More than 15 Miles on the Erie Canal - Troy to Brewerton

Wednesday, May 25

We arrived at the Troy city docks late in the day and found lots of other boats there, all waiting for the Champlain and the Erie Canals to open.  The canals have been closed due to very high water and debris.  We heard that the Erie was now open but not the Champlain...lucky for us and unlucky for lots of the others waiting, like this one parked ahead of us.

Unusual name but the boat did look like a Dr.Who baddie

We stayed over an extra day here to unstep our radar mast for the lower bridge clearances ahead.  We also stocked up on our supply of engine oil and bought two big round orange bumpers for the upcoming locks.  Our others were pretty wimpy and we didn't want to have to worry every moment. We look like real 'loopers' now...the Belle even has the distinctive looper 'mustache' which is a yellowish discoloration on the bow where the muddy waters of the ICW stain the paint.

Our mustache doesn't show up very well

NOT our boat but an example of a well developed mustache

We walked around a bit and found an Italian bakery with good bread and biscotti.  I made some spaghetti sauce and we had a good meal.


Friday, May 27

A year ago today we lost Dave O'Donnell and I dedicated my boating day to him.  He would have loved this trip except for the lack of doggies aboard and I'm not sure we could have stocked enough beer for both he and Kerm...

Departed Troy docks at 7:09 and were a little nervous because we'd heard Lock #1 on the Erie was a difficult one in terms of controlling your boat, etc.  Turned out we had no trouble at all.  At Lock #2 we purchased our ten day pass for $37.50 (not bad for so much water being pushed around all over the place). The rest of the day was busy going from lock to lock and by 4:30 we had reached the top of Lock #11.  We had traveled 36.8 n miles in ten hours...so this locking stuff kills your average speed!!!

One of the nice things about these canals is that you can spend the night tied up to the walls above the locks for free.  Here's where we spent our first night...

Lock #11 looking very calm

After we got all tied up, I went across the road looking for a convenience store so I could buy some ice.  Instead, I found a cute little tavern complete with fellow boaters.  Swapped stories for a while, had a Jameson for Dave and then asked the bartender if I could have some ice...he said sure and turned around to fill a cup for me...I whipped out my insulated backpack and said  No, no could you fill this up??  Everyone laughed and I left with my ice...I tipped the bartender, don't worry.


Saturday, May 28

Sunny and humid today and we left early.  At Lock #12 we were held up for an hour and a half because the lockmaster had to drive some other lockmasters to their appointed spots.  We're in no hurry, so no worries.   


We called it a day early because our Waterway Guide said St.Johnsville had a hardware store.  Kerm is concerned about a possible fuel injector leak.  Landed at the town dock at 2:10 after traveling 26.1 nautical miles.  We walked into town and there was the hardware store...closed and looking decidedly decrepit.  Oh, well.

Here's where we stayed...

Bernie, the dockmaster, was kind of crippled up so I didn't have the heart to ask him to come outside for a photo op

We were the only boat here but the campground had lots of RV occupants

Hey, Linda.  Can you launch a boat on the St Croix for two bucks on a holiday weekend????

 I did a load of laundry for entertainment and picked up a new book at the laundry/library.
Went to  bed early...no nightlife in St.Johnsville.


Sunday May 29

Departed at 9:50, very late for us...lazy Sunday morning.

Cute little decorative lighthouse on the way out of the marina

We cleared Lock #16 at 10:25 and went through Little Falls.  It was the cutest town.  I forgot to take any pictures because I was so busy looking around.  Kerm and I wished we had spent the night there rather than with Bernie but ....

We pressed ahead and at Lock #17 there was a big debris field floating in front of the lock gates.  Now, we had been dodging logs and junk for days but this was a huge pile of crud. There wasn't much we could do so we powered up and then coasted through it.  After we were committed, I saw a monstrous log in our path but it was too late to do anything about it.  There was banging and some scraping and then the dang thing popped out behind the back of the boat...horrible.  No damage, thank God, but it sounded awful.  No pictures of this either since I was too busy gulping and praying.

Further on we ran into another looper we'd met at Isle of Hope, Bob on Dreamquest.  We followed him and dodged debris together for the rest of the day.  At 6:30 we pulled up to a landing in Rome that was supposed to have shore power and water...it had neither and all the trash barrels were overflowing.  There were people all over fishing and drinking and I will admit to a little trepidation about our surroundings but it was too late to move elsewhere.  Sometimes you just have to adapt...and lock the doors when you go to bed at night.  There are no pictures of this place because neither Warren not I disembarked.  Use your imagination.

It was humid and hard to get to sleep but big thunderstorms woke me up in the middle of the night and cooled things off.

By the way, I figured out why we may be getting some bum information from the Waterway Guide...Edition 2007....DUH.