July 16, 2015  Day 26  New York Summer 2015

Little Falls Canal Harbor
Little Falls, NY




The guillotine door on lock E-17

We love the beauty of the Mohawk River

Day three of our trip on the Erie Canal was a busy one.  We left Canajoharie just before eight this morning to catch the E-14 lock opening.  It was just an 8 ft. rise and did not take long to transit.  We went through lock E-15 thirty minutes later. Then we stopped at the St. Johnsville Marina for fuel.  It was too early in the day to stay there so we continued on to lock E-16 which raised us 20 feet.  We reached lock E-17 at noon.  This lock is the largest on the Erie with a 40 foot lift. The guillotine door makes this lock unique also.  We had to wait on a sailboat to catch up before we could transit the lock.  They are doing some maintenance on the lock and are grouping boats together.

Right after we exited the lock we arrived at Little Falls and docked at the Little Falls Canal Harbor. This is a small but very nice facility with friendly and helpful staff.





Bill on locking duty

Dinner at Canal Side Inn with Dawn and Colin

Joyce and Dawn with our new friend Al, age 100!

We went to dinner with Colin and Dawn at the Canal Side Inn, which is a very nice French restaurant in Little Falls.  We had eaten here several years ago on a road trip and remembered how much we enjoyed it.  We appreciated the marina staff driving us both ways to the restaurant!  Our timing was also good because a music concert was being held in the park near the restaurant so we watched some of it after dinner.  There were also star gazers out with their telescopes and other apparatus. We were especially charmed by Al, a local gentleman who is 100 years old!  He is quite knowledgeable, still drives his car, and was just delightful.

Little Falls has been a good stop and it would be easy to stay longer, but we will leave again in the morning and travel to Rome, NY.



July 15, 2015  Day 25  New York Summer 2015

Free Town Dock, River Front Park
Canajoharie, NY

Today was a short day of travel of just 26 miles. This also included three locks, E-11, E-12, and E-13.  Lock E-11 in Amsterdam still has a great deal of work being done as a complete overhaul due to flood damage in 2013.  The damage was significant. 

Restoration to Lock E-11

The historic West Hill School built in 1891
in Canajorharie

Movin' On and Carried Away at the town dock

We ran into a very light rain for half of the trip, and unlike yesterday it was a cooler day!  We decided to stop for the night at Canajoharie and take advantage of the free town dock, which include a floating dock and 50 amp power.  We also had time to tour the downtown area with Colin and Dawn, and stopped in a nice café for coffee and sweets in mid-afternoon.  Dawn and Joyce also toured an art museum, while Colin and Bill went to Ace Hardware!

We had Colin and Dawn over for dinner this evening and then played another round of “Ticket to Ride” which made a fun evening.

We will continue going west on the canal tomorrow morning. Destination unknown!

July 14, 2015  Day 24  New York Summer 2015

Lock 10 Free Wall
Cranesville, NY

We are finally on the Erie Canal!  The westbound locks actually start at Lock 2 at Waterford (Lock 1 is the Federal Lock in Troy and is not part of the Erie.) We went all the way to Lock 10 today, therefore transiting nine locks.



Movin' On in Lock 2




Low bridge - everybody down!




Amtrak shares the track with many freight trains -
this is one view from our boat

The scenic Mohawk River

We had planned to catch the first lock opening at 0800, but when we approached, a fire boat was in front of the lock and warned us to stay back.  When we did enter the lock, we learned that a dead body was found floating in the lock chamber early this morning! They were just removing the body when we approached. Such a very strange beginning to our day!  Eerie on the Erie!

The first five locks are a flight of locks with each raising us up about 33 feet. After that the locks are spaced farther apart.  These lie on the Mohawk River which is scenic and winds around in some areas.  We passed under several low bridges, but with our radar down we can get under with no problem.

The original canal was completed in 1825, and we will be able to see parts of the old canal in certain areas.  We can almost picture the mules towing the barges along the towpaths. And of course who doesn’t remember “Sixteen Miles on the ‘Erie Canal”!

Docked on the free wall just past Lock 10

We are still traveling with Colin and Dawn on Movin’ On and enjoy being with them. We are docked with them on a free lock wall just past Lock 10, in Cranesville, NY, after traveling about 35 miles today.  It seemed appropriate to be here on a lock wall instead of going to a marina.  It is part of the experience.  We don’t even mind the trains that go by!

We will leave in the morning with Canajoharie as our destination.

July 13, 2015  Day 23  New York Summer 2015

Waterford Visitor Center
Waterford, NY

We go to great lengths (and heights)
to provision our boats!

We stayed put today and took care of some things that needed to be done prior to our trip out the Erie Canal.  Bill started by cleaning all the Isinglas windows on the bridge and sun deck.  Then he helped Colin on Movin’ On lower the mast on his trawler this morning. While the guys did that, Dawn and Joyce walked to the post office and then to the grocery store. The store is across the Hudson River in Troy, but fortunately the river is narrow and there is a walk path separated from the car lanes – and the store allows boaters to take their carts back across the bridge to the Visitor Center where we are docked!

