finally bought my trawler

Swift34

Ok quick question not sure I'm in the right forum...

The boat is on lake Erie, I need to get it to st-Paul ils aux noix in Quebec. (border city right up on US border/lake champlain)

Ok so do I bring her back from the Erie canal to troy then up the Hudson to Lake Champlain and then cross the lake to it's destination.

Or through Lake Ontario , St Laurence seaway through Montreal to Sorel then the Chambly canal system to finally get to st-Paul ?

shortest route ?

thanks for any thoughts

Welcome. ... Interesting boat. ... Unfortunately, have no local knowledge to answer your questions.

markpierce said:

Welcome. ... Interesting boat. ... Unfortunately, have no local knowledge to answer your questions.

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I doing research and the Erie canal seems to be a 7 to 8 day trip , So it looks like it's through Lake Ontario and the St-Laurence Seaway.

Depends on the time you have available. I'm sure crossing Erie to the Erie Canal and up the Hudson is the shortest, easiest route, but if you have the time, I'd be tempted to sail up the Detroit River, across Huron into Georgian Bay, across the Trent Severn into Lake Ontario and up the St. Lawrence. Make it an adventure. Might be a bit much of a debut though...

You'll have to contend with commercial traffic in the Welland Canal and the St. Lawrence. I believe the big boys get priority, and may cause delays. Not sure about the red tape for private boats in the Welland.

You might also consider jumping on the Erie canal from Buffalo to central NY, then head up the Oswego River, cutting across Ontario to the Thousand Islands and up the St. Lawrence. That's what I'd do.

You really won't have to worry about weather if you take the Erie canal, and there are lots of free or cheap places to stop for the night. It's more locks, but not generally very congested.

Congratulations on the new boat, by the way!

I've been through the Welland both ways and down the St. Lawrence. There really isn't much red tape involved, and going down is the easy direction. The biggest problem was having to lock through the Welland with a bunch of really drunk powerboaters. In the up direction we took a friends advice and went through in the middle of the night, all by ourselves.

Congrats on your new boat.

Do not miss crossing the Rideau Canal to Ottawa and down to Montreal, this would be an unforgettable memories for a new boat trip, how do I know? Well did it and just cannot say how much we loved it!

L

Wayfarer said:

You might also consider jumping on the Erie canal from Buffalo to central NY, then head up the Oswego River, cutting across Ontario to the Thousand Islands and up the St. Lawrence. That's what I'd do.

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That's what I was going to suggest as well.

Check your air draft on the new boat - Western end of the Erie canal and Champlain canal both have sub-17' bridges. If you can make it under them (and have time), it's a wonderful trip-not to be missed!

Thanks for all the good words. My priority is time which I don't have much of, from my research the Erie canal end to end is like 7 to 8 days. So it's looks like I'll be doing the Welland canal system (Eric to lake Ontario) then crossing the Ontario lake to the st-Laurence sea way and home.

Enjoy the trip! I think the Welland canal stories of drunken boaters is over exaggerated. I've been through there multiple times and know that the Canadian lock operators don't put up with shenanigans. Too much is on the line for them. Always been a professional operation. Pilots and lock operators would stop a drunk boater in a minute.

Sailor of Fortune said:

... the Canadian lock operators don't put up with shenanigans...

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Can confirm.