Albany To Finger Lakes Erie Canal

[Zoar]

This forum is wonderful, I just have to start this thread by saying! ...I have been helped so much and have gleaned a "boatful" of useful information.

Our boat is now in a repair yard on the hard and is getting some rudder post etc work done in the Albany NY area on the HUDSON RIVER in NY state.

The work is slated to be completed to coincide wth the opening of the last two remaining locks that are still closed along the eastern side of the Erie Canal that we will need to negotiate to bring the boat from Albany to Ithaca on Cayuga Lake of the Finger Lakes here in NY state.

These two final locks on the re-opening schedule are slated to open AUG 7th.

We would like a captain or someone familiar with these first locks on the Erie (Hudson River junction) and Erie Canal travel overall to accompany us when we leave Albany and negotiate the first two days of locks.

We hope to leave the yard on August 7th or right after and as close to Aug 7th as possible. Assume 2 days but it could be 3 days. Thank you for your interest.

 

[bgillroy]

Stay well below the locks .... Water surge is impressive . Don't get caught in the whirling pools near chambers. Otherwise have lines and all gear ready and follow LM instructions.

 

[rslifkin]

Another tip is that if traffic allows, give it a minute after they open the doors before exiting. There's usually some swirl around the doors from them moving through the water. Not a huge deal, but steering out of the lock is easier if you wait for it to dissipate.

 

[ColonyCove]

Fenders. Use lots of fenders on both sides of your boat. We usually left them hanging, because you can never tell when a lockmaster will direct you to either a starboard or port lock through. Only a few sections of the canal allow higher speeds anyway, so it is no problem to let them hang. Some boats even use fender boards, although I have always thought these to be a problem to deploy, retrieve, and store compared to single hanging fenders so long as you have enough out.

 

[alormaria]

At a Trawlerfest one year long ago, a husband and wife were giving their impressions of the Loop; specifically going through locks. The wife said the first lock was scary but they went slow and the lockmaster walked them through the process. The second lock was less scary but they went slow and careful and followed the lockmaster's instructions. The next 148 locks were just boring.



We did the 100 locks of the little loop and she was right.

 

[High Wire]

Pick up a Bobs Erie Canal Guide at the Waterford town dock or online. Its helpful to know what kind of tie up available in each lock ahead of time. Our favorite was "P" for Pipe, or "C" for cable. You just loop a line around behind and let it slide up as you lift. The hanging lines are ok for short lifts but you move around a lot on bigger lifts. The guide also has the table of clearances if you are close.
2nd the suggestion to leave fenders on both sides. When you least expect it the lock master will have you tie up on the opposite side because a valve is broken or such. Wear your "Lock Bling" proudly. LOL
PS, if you can dock to a long floating dock or bulkhead, then you can handle the locks. One thought on single screw boats, on your first few locks stop your progress while you are out in the middle then bump in gear to move over to the wall. My first lock I came in a little hot. Prop walk does work very well. I ended up popping a 10X30 fender on the stern quarter. OOOPPPSS!

 

[Bacchus]

Agree cables and pipes are better especially if available for the windward end.
With loose lines it helps to walk them to the oppisite side of bow or stern and/or to take a half wrap on a cleat and keep tension on the line.
Little Falls is the highest lift and last time through they were all loose lines.

 

[Flatswing]

locks are pretty intimidating to those who haven't experienced them but easy after the first 1 or 2. While u wait for the final 2 locks to open, why not drive over to one of the locks on the Erie canal? 1/2 day on a nice weekend watching folks lock through, you will quickly learn all the pitfalls, as well as the optimal way to lock through & often quite entertaining!

The commonest error is the crew on the bow keeps pulling the lock line in so tightly that the stern keeps kicking out - often easiest to handle lock lines from stern and slightly forward of midships.

The Erie canal usually has lock lines secured at the top of the chamber but loose at the bottom so you need gloves to hold these lines (Zebra mussels can be quite sharp). By contrast, the Canadian Heritage canals (TSW, Rideau etc.) have cables secured at the top & bottom of the chamber so you loop your mooring lines around their cables and let it slide up or down the cable.

 

[rslifkin]

When we did the Erie, other than grabbing a pipe in the Troy lock (no drop lines), we just did drop lines the rest of the way. As Bacchus pointed out, they don't give the best control in the taller locks, but it kept the process consistent and with 3 of us, it was easy.

On a 40-ish foot boat, it's easy to line up for a person on the bow to grab one drop line and someone on the stern to grab the next one. And if the lock isn't crowded, allowing a bit of movement is no big deal.

I also found that for pipes or cables, it worked best to use a line on the midship cleat only, not taking it aft. The recess around the pipe / cable tends to snag the line if you've got too much angle.

Fender-wise, we used balls, both large (18") at the waterline and smaller (12") right under the gunwales. That setup worked well both for the locks and tying to walls overnight, as no part of the boat could hit unless we pivoted the bow way too far in. And the ball fenders slide well against the rough lock walls.

 

[boatpoker]

Agree cables and pipes are better especially if available for the windward end.
With loose lines it helps to walk them to the oppisite side of bow or stern and/or to take a half wrap on a cleat and keep tension on the line.
Little Falls is the highest lift and last time through they were all loose lines.

