($2.50/day for max 14 days) to park the rig here. The ramp at Pirates Cove actually looked lower and less muddy than when we launched over 3 weeks ago. Co-owner Patti says the Oswego will be the last to open and suspects the western Erie to not take that long. We worked with park Mgt to allow us an extension here until Aug 7. Plan C is that to load and roll the 1,200 miles back home just to return in 5-14 days would be a pain. Also, having the truck here makes it easier to shop, do laundry etc without having to fit it all in our pocket Matador backpacks and a canvas boat bag.
Here’s a great map of the canal, weird that you CTRL/SCROLL to change size.
https://www.nycanalmap.com/
This is Heavy Cruise plus 3 Locks A Day Mode. Each fender can be flipped back into the boat or stuffed by the front railing with Fendergrips for quick adjustments if we’re making 25MPH on a lake vs 6-8 MPH on the canal.
Harvey et al,
Flooding is the only issue, not counting closures that last less than an hour or so. Locks 2-19 reopened yesterday, but no help to us. Rochester opens today. This has made us hopeful that the locks we need (CS1 and E25 and higher) might open up soon. No more rain and the humidity is 44% today.
We took the OURbus from Ithaca (2 mile walk) to Syracuse and a Lyft 35 miles to Pirates Cove to pick up the rig and drove it back to Ithaca Treman marina ($2.50/day for max 14 days) to park the rig here. The ramp at Pirates Cove actually looked lower and less muddy than when we launched over 3 weeks ago. Co-owner Patti says the Oswego will be the last to open and suspects the western Erie to not take that long. We worked with park Mgt to allow us an extension here until Aug 7. Plan C is that to load and roll the 1,200 miles back home just to return in 5-14 days would be a pain. Also, having the truck here makes it easier to shop, do laundry etc without having to fit it all in our pocket Matador backpacks and a canvas boat bag.
Here’s a great map of the canal, weird that you CTRL/SCROLL to change size.
[url=https://www.nycanalmap.com/]https://www.nycanalmap.com/[/url]
This is Heavy Cruise plus 3 Locks A Day Mode. Each fender can be flipped back into the boat or stuffed by the front railing with Fendergrips for quick adjustments if we’re making 25MPH on a lake vs 6-8 MPH on the canal.
[img]http://www.c-brats.com/albums/CAT-O-MINE/P1010914.sized.jpg
The pilots used Honda gas big fans to inflate the balloons horizontally on the ground to about 85%. Folks who had mobility issues (like bad hips) were invited to ‘preload’ while the basket was horizontal. Once the gas is lit, bringing the balloon and the basket up to vertical, it’s quite a hip swing to get into the basket with its built in step holes for the over 65 crowd. There was a divider along the long axis of the basket that allowed partial pre loading of the two sections , but no moving from one side to the other.
I think Harvey is correct in that the pilot can make the balloon rotate on its vertical axis by opening or closing vents near the upper part of the balloon. It appeared to us that was what he was doing. I have over 500 military flying hours as crew, but this is all new to me.
Todays Exciting Activity was pumping out (sorry, no pictures) and Taughannock Falls. They are 33 feet higher than Niagara Falls.
The $8 entrance fee is waived if you show your Treman state marina receipt.
Safe travels to all!
John
[/img]
The pilots used Honda gas big fans to inflate the balloons horizontally on the ground to about 85%. Folks who had mobility issues (like bad hips) were invited to ‘preload’ while the basket was horizontal. Once the gas is lit, bringing the balloon and the basket up to vertical, it’s quite a hip swing to get into the basket with its built in step holes for the over 65 crowd. There was a divider along the long axis of the basket that allowed partial pre loading of the two sections , but no moving from one side to the other.
I think Harvey is correct in that the pilot can make the balloon rotate on its vertical axis by opening or closing vents near the upper part of the balloon. It appeared to us that was what he was doing. I have over 500 military flying hours as crew, but this is all new to me.
Todays Exciting Activity was pumping out (sorry, no pictures) and Taughannock Falls. They are 33 feet higher than Niagara Falls.
The $8 entrance fee is waived if you show your Treman state marina receipt.
Safe travels to all!
John
Flooding is the only issue, not counting closures that last less than an hour or so. Locks 2-19 reopened yesterday, but no help to us. Rochester opens today. This has made us hopeful that the locks we need (CS1 and E25 and higher) might open up soon. No more rain and the humidity is 44% today.
We took the OURbus from Ithaca (2 mile walk) to Syracuse and a Lyft 35 miles to Pirates Cove to pick up the rig and drove it back to Ithaca Treman marina ($2.50/day for max 14 days) to park the rig here. The ramp at Pirates Cove actually looked lower and less muddy than when we launched over 3 weeks ago. Co-owner Patti says the Oswego will be the last to open and suspects the western Erie to not take that long. We worked with park Mgt to allow us an extension here until Aug 7. Plan C is that to load and roll the 1,200 miles back home just to return in 5-14 days would be a pain. Also, having the truck here makes it easier to shop, do laundry etc without having to fit it all in our pocket Matador backpacks and a canvas boat bag.
