Now that we are back to being land dwellers, we have slowly been getting back into the real world mode of using a clock and having others relying on us, and us relying on others.  Everyday we see family and friends who just cannot fathom where we have been for the past month.  Everyone is just in disbelief that we spent a month on a boat, much less travel well over 500 miles on a 25′ sailboat.

We are now hooked on cruising.  I equate this to people as having all the benefits of camping in an RV while going to a new campsite every night, without the fuss of breaking down and setting up camp; also we have the option to be in complete solitude if desired.  We loved exploring all the towns and history that lines the waterways.  Even more so I think we enjoyed the people from all walks of life that we meet along the way.  We meet locals as well as other cruisers from thousands of miles away.

We left the trip knowing that we would have to buy a new boat, one that was more accommodating to living aboard and power cruising.  The sailboat was great, but it just was not an ideal boat for such a trip.  Furthermore we now want to go west to see the Western Erie Canal, Finger Lakes, Oswego Canal and Lake Ontario where a motorboat would be ideal.  Also we missed many things along the way during our trip, so we plan on repeating this trip again.

See the Rain or Shine Blog for details of our new boat and why we chose the boat we did.  We looked for over a year and finally found a boat had a balance of everything we wanted combined with a reasonable price.

If you have any comments, questions or are planning a trip please feel free to contact me and I will be as helpful as I can.  You can post your comment here on the blog, on the forum or email me at mail@nycanals.com.

Happy Boating,

Greg & Leila

End: HOME!!!! (Oneida Lake)

We awoke on the boat for the last time, and we just stayed in bed relaxing.  We knew that this was it, back to the real world.  We ate and then after a brief walk around, we were on our way.  The stretch between Lock E20 and Lock E21 is about 18 miles, perfectly straight, and honestly quite boring.  After a few miles at 6 MPH it all looks the same.

We decided to bypass stopping at Rome and made it to Lock E21 in about 3 hours.  We dropped through the final two locks and were on the final stretch.  It was quite strange to be motoring in familiar waters.  Even stranger was being on the sailboat in an area that we cannot normally get to due to the route 13 bridge.

We had called my father before getting into Lock E22 and he agreed to meet us at the Sylvan Beach Wall.   We unloaded the boat at the Sylvan Beach Wall with dad’s car right there.  It was amazing how much stuff we had aboard.  I loaded the boat slowly over a few days so I did not realized the magnitude of stuff we had brought.  We got the boat completely unloaded and began getting the mast ready to be put up, but we were delayed by a strong down pour.  It was ironic that our trip ended with a downpour when we saw only about 3-4 daytime storms the entire trip.

The storm passed quickly and then we put the mast up and motored out into the lake.  The wind was from the south and we sailed home using the spinnaker only.  I checked my GPS and using the Spinnaker only we were cruising at 9.5 MPH!!!  It seemed like the boat was flying.  The boat raised out of the water by about 3″ when all the equipment was taken off.

We got home, moored the boat and rowed ashore.  The trip was over; it was very depressing.  We were tempted to just pass Sylvan Beach and keep going, perhaps to the Finger Lakes or Lake Ontario, but we did not have the time.

End: Lock E20, Marcy

This is the final full day of our trip as we planned on making it to Marcy for the night and watch another musical performance at the Lock E20 Canal Park.  We milled around a bit at Lock E16 as we really enjoy its scenic private location.  After eating and untying we were on our way to Little Falls and the largest lock of the trip.

An hour later we were locking up Lock E17.  We decided that we would stop at Benton’s Landing in Little Falls and run into town for some final rations of food.  We did not stop at the Little Falls Terminal Wall on our way through, so we also stopped and took a walk around there too.  It is a very nice facility with a water fountain, power, water, restrooms, showers, and a boat launch.  Unfortunately its a bit of a distance from town to tie up and walk to a store, but there is always Benton’s landing.

After leaving Little Falls we were on our way again, we cruised our way through the remaining locks only stopping in St Johnsville for fuel.  Locking through Lock E20 meant that our trip was nearly over.  We tied up to the north west side of the lock, against the concrete wall rather than the dock for easier boarding and to leave room for children fishing on the dock.

