July 15 – 12, 2024 – Troy, NY to Brewerton, NY
Monday, July 15, 2024 – Troy, NY (Troy Downtown Marina) to Schenectady, NY (Mohawk Harbor Marina)
Back to the Erie Canal! The whole reason we started this trip was because Tim wanted to go through the whole Erie Canal and see the Statue of Liberty. He says that he is seeing so much more on this second time around.
Today, we were underway 3 hours and 37 minutes, going 23 miles (19.7 nm), at an average speed of 6.2 MPH (5.4 knots). We went through 7 locks (the Federal Lock and E2-E7). Because of the extra time it takes in the locks, the duration of our whole trip was actually 6 hours and 47 minutes.
We could see the Federal Lock from where we were docked on the wall at Troy Downtown Marina. This Lock is one of the oldest in the county. It was built in 1915 to improve navigation between the Hudson River and the New York Canal System. Many of the workers were men returning from constructing the Panama Canal.
Henry Ford was camping with his buddies Thomas Edison and Harvey Firestone – as they were known to do often – and they saw the potential for hydropower. After getting permission via an act of Congress, Ford built the hydropower plant here in 1921, with the agreement that he would provide the lock and dam with free power.
Tim radioed the lock and we waited for the gates to open. Once we got the green light, we pulled into the 520-foot long and 45-foot wide lock. The lift was approximately 14 feet. Gravity is used to fill or drain the locks. The lock was set in our favor, so we just had to wait for the lock keeper to open the gates. We pulled in at 7:38 AM and exited about 15 minutes later.
After exiting the Federal Lock, the Hudson River is no longer tidal. The locks and dams keep the water monitored.
About a 3 miles from the Federal Lock was our left turn to go to the Erie Canal. If we proceeded straight up the Hudson River, we’d enter the Champlain Canal. That canal goes up to Canada through Vermont – a trip for another time.
Once we made our left-hand turn off the Hudson River and onto the Mohawk River, we saw our second lock of the day – Lock E-2. When Tim radioed the lock tender there were already 3 boats going in. The lock tender seemed grateful when we told him that we’d just wait for the next lift. So, we moored on the wall at Waterford, NY and waited our turn. I walked up to the Harbor Visitor Center to pick up some canal information and Tim found a police officer to talk with.
When we saw the water rushing out from under the gates of Lock E-2, we knew the lock was being emptied for us. So, we bade farewell to Tim’s new cop friend, untied from the dock and headed up to the lock. Once the gates opened, we proceed in and were lifted up 33.55 feet.
When the gates opened, we started our second journey on the Erie Canal – an engineering marvel when it was constructed from 1817-1825. The original canal traveled 363 miles through the state of New York, joining Lake Erie, which is 570 feet above sea level, to the Hudson River, which is only 16.5 feet above sea level. It was the longest artificial waterway in North America and put New York on the map as the Empire State – the leader in population, industry, and economic growth. New York’s sixth governor, DeWitt Clinton (1769-1828) financed the project with state money and bonds and hired Irish immigrants to dig the canal through swamps, forests, and rocky cliffs by hand. The laborers were paid $0.37 to $0.50 a day, and sometimes whiskey instead of money. Thousands of workers became sick or died from malaria in the swamps near Syracuse.
Locks E-2 to E-6 came in quick succession, raising us about 34 feet each time. This “Waterford Flight” is the steepest set of locks in the United States. At E-6, we had to wait for some kayakers to paddle out.
At the top of Lock E-6, we a beautiful view behind us and our first guard gate in front of us. These guard gates help to isolate sections of the canal in case of emergency, such as a break in the canal wall or extreme high water. They’re also used when a section of canal needs to be drained for maintenance or winter freeze protection. We can’t imagine digging through the rock beside us.
After Lock E-6, the Mohawk River widened. The Mohawk River fed the original Erie Canal on this 117-mile section that we’re traveling from Waterford through Rome, NY. Much of the original canal on this stretch has been abandoned because the river itself has been deepened and straightened.
About 35 minutes later, we exited our last lock of the day – E-7 – after being raised 27 feet. We were now back on the Mohawk River, traveling by the historic Aqueduct 1842 in Rexford, NY before getting to our marina in Schenectady.