Here’s a great map of the canal, weird that you CTRL/SCROLL to change size.
https://www.nycanalmap.com/
This is Heavy Cruise plus 3 Locks A Day Mode. Each fender can be flipped back into the boat or stuffed by the front railing with Fendergrips for quick adjustments if we’re making 25MPH on a lake vs 6-8 MPH on the canal.
Harvey et al,
Flooding is the only issue, not counting closures that last less than an hour or so. Locks 2-19 reopened yesterday, but no help to us. Rochester opens today. This has made us hopeful that the locks we need (CS1 and E25 and higher) might open up soon. No more rain and the humidity is 44% today.
We took the OURbus from Ithaca (2 mile walk) to Syracuse and a Lyft 35 miles to Pirates Cove to pick up the rig and drove it back to Ithaca Treman marina ($2.50/day for max 14 days) to park the rig here. The ramp at Pirates Cove actually looked lower and less muddy than when we launched over 3 weeks ago. Co-owner Patti says the Oswego will be the last to open and suspects the western Erie to not take that long. We worked with park Mgt to allow us an extension here until Aug 7. Plan C is that to load and roll the 1,200 miles back home just to return in 5-14 days would be a pain. Also, having the truck here makes it easier to shop, do laundry etc without having to fit it all in our pocket Matador backpacks and a canvas boat bag.
Here’s a great map of the canal, weird that you CTRL/SCROLL to change size.
[url=https://www.nycanalmap.com/]https://www.nycanalmap.com/[/url]
This is Heavy Cruise plus 3 Locks A Day Mode. Each fender can be flipped back into the boat or stuffed by the front railing with Fendergrips for quick adjustments if we’re making 25MPH on a lake vs 6-8 MPH on the canal.
[img]http://www.c-brats.com/albums/CAT-O-MINE/P1010914.sized.jpg
The pilots used Honda gas big fans to inflate the balloons horizontally on the ground to about 85%. Folks who had mobility issues (like bad hips) were invited to ‘preload’ while the basket was horizontal. Once the gas is lit, bringing the balloon and the basket up to vertical, it’s quite a hip swing to get into the basket with its built in step holes for the over 65 crowd. There was a divider along the long axis of the basket that allowed partial pre loading of the two sections , but no moving from one side to the other.
I think Harvey is correct in that the pilot can make the balloon rotate on its vertical axis by opening or closing vents near the upper part of the balloon. It appeared to us that was what he was doing. I have over 500 military flying hours as crew, but this is all new to me.
Todays Exciting Activity was pumping out (sorry, no pictures) and Taughannock Falls. They are 33 feet higher than Niagara Falls.
The $8 entrance fee is waived if you show your Treman state marina receipt.
Safe travels to all!
John
[/img]
The pilots used Honda gas big fans to inflate the balloons horizontally on the ground to about 85%. Folks who had mobility issues (like bad hips) were invited to ‘preload’ while the basket was horizontal. Once the gas is lit, bringing the balloon and the basket up to vertical, it’s quite a hip swing to get into the basket with its built in step holes for the over 65 crowd. There was a divider along the long axis of the basket that allowed partial pre loading of the two sections , but no moving from one side to the other.
I think Harvey is correct in that the pilot can make the balloon rotate on its vertical axis by opening or closing vents near the upper part of the balloon. It appeared to us that was what he was doing. I have over 500 military flying hours as crew, but this is all new to me.
Todays Exciting Activity was pumping out (sorry, no pictures) and Taughannock Falls. They are 33 feet higher than Niagara Falls.
The $8 entrance fee is waived if you show your Treman state marina receipt.
Safe travels to all!
John
gulfcoast john
New member
Sorry for the doubles in the prior post, SLOW wi-fi.
Onwards to Plan D! We have the truck and trailer with us, still stuck in Ithaca, but at least with a lot more range. Pic of the often remarked on, but seldom seen, ramp at Pirates Cove Marina just east of Three Rivers Junction:
We drove back to Lake Seneca to see the village of Geneva, which we missed while on the boat there. Nice welcome center, ramps with pay kiosk (park on the grass) and several short town slips without power. Nice Farmers Market on Saturday mornings.
Cayuga-Seneca canal enters Seneca Lake:
There are more town slips (all 48 hour limits) just past the Ramada Inn, 3 with power. Fairly exposed, but good enough to explore the village and get some lunch. A long free State Park covers the North shore of Seneca all the way to where the Cayuga-Seneca canal enters Seneca lake after CS locks 2, 3, and 4. Local boats anchor in the waist deep coarse sand on weekends.
We hoped that the flood waters would recede more quickly than some of the lockmasters predicted (‘another two weeks’). We drove the truck from Ithaca to Rochester to see the city. The Science and Technology Museum is geared more to school kids than adults, but we still enjoyed it. Don’t miss the Eastman Kodak galleries and home or the Dinosaur BBQ. The Genesee River still looks full and mean, although the Rochester Erie sector opened today, limited to 5 MPH with debris in the muddy brown water.