Once secured we took a walk to stretch our legs while the band was setting up.  Upon return we tidied up and started the grill.  This was the perfect ending for a great trip.  We were making burgers that we bought in Little Falls earlier in the day while listening to some good music.  We just relaxed for the evening sitting near the boat enjoying the music, and when the bugs came out went into the boat and played cards with the band in the background.

A movie and it was time for bed, we both were getting quite depressed, we did not want to get back to the real world.

End: Lock E16, Mindenville

We awoke on day 27 and Hollyken had already left.  We have our routine in order by now and we had a quick breakfast and were on our way.

We were on auto-pilot today, just cruising along.  Nothing all hat interesting happend.  We ended up stopping at Lock E16 again.  We made it early in the afternoon, and thus we used the picnic table to play cards for the afternoon; went for a walk along the canalway trail and all in all just relaxed.  We are begining to realize we will be home soon.

End: Lock E12, Tribes Hill

I made breakfast while Leila ran and got a coffee. We decided not to have a plan today, rather end up where we end up.

Today was very uneventful.  We went through a few locks and decided by Lock E12 that we just needed some time to relax, and not really any amenities.  Therefore we stopped early in the day and moored atop Lock E12.

The Schenectady Gateway Landing on the southern side of the canal near the route 5 bridge. Next time through we plan on stopping here.

This is a nice little area with picnic tables and a large yard.  We decided to play some croquet that we had brought, and have yet to use.  It was a great time and after about 45 minutes we decided to get ready for the evening.  We went to the lockmaster to see what was nearby, and he said there is a store atop the hill and not much else.

We decided to go for the walk and see what the store had.  They sold subs, which we decided sounded alot better than cooking.  We got subs and chips and headed back to the boat.  Unfortunately the hill made us a bit sweaty, and we were offered the shower at the lock house, so we used it.  After cleaning up we had dinner.  The subs were surprisingly good and hit the spot.

While finishing eating, a large trawler heading east came in and decided to spend the night next to us.  We helped them tie up and noticed they had a unique name for their boat.  The boat was named Hollyken, after Holly and Ken, its owners.  I thought this name was very clever and had a nice ring to it.  Unfortunately Leilagreg doesn’t sound nearly as nice.

After talking to Holly and Ken for a bit, they realized Leila was Lebanese, and offered us some Lebanese desert that they were having.  We said great, and that we were going to finish our dinner and be back.  This also gave them time to eat dinner.

After eating and playing cards for a bit, we ventured over to Hollyken where they were just cleaning up from dinner.  They welcomed us aboard and we ate desert and talked for awhile.  They, like most people who have seen us along the our trip, commented about our age.  At 23 we were less than half the age of most other boaters, if not 3x younger.  Being Ph.D. graduate students, we were luck enough to have a few months off at the same time to take an extended trip.

Holly and Ken, from the south, were another great couple that we meet while on the canal.  I have to say, the people are one of the best parts of the canal.

After heading back to our boat it was dark and time for bed. No movie tonight, just bed.

End: Scotia

Day 25 turned out to be a good day.  We got up and headed into town where Leila got a coffee.  Back aboard we called ahead to the lockmaster where he said it would be about 20 minutes.  We at breakfast and we began the flight of locks.

The locks by now are pretty non-eventful.  One nice thing about going up is when you are raised to the point where you can see over the lock wall.  It feels like you are now in a new place and you check out the scenery.  Other than that the process is quite trivial now with over 40 locks completed in the last few weeks.

Now on the Mohawk River we made good time on our way to Scotia.  We arrived where there was a large Trawler taking up the whole dock, the dock is about 50′, and the trawler was about 40′.  Not wanting to continue on I tried something new.  I went upstream of the dock about 100 feet and dropped anchor.  I then set it with the motor and let out enough rope so that the back of the boat was about 5 feet from the dock.  The gentleman from the trawler had come out in the meantime to lend a hand and he tied the stern to the dock.  He suggested using an ‘X’ pattern, which was a great idea that I would not have thought of.

Marina and Public Boat Launch in Scotia.

The ‘X’ pattern meant that I attached two ropes to my stern, one on the port cleat and one on the starboard cleat, and then cross them attaching to opposite dock cleats.  This meant that the boat could be closer to the dock, while still being safe.  It also prevented my stern from swinging towards the river and hitting the trawler’s bow pulpit with my mast, which stuck out a few feet.