We didn’t waste much time after docking at Mohawk Harbor Marina, because we had parts to pick up for the dinghy. Since the motor stoped working on May 26th, we’ve made multiple attempts to have someone fix it, but they either won’t travel to the boat, are too busy or won’t return our calls. Therefore, Tim decided to try to fix it himself. I found CR’s Marina in Schenectady when we were back on the Hudson River. They wouldn’t fix the dinghy either, but they had parts, so we ordered a fuel pump, the secondary fuel filter and spark plugs. Tim changed the main fuel filter back at Isle of Hope, GA.
After a 30-minute round trip with our Uber driver, Nelson, we were back to the marina with our parts. Despite the 92-degree temperature, Tim got right to work. He offered to stop while the wedding pictures were being taken, but they said he was fine. After about an hour, he was test driving the dinghy in the marina. After that success test, we took it out onto the Mohawk River and gave it a real test. Success! Tim thinks the problem was just a clogged secondary fuel filter. We have a dinghy again!!!
Tuesday, July 16, 2024 – Schenectady, NY (Mohawk Harbor Marina) – Layover day.
We planned this layover day so that Tim could fix the dinghy, but he did that yesterday. So today, was a free day, which we spent cleaning the saltwater off of HOMES. It is nice to be back in freshwater. Tim tackled cleaning the dinghy and I spent the day washing the portholes, mopping the floors and doing laundry. In the evening, we walked up to Druthers Brewing Company, which was just at the top of the marina park.
Wednesday, July 17, 2024 – Schenectady, NY (Mohawk Harbor Marina) to Fort Plain, NY (Lock E-15 Free Wall)
Today, we were underway 6 hours and 25 minutes, going 43 miles (37.5 nm), at an average speed of 6.5 MPH (5.8 knots). We completed 8 locks, so the duration of our trip was 8 hours and 38 minutes.
Knowing that we had a long day ahead, we pulled out of the marina a little before 8:00 AM. After steering around a rowing team as we turned out onto the Mohawk River, we poured our coffee and settled in for a busy day.
The scenery today through the Mohawk Valley was stunning, with the Adirondack Mountains off in the distance. Lock E-8 took us up 14 feet.
At Lock E-9 and E-10, we shared the locks with another Looper boat. These locks took us up 15 feet each.
Coming out of Lock E-10, the abandoned Adirondack Power and Light building loomed like a dinosaur. This beautiful building, built in the 1920s was a coal-burning power plant. It stopped generating power in 1950 because New York State had abundant hydroelectric power.
Once through Lock E-11, we saw the free wall where we moored in 2022. We were happy to see that the manor house of Sir William Johnson, built in 1742, was being restored. Johnson came from England in the 1740s to manage his uncle’s business affairs. He soon realized the benefits of assimilating Indian culture into his political and business dealings. He was eventually adopted into the Mohawk Nation and took a Mohawk wife in a common law marriage. Because of this credibility with the Mohawks, he was appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the English Crown in 1768, when the French and Indian War began.
We barely made it out of Lock E-11 before the rain storm hit. It only lasted about 20 minutes. We drove slowly and the rain was all done by Lock E-12.
As we cruised through Locks E-12 through E-14, we dodged floating logs and saw downed tree caused by the tornado and damaging winds that hit this area yesterday.
After pulling out of Lock E-15, we tied up at the lock wall. Tim had radioed the lock tender to make sure there was room for us. There was one boat there, but still plenty of room for us. The young lock tender even came over and helped us with our lines. Lock E-15 sits in between a busy rail line and the longest Interstate highway in the country- Interstate-90. These are the three forms of transportation that shaped our country. Later in the evening, another Looper couple, who tied up after us, came to visit and have a tour of HOMES. Once light rain ended, we had a beautiful sunset.
Thursday, July 18, 2024 – Fort Plain, NY (Lock E-15 Free Wall) to Marcy, NY (E-20 Free Wall)
Today, we were underway 5 hours and 49 minutes, going 41 miles (35.2 nm), at an average speed of 7 MPH (6 knots). We completed 5 locks, which added about another 2 hours to our day, making the duration of our trip 7 hours and 42 minutes.
We know exactly where each lock and guard gate is along our way. Tim uses a program called Aqua Map on his iPad to route our daily voyages. He then uses the “Route Explorer” function, which shows us all locks, hazards, bridges, marinas, fuel etc, along our route.