Note the three green Erie Canal ATONS in the flood debris captured by the dam boat restraint cable:
The Corn Hill Landing a few miles south of where the Erie Canal crosses the Genesee River is being totally demolished and rebuilt. This project took years to start and looks to take many years to finish.
https://www.cityofrochester.gov/wrwimprovement
So it’s just as well that we decided to see Rochester by truck while we were ‘trapped’ in the Finger Lakes. The east wall has no cleats. There is a short west wall along the Corn Hill Landing Apartments, but it’s daytime only and no utilities.
After two nights exploring Rochester, we head back to Ithaca tomorrow for provisions and laundry. The next day we plan to leave for FLX marina below CS lock 1, which opens today at noon. Hopefully the extra time will clear out some more water, but on the other hand there are dozens of Loopers starting to come through and compete for free town wall spaces. Leaving the rig at Ithaca, we’ll have to eventually change our plan to Amtrak back from Buffalo to take a bus back. OurBus.com has newer clean coaches and runs on time.
If you’re not cruising, I hope you can at least get on your boat!
Cheers!
(Eileen is Copy Editor, and I am often surprised at what she allows me to get away with...if you don’t mind me ending a sentence with a preposition).
John
Onwards to Plan D! We have the truck and trailer with us, still stuck in Ithaca, but at least with a lot more range. Pic of the often remarked on, but seldom seen, ramp at Pirates Cove Marina just east of Three Rivers Junction:
We drove back to Lake Seneca to see the village of Geneva, which we missed while on the boat there. Nice welcome center, ramps with pay kiosk (park on the grass) and several short town slips without power. Nice Farmers Market on Saturday mornings.
Cayuga-Seneca canal enters Seneca Lake:
There are more town slips (all 48 hour limits) just past the Ramada Inn, 3 with power. Fairly exposed, but good enough to explore the village and get some lunch. A long free State Park covers the North shore of Seneca all the way to where the Cayuga-Seneca canal enters Seneca lake after CS locks 2, 3, and 4. Local boats anchor in the waist deep coarse sand on weekends.
We hoped that the flood waters would recede more quickly than some of the lockmasters predicted (‘another two weeks’). We drove the truck from Ithaca to Rochester to see the city. The Science and Technology Museum is geared more to school kids than adults, but we still enjoyed it. Don’t miss the Eastman Kodak galleries and home or the Dinosaur BBQ. The Genesee River still looks full and mean, although the Rochester Erie sector opened today, limited to 5 MPH with debris in the muddy brown water.
Note the three green Erie Canal ATONS in the flood debris captured by the dam boat restraint cable:
The Corn Hill Landing a few miles south of where the Erie Canal crosses the Genesee River is being totally demolished and rebuilt. This project took years to start and looks to take many years to finish.
https://www.cityofrochester.gov/wrwimprovement
So it’s just as well that we decided to see Rochester by truck while we were ‘trapped’ in the Finger Lakes. The east wall has no cleats. There is a short west wall along the Corn Hill Landing Apartments, but it’s daytime only and no utilities.
After two nights exploring Rochester, we head back to Ithaca tomorrow for provisions and laundry. The next day we plan to leave for FLX marina below CS lock 1, which opens today at noon. Hopefully the extra time will clear out some more water, but on the other hand there are dozens of Loopers starting to come through and compete for free town wall spaces. Leaving the rig at Ithaca, we’ll have to eventually change our plan to Amtrak back from Buffalo to take a bus back. OurBus.com has newer clean coaches and runs on time.
If you’re not cruising, I hope you can at least get on your boat!
Cheers!
(Eileen is Copy Editor, and I am often surprised at what she allows me to get away with...if you don’t mind me ending a sentence with a preposition).
John
colbysmith
Active member
Hello John and Eileen. Sorry to hear this trip is not panning out like you thought it might. We are still looking at doing this next summer, so trying not to pay a lot of attention to your troubles. When you get time, would you mind saving me the trouble of looking up that link again to sign up for the local notice to mariners? I had signed up earlier when we were planning this trip a year ago, but then with Covid and trying to reduce some of my email feed, canceled them.
Feel free to call any time with your bearing packing questions. But I think you'll find numerous youtube videos that will make it look pretty easy. (And it actually is.) Hardest part will be getting the cotter pin out. lol. Ok, that and maybe the mess. Actually, if you have zerts on the end of the spindles, you could actually probably just pump some grease in there. And while jacked up, just grab the wheel on both sides (180 degrees apart) and try "wobbling" it to see if there is any free play. A tiny bit is ok. None would make me wonder if the bearings are too tight, but I doubt it if you've been running ok and haven't done anything with them. Too loose and you'll need to tighten them up. Colby
Feel free to call any time with your bearing packing questions. But I think you'll find numerous youtube videos that will make it look pretty easy. (And it actually is.) Hardest part will be getting the cotter pin out. lol. Ok, that and maybe the mess. Actually, if you have zerts on the end of the spindles, you could actually probably just pump some grease in there. And while jacked up, just grab the wheel on both sides (180 degrees apart) and try "wobbling" it to see if there is any free play. A tiny bit is ok. None would make me wonder if the bearings are too tight, but I doubt it if you've been running ok and haven't done anything with them. Too loose and you'll need to tighten them up. Colby
gulfcoast john":1guzciz2 said:
When we were in Rochester we found that there was a fairly long wall on the west side of the river at Corn Hill (basically the length of eastern edge of Corn Hill is a wall along the river. Yes, there are no services, but we were told by others we met while on the canal that spending the night on the wall was OK. There was also a short section of floating dock, but it is farther south along the wall (and further to walk). While technically it may not be allowed, they said no one ever checks. We weren't the only ones overnighting when we were there. There are some restaurants nearby and downtown Rochester is only a short walk.
