The Sterling Lady
On the
Erie Canal
7/12/2011
The first 2 miles of the Erie Canal we will go thru 4 locks.
The Lockmasters had the gates open and ready for us.
This is a picture of my latest invention. The Captain Sterling's Patent Pending, hook the boat up to the cable amidships Loop!
A lot of the locks have a rubber coated cable that you hook you boat up to amidships with a loop, and is slides up and down the cable with your boat. If you use just a piece of line, it tend to catch and jerk.
To make one, take a shore piece of line, loop one end, then slide a 3 ft. piece of water hose over the line.
The Water hose allows the line to travel up and down the cable without catching.
Feel free to plagiarize this, it actually works good.
The locks and work boats of the New York
Canal system are all painted these colors.
This is a floating working barracks.
As we approach a gard gate , we go thru one of the many man made parts of the Erie.
Lock 7
Lock Walls are damp, dirty, and muddy!
Our fender covers are getting filthy, and torn.
It's the price you pay for the erie.
ONe of the fender covers was torn loose, so the first mate washed it down before putting it back on. It was really dirty!
We had to wait a bit for lock 8.
Lock 8 has a free dock with electric.
Today the winds were gusting to 30. This unlucky boater ended up sideways in the lock.
The $1 a foot marina at Amsterdam.
We chose the free dock at lock 11 , with electric. HOwever...
this view from our aft deck shows how close we were to the trains.
Our view from the other side made up for it.
7/14/2001
We cruised for a while with Lady Royal.
We planned to stop at the Cannajohorie Docks, but the pool had been lowered to repair a dam, so the dock was too shallow.
So we at Lock 14.s free dock, still in Cannajohorie.
The Erie Canal was much narrower on this streatch. I still can't get used to the mountains in the background
The New York State Canal Sytem had thier boys dredging just east of these lift gates.
The approach to Little Falls was Gorgeous!!
The Lock at Little Falls is the only on in the system that gate lifts up. We will be lifted about 40 ft.
This is lock at the lower level
and this is us at the top.
Right on the edge of the canal are the cliffs that are used to climb and repell on.
Yes that's a rooftop of a house. We are cruising with hills and cliffs on one side, and a valley on the other. Basically, we are cruising on the side of a mountain, 300 ft above sea level!!!
The Little Falls Canal Harbor only chages $1 , with electric and water and walkable to the town.
Back home in Key Largo, that would be two Jet Ski's on a trailer , not two snowmobiles!
The Town of 6,000 people is on the side of a huge hill, overlooking the canal.
Drinks at the American Legion were $2.25, up the street at local bar they were $3.
I think I like this town!!
The next morning provided us with glass smoth waters.
The lowest bridge clearance on the Erie Canal is 15 ft. 6 inches. It was time for me to take down the anchor lite, the TV digital antenna, and the radar, so I did and bungied the radar dome to the generator. We are now 14 ft. 10 inches high.
The Erie Canal Dredges don't use day shapes to tell you which side to pass on, they use arrows.
7/17/2011
It was a short run to Hermirker, N.Y. where we stopped at the Free Dock behind the GEM store and restuarant. It was time to re stock the supplies.
AFter breakfast at McDonalds, a $300 stop at Wall Mart, and a $6 taxi ride back to the boat with supplies, we were back "on the road"
A very strange looking RR bridge just before lock 18, witch will put us 404 ft above sea level
Lots of low bridges as we approach Rome N.Y.
Finally, I can say I have been in Marcy!!
Lock 20, tonites home, has a floating free dock with electric
Free Docks aren't always the best. This one was flimsy, floating, no cleats , and the one shore power outlet was on shore. I had to run the cord thru the tree to keep it out of the water.
7/17/2011
One of the many flood gates we will go under. What are the arrows for??
Easy Navigating!
There are very few other boaters on the Erie this trip.
This part of the canal is straight as an arrow.
Lock 21, our first down dock since entering the canal, will drop us 24 ft.
The free docks at Sylvan Beach are very popular on weekends.
oh Look! its the Admiral, and she has found us a bar! What are the odds?
This sign was outside the bar. This mayor has my vote.
A local Party boat, in party mode.
Sylvan Beach has a canival, that has been there since 1948. It was like going back in time to the same carnvals I went to as a kid in the 50's.
All the rides and game are pretty much original, 1950 vintage.
So I showed off for the Admiral, and won her several valuable stuff annimal prizes, worth at least two maybe three dollars, and it only cost me about $20 to do it.
see the valuable prizes??