Therefore, as we pulled away from the wall this morning, we knew that Lock E-16 was about 4 miles (3.3 nm) in front of us.
The rain that passed through last evening pushed the heat and humidity away! We woke to temperatures in the mid 60s with a projected high in the low 80s!
The scenery beside the locks today look different than on our previous days. There are no massive dam structures beside these locks, but you can see the unnavigable Mohawk River goes off to the right when we cruise into the locks. After lifting 20.5 feet in Lock E-16, the beauty of the Mohawk Valley still had us in awe. We occasionally passed a few corn fields.
About 8 miles later, we headed into Lock E-17 – the largest lock in the New York Canal System, with a lift of 40.5 feet! Constructed in 1915, when the original Erie Canal was modernized, this lock was once the highest single lift lock in the world. It takes us around the multiple drops and rapids that make up the “Little Falls” of the Mohawk River at Little Falls, NY.
About 20 minutes later, we were at the top, the two gates opened and we headed out, cruising by the town of Little Falls, NY. These massive rock cliffs, once dreaded by the canal makers, are now enjoyed by rock climbers!
About 40 minutes later, Lock E-18 lifted us 20 feet. We had a 12-mile break before coming to the unique Lock E-19. For E-19, we cruised under a railroad bridge, which ran at an angle, before pulling into the lock and being lifted 21 feet.
We had a 10.28 mile break before getting to our last lock of the day – E-20. While lifting 16 feet in this lock, Tim chatted with the bicyclists who camped next to us last night at Lock E-15. They are cycling the Empire State Trail, which is a 750-mile bicycle/walking trail, that runs along the canal. Today, they bicycled the 48-mile distance to here and beat us by miles!! HOMES is not fast, but we enjoy her comforts!
Mooring on the canal walls can be a little challenging, since the canals were built for large, heavy work boats. We secured HOMES with her midline through a steel ring and her bow and stern lines and spring lines were tied to big bollards. A tug and big barge was moored in front of us. Looks like their job is to pull debris out of the canal. We could have used them today!
After getting moored up, we decided to take a walk the 1- mile walk into Marcy, NY. We were ready for a long walk. Besides, there was a farm market with Marcy Discount Beverage next door. Two necessities: fresh fruits and veggies for me and beer for Tim. We took a longer walk on the trail into town. However, we took the short cut across the lock gate on our way back, since we were loaded down with our purchases.
Our shortcut route along the lock wall took us by our bicycle friends. We chatted with them for a long time. He is 71 years old and she is probably 60. They are cycling the whole 750 miles of the Empire State Trail, doing about 50 miles/day. They are from Michigan. He is retired from Ford and she is a retired paralegal. They have cycled from Cincinnati to Cleveland and did a trip from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. They definitely make our Loop trip seem easy, with all of our comforts on HOMES.
We went back to HOMES and cooked up our sweet corn and had dinner. We ended our great day by relaxing on the back deck.
Friday, July 19, 2024 – Marcy, NY (Lock E-20 Free Wall) to Sylvan Beach, NY (Sylvan Beach Pier)
Today, we were underway 3 hours and 9 minutes, going 23.5 miles (20.4 nm), at an average speed of 7.5 MPH (6.5 knots). We only had 2 locks today, so the whole duration of our trip was only 4 hours and 3 minutes. The 2 locks today are dropping us – instead of lifting us.
We chose this short day so that we could get to Sylvan Beach early and secure a spot on the pier wall. It’s a long wall, but Sylvan Beach is vacation hot spot on Oneida Lake. When we were here in 2022, it was Wednesday, August 24th and the place was almost a ghost town. Being a carnival town, it looked like the set of a scary movie. However, we know a Friday in July will be much different!
Our journey to our first lock – Lock E-21 – was uneventful except for one silted area where we sludged through the mud, with the depth finder screaming at us that we were in 4’6’’ of water. HOMES needs 4’8” to float, but she has sludged through mud before.
Just before getting to Lock E-21, we passed by Rome, NY we could see trucks and workers doing storm-damage clean up. A tornado touched down in Rome on Tuesday afternoon, with peak winds of 135 MPH. That was when we were in Schenectady and only got a little wind and rain.