It is also possible to spend the night at the landing by the Staybridge Suites on the west side of the river across from the University of Rochester. There are no services there, but there are some shops and I believe a laundromat nearby.
gulfcoast john
New member
We stopped at the Aurora town dock on our cruise north on Cayuga Lake after being ‘trapped’ there for 12 days more than our three day plan. There are some stone ruins to the left of the dock, but it’s not charted.
http://www.c-brats.com/albums/CAT-O-MINE/DSC04779.sized.jpg]/img]
[img]http://www.c-brats.com/albums/CAT-O-MINE/DSC04773.sized.jpg
There were no other boats around when we arrived at 11:30 for lunch at the Aurora Inn, but the dock was full 90 minutes later. The deck looks out over the lake. Eileen had the best lobstah roll she’d had all week.
There are a series of restored mansions overlooking the lake called “The Inns of Aurora.” You can nail a very nice room for the night (but not during the summer) for under a Boat Unit.
We joined back up with the western Erie canal. The village of Clyde has free town docks big enough for three small boats, but only 15 amp shore power.
We planned on staying on the free wall in Lyons, but we had second thoughts when passing by due to the proximity of the lock and a noisy steel grate highway bridge. There is a lot of old historic work boat equipment by the Lyons lock, including ancient dredge.
Although Newark is only 6 miles further, it’s three more locks. We nabbed the last spot on the ‘high wall’ at 2:30 PM.
Floating docks are removed in winter and they (and low walls) generally don’t have power pedestals. Waterway Guide and Skipper Bob (now they both have the same editors) both have good info on what’s available where. Boarding to and from high walls is getting more challenging than it used to be.
Ted and Sarah P on the Manatee are up here doing The Great Loop FOR THE THIRTY-FIRST TIME! If you see this boat, they’ll be able to tell you where to get the Grey Poupon.
Safe travels to all!
John
http://www.c-brats.com/albums/CAT-O-MINE/DSC04779.sized.jpg]/img]
[img]http://www.c-brats.com/albums/CAT-O-MINE/DSC04773.sized.jpg
There were no other boats around when we arrived at 11:30 for lunch at the Aurora Inn, but the dock was full 90 minutes later. The deck looks out over the lake. Eileen had the best lobstah roll she’d had all week.
There are a series of restored mansions overlooking the lake called “The Inns of Aurora.” You can nail a very nice room for the night (but not during the summer) for under a Boat Unit.
We joined back up with the western Erie canal. The village of Clyde has free town docks big enough for three small boats, but only 15 amp shore power.
We planned on staying on the free wall in Lyons, but we had second thoughts when passing by due to the proximity of the lock and a noisy steel grate highway bridge. There is a lot of old historic work boat equipment by the Lyons lock, including ancient dredge.
Although Newark is only 6 miles further, it’s three more locks. We nabbed the last spot on the ‘high wall’ at 2:30 PM.
Floating docks are removed in winter and they (and low walls) generally don’t have power pedestals. Waterway Guide and Skipper Bob (now they both have the same editors) both have good info on what’s available where. Boarding to and from high walls is getting more challenging than it used to be.
Ted and Sarah P on the Manatee are up here doing The Great Loop FOR THE THIRTY-FIRST TIME! If you see this boat, they’ll be able to tell you where to get the Grey Poupon.
Safe travels to all!
John
gulfcoast john
New member
Newark, NY on the western Erie canal is a must-see stop! Free dockage, showers, restrooms (all air conditioned) and even laundry (only one washer/dryer, but very top-end machines). Free live music events!
Typical canal workboat and a mountain of snags it picked out of the canal.
This is a Hydraulic Dredger. The only reason I am so sure of this is that there is a 4x4 foot label on it…”HYDRAULIC DREDGER.” I could imagine it was a Pixie Dust Seiner machine.
Palmyra Basin free dock with power.
We snagged the last spot on the wall at Fairport, which had our bow pretty much under the noisy Main St Lift Bridge and 1 block away from what seems like one of the busiest CSX tracks (three sets) on the entire canal. We turned the rooftop Coleman on FAN, and didn’t hear a thing except for the Coleman FAN all night.
There were lots of mid channel snags, logs and debris from the recent torrential rains.
Fairport Lift Bridge at its max 16 foot air draft. Note the duck which likes Engine #1, while Eileen reads about Canal history.
Three ducks on the bracket and engine is a lot better than three sea lions on the bracket and engine cowling, and they weigh a lot less and make less of a mess.