We talked with the gentleman and his wife for a bit, and then headed into town.  We wanted to go to Jumpin’ Jacks again, as well as do a geocache that was in the area.  We first went to Jumpin’ Jacks for lunch, which was great again (stopped on the way up to Lake Champlain), and then went in search for the geocache.  The geocache turned out to be much further than I had realized, as there were no connecting roads to the park and the road was lined with houses.  My plan was just to go through the woods as I assumed there would be an entrance, but the road was house after house, and filled with ‘No Trespassing’ signs.  We then took the loooooooong way around via road and found the cache.  We were the second people to find it which was fun.  We ran into someone local who said there was a trail that we could take back into town.  It turned out to have ‘No Trespassing’ signs on it, but only from the other direction.

We stopped at a store and got some food and then meandered back to the boat, walking through the large park.  Back aboard we decided to use the nice park and brought our portable grill to a picnic table and cooked dinner.  I like this town, its very friendly and the docks are nearby everything.  Its too bad the dock is not larger, and that the local motorboats did not speed by throwing a large wake all evening.

Back aboard we played some cards, watched a movie and headed to bed.

End: Waterford

Day 24 was another sour day on the boat, we had all intentions of making it to Scotia on the Erie Canal but due to motor problems, that did not happen.

We left very early for us, wanting to beat the heat of the day, and headed off towards Lock C2 without eating breakfast.  Unfortunately within a mile we where having engine problems.  The motor ran, but it would not operate above 1000 RPM, rather it just went back to idle it the throttle was pushed further.  This meant that the boat would only go about 2-3 mph, a very dangerous speed on a river.  We then limped along at a blistering 2-3 mph and made it to the next lock.  With no great spot to tie up, we pressed on, knowing that there is a nice boat launch and dock at Lock C1.

We made it to the dock and then assessed the problem.  After looking through everything, all seemed to be in order.  The motor ran fine at idle and up to about 1000 RPM.  The the throttle was pressed further, then the motor would just go back to idle, but ran fine at idle.  This was very discouraging.  After about a half hour of taking the engine apart, I found what was wrong.  The throttle is connected by a piece of plastic to the motor.  This plastic part broke off at about the 1000 RPM mark and if the throttle was pushed further then the engine’s throttle lever would fall off the plastic part and the engine would return to idle.  This was good and bad.  The good part is that it is a small issue, and the main engine/carb is not damaged in anyway.  The bad is that a small issue is a big issue when you are motoring along and have no car to get to the local dealer.  Furthermore this is a part that I doubt is carried in stock.

I decided that instead of trying to find the part, we would fix it using some ‘puddy cement’ that I had aboard.  This play-dough type cement harden to a rock, and I hoped would work well enough to get us home.  I applied it and let is cure for about an hour.  I then put the engine back together and gave is a go.  It worked!  After testing the engine many times at the lock I decided that there would be no harm in continuing on to Waterford.  It was only a few miles away, and if the fix broke, we would still make it there at the 2-3 MPH.  Plus, Waterford is closer to our friends in Troy who would have given us a ride to the dealer if necessary.

We made it to Waterford without issue.  We arrived and grabbed the only spot left, it was on the high wall, between two large tugboats.  Its a shame that they allow people to dock for extended periods here when there are transients who would gladly use the wall.  Many people use the $10/night rate (free for first two days) as a cheap way to keep their boat somewhere while they head off for days at a time.

We made it by 4:00, but unfortuantely wasted most of our day fixing the motor and motoring slowly.  We walked into town, but did not get anything more than fuel and a slushy.  Then we decided we needed some time away from the boat so we walked across the bridge to Peebles Island State Park.  This was a nice change of pace after being frustrated all day.  Back aboard we decided just to call it a day, had dinner and watched a movie.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.

Sorry, no photos today.

End: Mechanicville

Last night, while hanging out in the boat, a gentleman who owned a local diner (PJs) greeted us and let us know about his diner and gave us a menu.  We did not think much of it at the time, but by morning it sounded like a great idea.  Leila and I love the true country diners.

We got ready and headed over to the diner and had breakfast.  We were eventually accompanied by a couple from another boat heading north and had a great breakfast.  We only ate out a few times on the trip, and homemade type food hit the spot.  After a great breakfast it was time to head down the canal to Mechanicville.  We had already stayed there on the way to Lake Champlain, but we needed supplies and Mechanicville has them nearby.