Bill and Colin walked down to the lock to get our season pass. The lock master gave them a good tour of the locks and explained all the systems to them.

Joyce did laundry this afternoon and Bill got our radar arch and all antennas lowered so we can clear the bridges on the Erie Canal.

Dawn and Colin had us over for dinner tonight. Dawn prepared a delicious Shepherd’s Pie for us. What a special evening!  Such good food and good company!

We plan to leave tomorrow with Movin’ On and catch the 8:00 lock opening – the first of many that we have to transit. We will go as far as we can and stop somewhere along the way for the evening.

July 12, 2015  Day 22  New York Summer 2015

Waterford Visitor Center
Waterford, NY

We made another early departure with Movin’ On, leaving Kingston at 0625. Again, we wanted to run with the current.  We came out of Rondout Creek and passed the lighthouse and entered the Hudson River.  We passed the Saugerties Lighthouse at 0800 and the Hudson Athens Lighthouse at 0940.  

Rondout Lighthouse



Saugerties Lighthouse

Hudson-Athens Lighthouse

Inside the Troy Federal Lock

 

Pirate ship off our stern!

The river is scenic much of the way with the Catskill Mountains framing the hillside homes along the way.  Even though this is Sunday we did not have too much boat traffic. We did pass some large commercial ships though!  The northbound ships were heading to the Port of Albany.

Shortly after we passed Albany we arrived in Troy, NY and the Troy Federal Lock.  We were fortunate that the Lock was not occupied and the lockmaster lowered the water right away so we could enter.  We spent about 20 minutes in the lock which raised us 15 feet.

After we exited the lock we went a short distance to the junction where boaters have to decide to turn west at Waterford, the entrance to the Erie Canal, or to continue north and enter the Champlain Canal.  We have taken the Champlain Canal twice and the point of this whole summer trip is to take the Erie Canal, so we turned west into Waterford.  Waterford has a modern Visitor’s Center with 1000 feet of floating dock, complete with power and water.  It is first come first serve, and we had to dock our boat on their concrete wall for about 30 minutes until a space became available.  We were able to squeeze in between Movin' On and a Pirate ship!

After we got settled in, we went to dinner with Dawn and Colin.  We walked the few blocks into town and ate at McGreivey’s, a popular local spot.

We will spend two or three days here to get some rest and get some projects done!

July 11, 2015  Day 21  New York Summer 2015

Hudson River Maritime Museum Dock
Kingston, NY

The sun rose at 0532 and by 0536 we had pulled our anchor up and were on our way with Movin’ On.  By leaving this early we had the current with us on the Hudson. 

This part of the Hudson is one of the most scenic. The river curves around and is lined by the Appalachian Highlands, with homes nestled in the hillside.  The trip took us past The United States Military Academy at West Point, the Culinary Arts Institute, the Vanderbilt and Roosevelt homes in Hyde Park, and the Esopus and Rondout Lighthouses. Freight trains dart along the western banks while commuter trains rush by on the eastern shore.  There was always something to see!

We arrived in Kingston at 11:15 and, along with Movin’ On, tied up to the face dock at the museum.  By 3:15, Loopers on EdEJ had arrived and we helped them with their lines.

Since we were tired from our early day, we had dinner on board our own boats.  Tomorrow we will go to Waterford for two nights before starting our journey on the Erie Canal

July 10, 2015  Day 20  New York Summer 2015

At anchor
Haverstraw Bay, NY

The Verrazano Bridge
pathway from the Lower Bay to the Hudson

Going through the New Harbor is always fascinating, and our trip through it this morning was no exception.  The harbor was full of commercial boat traffic, including several tugs with their barges, the Staten Island Ferries, other high speed ferries, tour excursion boats, and pleasure boats.   We had to stay alert and change direction constantly.

We were traveling with our buddy boat, Movin’ On, and took their picture as they passed the Statue of Liberty. It is always a thrill to see The Lady. Just past her is Ellis Island, and we can only imagine how immigrants felt when they alighted here.

Traffic ahead!

The sky over Manhattan was filled with helicopters and blimps today, all timed with the ticker tape parade to honor the US Women’s World Cup Win!  That added to the excitement on the water!

We eventually cruised past the City up the Hudson, although slowly since the current was against us most of the way.  The scenery changes quickly with the Palisades on the west side of the river replacing skyscrapers.  We also started seeing commuter trains on the east side that transit people who work in the city.

Movin' On and The Lady



Ellis Island

By 4:30, we arrived in the beautiful Haverstraw Bay and found a scenic and well protected anchorage.  We invited Colin and Dawn over for dinner, so Bill picked them up by dinghy.


Lower Manhattan and the WTC

We spent a fun evening and played one of our favorite board games, “Ticket to Ride” with them after dinner.

We set an early departure time of 0530 to head to Kingston,NY on Saturday.




Movin' On at our anchorage
in Haverstraw Bay