We had likely enough gas (¼ tank) to go 100 miles to the end of the Erie canal at Tonawanda, so we passed by Mid Lakes Marina (6 miles back) in order to get secured here at Fairport before the arrival of predicted severe weather 2 days ago. We were instead counting on getting gas 20 miles west of here at Greece instead at Allan’s Canalside Marina. Today I called them, because they are the last marina before the end of the Erie Canal at Tonawanda. The fellow who answered the phone said he had just bought the marina and could not yet get the state EPA permit, so he had no fuel.
Glad I called!
So tomorrow we backtrack 6 miles (two hours round trip) to get 10-15 gallons of gas total.
We hope you learn a little something from our experience, and always call and confirm what the Guides say!
Safe Travels to All!
John
Typical canal workboat and a mountain of snags it picked out of the canal.
This is a Hydraulic Dredger. The only reason I am so sure of this is that there is a 4x4 foot label on it…”HYDRAULIC DREDGER.” I could imagine it was a Pixie Dust Seiner machine.
Palmyra Basin free dock with power.
We snagged the last spot on the wall at Fairport, which had our bow pretty much under the noisy Main St Lift Bridge and 1 block away from what seems like one of the busiest CSX tracks (three sets) on the entire canal. We turned the rooftop Coleman on FAN, and didn’t hear a thing except for the Coleman FAN all night.
There were lots of mid channel snags, logs and debris from the recent torrential rains.
Fairport Lift Bridge at its max 16 foot air draft. Note the duck which likes Engine #1, while Eileen reads about Canal history.
Three ducks on the bracket and engine is a lot better than three sea lions on the bracket and engine cowling, and they weigh a lot less and make less of a mess.
We had likely enough gas (¼ tank) to go 100 miles to the end of the Erie canal at Tonawanda, so we passed by Mid Lakes Marina (6 miles back) in order to get secured here at Fairport before the arrival of predicted severe weather 2 days ago. We were instead counting on getting gas 20 miles west of here at Greece instead at Allan’s Canalside Marina. Today I called them, because they are the last marina before the end of the Erie Canal at Tonawanda. The fellow who answered the phone said he had just bought the marina and could not yet get the state EPA permit, so he had no fuel.
Glad I called!
So tomorrow we backtrack 6 miles (two hours round trip) to get 10-15 gallons of gas total.
We hope you learn a little something from our experience, and always call and confirm what the Guides say!
Safe Travels to All!
John
John, Glad you called too I would have been a longer back track :shock:
But in 2 hours, haw far is it to the closest land based fuel. (Oh, I bet you already checked that, sorry for the late idea.) I'm really enjoying your trip and your photos. Don't know if I will ever get into that country but it does look fun.
Thanks for sharing.
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
But in 2 hours, haw far is it to the closest land based fuel. (Oh, I bet you already checked that, sorry for the late idea.) I'm really enjoying your trip and your photos. Don't know if I will ever get into that country but it does look fun.
Thanks for sharing.
Harvey
SleepyC :moon
gulfcoast john
New member
We back tracked from Fairport back to Mid Lakes Marina to find out that they did indeed have gas, but that the “fuel hose had a split that had to be replaced,” and it would be ‘late afternoon’ as the estimate.
The kid was dispatched to the local Ace Hardware to secure parts.
We were not optimistic.
But they will do anything and everything they can to get you on your way! Two hours later we were gassing up.
Mid Lakes Marina Macedon is a very large property with a ramp that can handle a TC255, a few transient slips, and the owner said long term parking for the truck and trailer would run about $10/day. I would not advise buying gas (or even counting on a working gas pump) on the western Erie Canal except at Pirates Cove Marina or Mid Lakes Macedon Marina. Most others looked sketchy or closed or un-manned or all three.
At Pittsford we saw a guy taking photos who turned out to be on the Board of Directors of the Eastman Kodak Museum in Rochester (previously recommended).
He took this pic:
Typical low town wall is most often free, or with a sliding scale fee for shore power that maxes out at $15 per stay (max 48 hours per wall). Since the max speed is 10 MPH NO WAKE and most can only go 7-8 MPH, you end up in groups. The Great Harbour 37 Blue Barnacle is massive (but their only home). The 15 ‘lift bridges” all have a under 6 ft closed, under 17 ft full open air clearance.
Even more things that closed down parts of the Erie Canal on our adventure:
https://www.whec.com/wayne-county-ny-ne ... n/6185188/
https://13wham.com/news/local/police-ma ... into-canal
Today it’s closed at Brockport due to “a vehicle in the canal.”
If the ‘vehicle’ is a fire engine ladder truck, I hope they can get it out before Bob’s arrival next month.
Even a canal sort of counts as ‘waterfront property’ when you have a parade of interesting multimillion dollar plus other boats like ours cruising by daily. We were shocked at how many miles and miles and miles of the western Erie canal border vast corn fields stretching to the horizon on both sides. A bike/walking path runs alongside from Palmyra to the western end at Tonawanda near Buffalo, NY. Some bikers tent camp along the route.