The tour boat Caldwell Belle moored at Lock C5.

Back aboard it was a nice trip down the Hudson River.  This area is quite scenic with farm fields and the occasional house.  The further down the river, there are more houses.  Passing through the 4 locks was a breeze and we made it to Mechanicville in what seemed like no time.

We tied to the north end of the wall, realizing from last time that it is much quieter, and headed into town.  There is an informational board showing what is nearby.  We wanted to go to the library and check our emails as well as head over to Price Chopper and get some fresh food.  Bikes would have been nice here as it is a medium to long walk, though not nearly as far as what was in Whitehall.

Back aboard the boat we had the steak that we had just bought and relaxed.  Before long we were shutting the doors to keep the bugs out and it was time for bed.  Some days the time just goes by without you noticing.  I guess they saying holds, ‘Time flies when your having fun’.

End: Fort Edward

Day 22 started early for us.  Since we had relaxed the previous day we were not very tired.  We got up and going, deciding to eat on the canal.  We made great time and the man-made part of the Champlain Canal flew by.  We stopped in Fort Ann to get a bit of fuel, ice, a slushy and other odd and items.  We were to Fort Edward by noon which gave us the afternoon to enjoy the town.

The bridge in Fort Edward on the way to the boat basin. BE CAREFUL & WATCH YOUR DEPTH! Note the green can on the right side just after the bridge.

With plenty of time to walk around, we decided to just relax and have a nice barbecue at the Fort Edward Boat Basin (the terminal wall).  After enjoying some food from the grill we both showered and such and then took a walk around.  We stopped in a few of the local shops.  There was a consignment shop which had nearly everything, we looked for some board games but found nothing that we did not already have or were interested in.

We then headed back to the boat.  We were playing cards when the couple aboard the boat ahead of us stopped by and asked if we wanted to share some wine.  We joined them for a few hours having a great time.  They were from Pennsylvania and had trailered their boat up to Sylvan Beach.  There they journeyed the same path as us, down the Erie Canal and up the Hudson River/Champlain Canal to Fort Edward.  They were planning to continue up to Lake Champlain and then return to Sylvan Beach.  Their trip was all too similar to ours.

They were aboard a 21′ boat with a large outboard motor and had their cat aboard.  The cat jumped in the water about an hour earlier and almost drowned.  Still wet, he was not very social with us, and hid up front.  Another great afternoon on the canal.

UPDATE: As it turns out I saw them moored to the Sylvan Beach wall a few weeks later, they ended up going to Whitehall and then a day out on Lake Champlain and then turning around due to the waves, and heading back.  What a small world!

Soon it was dinner time and we went back and did our normal routine of dinner, movie and bed.  We planned on making it to Mechanicville tomorrow, another short day.

We awoke late, and everyone was gone.  We then milled around, taking a walk around the lock and marinas area.  We noted the museum was opening shortly, so we went back aboard to have breakfast and get ready for the day.

The first thing we wanted to do was to check out the museum, and then go up and see the mansion atop the hill.  We walked through the museum and it was very informative.  We learned about the history of Lake Champlain, the Champlain Canal (new and old) and of the town of Whitehall and its importance to the country.  I recommend this to anyone who is at all interested in the history of the canal or our countries independence.

After spending a few hours in the museum we ventured up to the mansion.  Although it was closed to the public today we just wanted to go up and take a look at the property.  It was a hike up the hill, but once atop we were rewarded by the mansion and a great view of the surrounding area.  They serve meals here on certain days of the week, just not today.

We then walked back down to the boat and decided that we would take a walk to the other end of town.  The main commercial district is now a medium to long walk away from the canal.  We wanted some fresh food so we decided to take the walk.  There is a informational board near the terminal wall that shows where things are.

After about 2 hours we returned and had dinner and discussed our plans for the next few days.  We decided that we would try and do many ‘half days’, meaning we would visit each town for roughly half a day and motor the other half, hopefully bypassing towns we had already visited.  This would allow us to see things we had not seen before as well as keep the trip very relaxed.

We played some cards, watched a movie and headed to bed.  We were planning on going to Fort Edward tomorrow.