My wife took a half wrap and when she let go the 12" piece of pipe on the end of the line got caught in the cleat. It let go under high tension. Her leg looked like someont took a chunk out with an icecream scoop. She won't be doing that again.

 

[boatpoker]

It is a very easy trip. Take a look here for some of our photos of what to expect.

Cruising New York State Canal System, Erie, Cayuga, Seneca

PS. I'm waiting for the Oswego lock to open (Aug 10th supposedly) so I can pick up a 46' Grand Banks in Albany and deliver it to Toronto.

 

[Bacchus]

My wife took a half wrap and when she let go the 12" piece of pipe on the end of the line got caught in the cleat. It let go under high tension. Her leg looked like someont took a chunk out with an icecream scoop. She won't be doing that again.

Is does require constant vigil to prevent problems.
Our cruising friends did the same in the Flight going down to Troy and quick acting Capt had to cut the line as we were still going down.
Lock staff replaced with new lines the day before but not being boaters and little attention to old lines they were a good 6 ft too short!

 

[Zoar]

Finished the trip. Boat is happily in Cayuga Lake. A number of locks had floating trees and debris in them. Made it extra challenging especially in LOCK 17, The BIG ONE, we were in there with 4 other boats including a 1.4 MILLION dollar 70 foot yacht. Trees got under our boat. we were jammed in there pretty tightly. They couldn't get the lock doors to seat. Tried 4 times. it took about a half hour in very hot weather with all those diesels spewing BEFORE the door seated and the lock began to fill. In no hurry to do locks for a while. Glad we are here on the lake. Locks are a necessary aspect of getting across NY state. But I would not say enjoyable.

 

[boatpoker]

Finished the trip. Boat is happily in Cayuga Lake. A number of locks had floating trees and debris in them. Made it extra challenging especially in LOCK 17, The BIG ONE, we were in there with 4 other boats including a 1.4 MILLION dollar 70 foot yacht. Trees got under our boat. we were jammed in there pretty tightly. They couldn't get the lock doors to seat. Tried 4 times. it took about a half hour in very hot weather with all those diesels spewing BEFORE the door seated and the lock began to fill. In no hurry to do locks for a while. Glad we are here on the lake. Locks are a necessary aspect of getting across NY state. But I would not say enjoyable.

We also came through a couple of days ago in a 46 Grand Banks we delivered to Port Credit, ON. The trees and aquaculture were the worst I've seen in 30 yrs.

 

[ScottC]

Make sure that each person handling lines has SHARP knife handy - just in case a line gets stuck. Not cutting a stuck line immediately risks disaster! Don't be alarmed by this statement - it's simply about safety and being prepared. We've been through ~1500 locks over the years and only had to resort to "the knife" once.


We use something like this:
https://www.westmarine.com/buy/west...ike-and-straight-blade--15787005?recordNum=25

 

[Zoar]

we have 2 fixed blade "diving knives". And yes sensible advice! Thank you.

 

[alormaria]

Yes. The Erie's lock 17 is a biotch.

 

[rslifkin]

Yes. The Erie's lock 17 is a biotch.

I've heard the stories, but when I did it last year, I got to the end and just wondered "why the heck did I leave the engines running?". It was just 40 minutes of slowly creeping upward with nowhere near the turbulence some have reported. Not sure if they were having an issue or not, but the lockmaster claimed that he was filling at full speed.

 

[boatpoker]

I've heard the stories, but when I did it last year, I got to the end and just wondered "why the heck did I leave the engines running?". It was just 40 minutes of slowly creeping upward with nowhere near the turbulence some have reported. Not sure if they were having an issue or not, but the lockmaster claimed that he was filling at full speed.

Most of the time it's an easy ride. Give it a few days of heavy rain and things change dramatically.

 

[Zoar]

I guess I just found the whole process of slowly getting in the locks, the waiting, the jockeying with other boats, the waiting, the turbulence during fill or lowering, the smell, the oppressive smell of engines all idling, the waiting, the moving around of the boat as it raises or lowers, the awful smell from all the motors idling, the waiting, the waiting some more ---- to be overall quite unappealing.

 

[rslifkin]

Run the locks during a less crowded time and it'll be much more pleasant. It's nice and easy when you're alone or have 1 other boat in there with you. I've also noticed that boats in the 35+ feet range tend to leave engines running (I typically did, although if I'd known how long E17 was going to take I would have shut down). Smaller boats seemed to typically shut down and then restart when the doors were starting to open. Getting pushed around a little is less of an issue with a fairly empty lock too, as you've got more space to play with (so no need to stay exactly in place).

 

[Zoar]

Yeah, it was NOT awful.

Just not what I would call appealing.

Getting from point A to point B necessity is about right.

 

[alormaria]

The problem we encountered in Lock 17 was mainly that we had to come in port side to the wall. In my boat I can't see the port side from the flybridge and can't get to the port side easily from the lower helm. My prop walk pulls the stern to starboard when reversing which helped in all the other locks and was a pain in this lock.



Aside from that it's just a big lock with a very unruly flood gate. It's either all on or all off so no smooth fill like all the other locks. We were alone in the lock and the lockmaster went over everything beforehand and were not novices by this time.



No one died. Nothing was broken. My daughter barely looked up from her book.

But it was not boring.

 

[Zoar]

HA! Indeed. Not boring. Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" wasn't boring, too.