We’re getting close to the end of this particular Adventure (started June 28) and looking at rig retrieval options. We’ll pass by two ramps within 5 miles of the Tonawanda wall and will check them out in person (which I prefer when possible). The other option is going out into the Niagara river, through yet another locks to Erie Basin Marina, which has transient slips, a big ramp, and temporary rig storage.
Safe travels to all!
John
The kid was dispatched to the local Ace Hardware to secure parts.
We were not optimistic.
But they will do anything and everything they can to get you on your way! Two hours later we were gassing up.
Mid Lakes Marina Macedon is a very large property with a ramp that can handle a TC255, a few transient slips, and the owner said long term parking for the truck and trailer would run about $10/day. I would not advise buying gas (or even counting on a working gas pump) on the western Erie Canal except at Pirates Cove Marina or Mid Lakes Macedon Marina. Most others looked sketchy or closed or un-manned or all three.
At Pittsford we saw a guy taking photos who turned out to be on the Board of Directors of the Eastman Kodak Museum in Rochester (previously recommended).
He took this pic:
Typical low town wall is most often free, or with a sliding scale fee for shore power that maxes out at $15 per stay (max 48 hours per wall). Since the max speed is 10 MPH NO WAKE and most can only go 7-8 MPH, you end up in groups. The Great Harbour 37 Blue Barnacle is massive (but their only home). The 15 ‘lift bridges” all have a under 6 ft closed, under 17 ft full open air clearance.
Even more things that closed down parts of the Erie Canal on our adventure:
https://www.whec.com/wayne-county-ny-ne ... n/6185188/
https://13wham.com/news/local/police-ma ... into-canal
Today it’s closed at Brockport due to “a vehicle in the canal.”
If the ‘vehicle’ is a fire engine ladder truck, I hope they can get it out before Bob’s arrival next month.
Even a canal sort of counts as ‘waterfront property’ when you have a parade of interesting multimillion dollar plus other boats like ours cruising by daily. We were shocked at how many miles and miles and miles of the western Erie canal border vast corn fields stretching to the horizon on both sides. A bike/walking path runs alongside from Palmyra to the western end at Tonawanda near Buffalo, NY. Some bikers tent camp along the route.
We’re getting close to the end of this particular Adventure (started June 28) and looking at rig retrieval options. We’ll pass by two ramps within 5 miles of the Tonawanda wall and will check them out in person (which I prefer when possible). The other option is going out into the Niagara river, through yet another locks to Erie Basin Marina, which has transient slips, a big ramp, and temporary rig storage.
Safe travels to all!
John
little wing
New member
We launched and kept our rig at Anchor Marine on Grand Island. Lots of space for rig storage. Good place and good folks, although you may find a lot of weeds at the ramp.
We pulled out once at West Canal Park and Marina. Good ramps. Nice place for overnight stay as well. Good bathroom right near the wall.
At the time, Erie Basin would not allow overnight rig storage.
We pulled out once at West Canal Park and Marina. Good ramps. Nice place for overnight stay as well. Good bathroom right near the wall.
At the time, Erie Basin would not allow overnight rig storage.
gulfcoast john
New member
Erie double Lock 34-35 is not a good stop...only two spots where one interferes with the other leaving and no utilities.
E-35 was our 200th locking experience in this boat...a toast was in order!
I’d like to know which other Brats have done over 200 locks on their current boat, if so, sing out here! We want to hear about your techniques!
Eileen lost her boat hook on the cable in Lock E-35 when I executed an “unexpected maneuver”. I announced over VHF 13 to the lockmaster that it ‘leaped’ out of her hands and that it then backstroked over to the foam at the rear gates and was ‘swimming around’ there. His assistant went over to fetch it and returned it to Eileen at the top of the lift.
We found again that running 2000 RPM on the port engine only for ex (pic here) results in less wake and better MPG. Odd but true.
Medina (pronounced with long ‘i’ by locals) has another high wall; we pulled up to a ladder. Washrooms are hard to see at the far west end of the wooden face dock. The canal is hacked out of the side of a hill and the 70 feet Medina Falls is far below the canal.
Upstate NY evenings can be 82 degrees, but with 35% humidity it seems much more pleasant than back in Pensacola on an August evening!
The last wall at Tonawanda can be an absolute boating zoo on weekends, or if you don’t grab a spot before 2PM during high season (July-Aug).
The North short wall is run by the town of North Tonawanda, but the South high wall is run by the town of Tonawanda with different dockmasters, mayors and rules.
We were researching a take-out point and trying to find one near our end point of Tonawanda, NY where the Erie canal ends at the Niagara river. It’s a big, rough, sometimes whitecapping river where weather can produce several weather day delays. And yet another lock.
For us, West Canal Park on the Erie canal, backtrack 5 miles up Tonawanda creek from the town wall, fit the bill. It appears to be a very short dock, but it is very steep and deep and very easy to launch or load a TomCat with minimal engine loading.
Unlike Tonawanda, it is a Niagara County park heavily patrolled by Niagara County sherrifs. It has a huge parking area. Locals prefer the free docking with power over the $15 fees at Tonawanda walls, but it fills up fast and many boats seem to stay for many free days.