We pulled into Lock E-21 around 11:30 AM. This is our first lock going down, so it looked different coming in at the top. I had to get the dock pole for Tim so that he could reach down and get the line.
The lock gates sit on top of a massive raised ledge, called a cill. When we are lifted up in a lock, Tim, being at the bow, gets to watch the cill ledge disappear into the water. When we are lowered down in a lock, I get to see the cill appear out of the water.
After lowering 26 feet down in Lock E-21, we continued on another 1.35 miles to our last lock of the day – Lock E-22. While lowering another 24 feet in Lock E-22, we noticed that the water was very clear. Then, we noticed the zebra muscles clinging to the bottom of the canal wall, squirting out water. Zebra mussels are a small freshwater mussel native to Russia, which were introduced into the Great Lakes in 1986 to help clean up the water. By 1991, they crossed New York State through the Erie Canal and Mohawk River into the Hudson River and now infest the Great Lakes and all major river drainage east of the Rocky Mountains. The pros and cons of zebra mussels are too complicated to discuss in my blog.
After Lock E-22, we had less than an hour before getting to the pier wall at Sylvan Beach. Arriving at around 12:45 PM, we were surprised to see so much boat traffic. Fortunately, there was still space for us on the free pier wall. A nice older couple on the boat in front helped us with our lines. These “free walls” do not have power or water. So, after just tying up, we decided to eat lunch and relax before exploring the town.
Once was began our walk up the pier to town, we realized why there were so many boats and people. It was the annual Pirates Weekend at Sylvan Beach. The Oneida Indian Nation owns the casino and a vacation rental cottage community that have revitalized the town. We had a drink at Harpoon Eddie’s before coming back to HOMES.
While sitting on the back deck working on my blog, the cat on the neighboring boat came over to visit. According to his owner, Lucky likes to check out other people’s boats. So, while Lucky explore HOMES inside and out, Tim and I got to know Lucky’s owners, a Canadian couple who are traveling on a steel boat that they are converting from a working dive boat into a live-aboard. We ended the evening sitting on the back deck, people watching. We even talked with a local woman who was originally from Toledo, OH and knew all about my hometown of Fremont because of the Rutherford B. Hayes Home and Presidential Library.
Saturday, July 20, 2024 – Sylvan Beach, NY (Sylvan Beach Pier) to Brewerton, NY (Ess-Kay Yards)
Today, we were underway 3 hours and 2 minutes, going 22 miles (18.9 nm), at an average speed of 7 MPH (6.2 knots). This is our stop to change oil. Since it Ess-Kay Yards is a boat yard, they will take our used oil for $1.50 a gallon. HOMES takes 17 gallons to change both engines.
We went to the Sylvan Beach Pancake House for breakfast. We ate here 2 years ago and really enjoyed the food and the old building.
After breakfast, we left the pirates behind and took off across Oneida Lake. Three hours later, we docked at Ess-Kay Yards. We are in an 18’ slip, but with the fenders out, HOMES is 18’, so I quickly pulled up the port fenders after the first fender hit the middle piling. Oops. We are used to leaving our fenders out for the canals.
Our friends Chris and Diane on LaRea, who we met last week, are here too. We took our dinghy to Barado’s On the Water. The service was slow, but it doesn’t matter when you are having fun with friends. We made it back before it got too dark
Sunday, July 21, 2024 – Brewerton, NY (Ess-Kay Yards)- Layover day.
Today was a lounging morning, but we got to work in the afternoon. We took the courtesy car 3.4 miles to Walmart. We didn’t really need anything, but when a car presents itself, we like to stock up on the bulky and heavy items that are hard to carry when walking.
The remainder of the afternoon was for changing the oil in the engines. We brought the oil and filters back with us on our last trip home, so we had everything that we needed.
This evening will be spent between LaRea and HOMES. We have never toured each others boats, so we’re going to so that and probably consume some of this alcohol that Canada does not want us to bring over the border.
Our plans next week have us cruising the Thousand Islands in New York and ending the week in Kingston, Ontario, Canada waiting a visit from our friends Tracy and Robb for Tracy’s birthday adventure. Two years ago we took her through the Dismal Swamp and last year was Kelleys Island. We’re looking forward to this year’s adventure!
Thanks for reading!