Call the Niagara County Sheriff to get their unwritten rules on overnight or longer term rig parking.
We would highly encourage putting in at Pirates Cove Marina (unlimited and safe rig parking) and taking out at West Canal County park and marina (after taking in the Tonawanda wall at the west end of the western Erie canal, 5 miles downriver).
Take Amtrak or Trailways or OurBus via a Lyft from Buff back to Syracuse to retrieve the truck and trailer. It worked so well for us, and hopefully for you! 2,800 trailer miles.
We were surprised and gratified at how clean and modern (inc wifi) our Trailways bus was for the Buff to Ithaca trip. I was worried that homeless folks had urinated in the seats etc but that was not an issue.
We hope our documentation of this Adventure helps you to plan your own, with less research and time!
If so, we’ll be very gratified and happy that we helped out some fellow Brats on their exciting journeys!
Safe travels, and we wish you and yours the best as you explore around here!
We are safe and secure back at our home base at NAS PNS Sherman Cove Marina dry slip in anticipation of Fred.
Safe Travels to all!
John and Eileen
E-35 was our 200th locking experience in this boat...a toast was in order!
I’d like to know which other Brats have done over 200 locks on their current boat, if so, sing out here! We want to hear about your techniques!
Eileen lost her boat hook on the cable in Lock E-35 when I executed an “unexpected maneuver”. I announced over VHF 13 to the lockmaster that it ‘leaped’ out of her hands and that it then backstroked over to the foam at the rear gates and was ‘swimming around’ there. His assistant went over to fetch it and returned it to Eileen at the top of the lift.
We found again that running 2000 RPM on the port engine only for ex (pic here) results in less wake and better MPG. Odd but true.
Medina (pronounced with long ‘i’ by locals) has another high wall; we pulled up to a ladder. Washrooms are hard to see at the far west end of the wooden face dock. The canal is hacked out of the side of a hill and the 70 feet Medina Falls is far below the canal.
Upstate NY evenings can be 82 degrees, but with 35% humidity it seems much more pleasant than back in Pensacola on an August evening!
The last wall at Tonawanda can be an absolute boating zoo on weekends, or if you don’t grab a spot before 2PM during high season (July-Aug).
The North short wall is run by the town of North Tonawanda, but the South high wall is run by the town of Tonawanda with different dockmasters, mayors and rules.
We were researching a take-out point and trying to find one near our end point of Tonawanda, NY where the Erie canal ends at the Niagara river. It’s a big, rough, sometimes whitecapping river where weather can produce several weather day delays. And yet another lock.
For us, West Canal Park on the Erie canal, backtrack 5 miles up Tonawanda creek from the town wall, fit the bill. It appears to be a very short dock, but it is very steep and deep and very easy to launch or load a TomCat with minimal engine loading.
Unlike Tonawanda, it is a Niagara County park heavily patrolled by Niagara County sherrifs. It has a huge parking area. Locals prefer the free docking with power over the $15 fees at Tonawanda walls, but it fills up fast and many boats seem to stay for many free days.
Call the Niagara County Sheriff to get their unwritten rules on overnight or longer term rig parking.
We would highly encourage putting in at Pirates Cove Marina (unlimited and safe rig parking) and taking out at West Canal County park and marina (after taking in the Tonawanda wall at the west end of the western Erie canal, 5 miles downriver).
Take Amtrak or Trailways or OurBus via a Lyft from Buff back to Syracuse to retrieve the truck and trailer. It worked so well for us, and hopefully for you! 2,800 trailer miles.
We were surprised and gratified at how clean and modern (inc wifi) our Trailways bus was for the Buff to Ithaca trip. I was worried that homeless folks had urinated in the seats etc but that was not an issue.
We hope our documentation of this Adventure helps you to plan your own, with less research and time!
If so, we’ll be very gratified and happy that we helped out some fellow Brats on their exciting journeys!
Safe travels, and we wish you and yours the best as you explore around here!
We are safe and secure back at our home base at NAS PNS Sherman Cove Marina dry slip in anticipation of Fred.
Safe Travels to all!
John and Eileen
gulfcoast john
New member
Erie double Lock 34-35 is not a good stop...only two spots where one interferes with the other leaving and no utilities.
E-35 was our 200th locking experience in this boat...a toast was in order!
I’d like to know which other Brats have done over 200 locks on their current boat, if so, sing out here! We want to hear about your techniques!
Eileen lost her boat hook on the cable in Lock E-35 when I executed an “unexpected maneuver”. I announced over VHF 13 to the lockmaster that it ‘leaped’ out of her hands and that it then backstroked over to the foam at the rear gates and was ‘swimming around’ there. His assistant went over to fetch it and returned it to Eileen at the top of the lift.
We found again that running 2000 RPM on the port engine only for ex (pic here) results in less wake and better MPG. Odd but true.
Medina (pronounced with long ‘i’ by locals) has another high wall; we pulled up to a ladder. Washrooms are hard to see at the far west end of the wooden face dock. The canal is hacked out of the side of a hill and the 70 feet Medina Falls is far below the canal.
Upstate NY evenings can be 82 degrees, but with 35% humidity it seems much more pleasant than back in Pensacola on an August evening!
The last wall at Tonawanda can be an absolute boating zoo on weekends, or if you don’t grab a spot before 2PM during high season (July-Aug).
The North short wall is run by the town of North Tonawanda, but the South high wall is run by the town of Tonawanda with different dockmasters, mayors and rules.
We were researching a take-out point and trying to find one near our end point of Tonawanda, NY where the Erie canal ends at the Niagara river. It’s a big, rough, sometimes whitecapping river where weather can produce several weather day delays. And yet another lock.
For us, West Canal Park on the Erie canal, backtrack 5 miles up Tonawanda creek from the town wall, fit the bill. It appears to be a very short dock, but it is very steep and deep and very easy to launch or load a TomCat with minimal engine loading.
Unlike Tonawanda, it is a Niagara County park heavily patrolled by Niagara County sherrifs. It has a huge parking area. Locals prefer the free docking with power over the $15 fees at Tonawanda walls, but it fills up fast and many boats seem to stay for many free days.
Call the Niagara County Sheriff to get their unwritten rules on overnight or longer term rig parking.
We would highly encourage putting in at Pirates Cove Marina (unlimited and safe rig parking) and taking out at West Canal County park and marina (after taking in the Tonawanda wall at the west end of the western Erie canal, 5 miles downriver).
Take Amtrak or Trailways or OurBus via a Lyft from Buff back to Syracuse to retrieve the truck and trailer. It worked so well for us, and hopefully for you! 2,800 trailer miles.
We were surprised and gratified at how clean and modern (inc wifi) our Trailways bus was for the Buff to Ithaca trip. I was worried that homeless folks had urinated in the seats etc but that was not an issue.
We hope our documentation of this Adventure helps you to plan your own, with less research and time!
If so, we’ll be very gratified and happy that we helped out some fellow Brats on their exciting journeys!
Safe travels, and we wish you and yours the best as you explore around here!
We are safe and secure back at our home base at NAS PNS Sherman Cove Marina dry slip in anticipation of Fred.
Safe Travels to all!
John and Eileen
E-35 was our 200th locking experience in this boat...a toast was in order!
I’d like to know which other Brats have done over 200 locks on their current boat, if so, sing out here! We want to hear about your techniques!
Eileen lost her boat hook on the cable in Lock E-35 when I executed an “unexpected maneuver”. I announced over VHF 13 to the lockmaster that it ‘leaped’ out of her hands and that it then backstroked over to the foam at the rear gates and was ‘swimming around’ there. His assistant went over to fetch it and returned it to Eileen at the top of the lift.
We found again that running 2000 RPM on the port engine only for ex (pic here) results in less wake and better MPG. Odd but true.
Medina (pronounced with long ‘i’ by locals) has another high wall; we pulled up to a ladder. Washrooms are hard to see at the far west end of the wooden face dock. The canal is hacked out of the side of a hill and the 70 feet Medina Falls is far below the canal.
Upstate NY evenings can be 82 degrees, but with 35% humidity it seems much more pleasant than back in Pensacola on an August evening!
The last wall at Tonawanda can be an absolute boating zoo on weekends, or if you don’t grab a spot before 2PM during high season (July-Aug).
The North short wall is run by the town of North Tonawanda, but the South high wall is run by the town of Tonawanda with different dockmasters, mayors and rules.
We were researching a take-out point and trying to find one near our end point of Tonawanda, NY where the Erie canal ends at the Niagara river. It’s a big, rough, sometimes whitecapping river where weather can produce several weather day delays. And yet another lock.
For us, West Canal Park on the Erie canal, backtrack 5 miles up Tonawanda creek from the town wall, fit the bill. It appears to be a very short dock, but it is very steep and deep and very easy to launch or load a TomCat with minimal engine loading.
Unlike Tonawanda, it is a Niagara County park heavily patrolled by Niagara County sherrifs. It has a huge parking area. Locals prefer the free docking with power over the $15 fees at Tonawanda walls, but it fills up fast and many boats seem to stay for many free days.
Call the Niagara County Sheriff to get their unwritten rules on overnight or longer term rig parking.
We would highly encourage putting in at Pirates Cove Marina (unlimited and safe rig parking) and taking out at West Canal County park and marina (after taking in the Tonawanda wall at the west end of the western Erie canal, 5 miles downriver).
Take Amtrak or Trailways or OurBus via a Lyft from Buff back to Syracuse to retrieve the truck and trailer. It worked so well for us, and hopefully for you! 2,800 trailer miles.
We were surprised and gratified at how clean and modern (inc wifi) our Trailways bus was for the Buff to Ithaca trip. I was worried that homeless folks had urinated in the seats etc but that was not an issue.
We hope our documentation of this Adventure helps you to plan your own, with less research and time!
If so, we’ll be very gratified and happy that we helped out some fellow Brats on their exciting journeys!
Safe travels, and we wish you and yours the best as you explore around here!
We are safe and secure back at our home base at NAS PNS Sherman Cove Marina dry slip in anticipation of Fred.
Safe Travels to all!
John and Eileen