3°14′36″ N  76°9′34″ W

Aug 15 – Brewerton, NY

Last night we had a mom and her 8 kids visit us at the dock looking for handouts. Catherine naturally obliged with handfuls of (cooked) Minute Rice and Special K cereal.

We got up at 5:30am this morning to cross Lake Oneida. The early morning weather forecast was good but rain and higher winds were predicted for the afternoon so we wanted to make the 21 mile crossing as soon as possible. While we were pulling away from the dock I used the bow thruster to help us clear the boat in front of us and as soon as I hit the bow thruster button the computer and our navigation system shut down. Oh, oh!

We moved ahead to another open space on the dock wall and tied up again so I could find out what was causing this to happen. I figured out pretty quickly that our “house” batteries were almost dead because we did not have any shore power the night before and the batteries were discharged from running the bilge pump and refrigerator all night. Those same batteries power the 12 to 120 volt inverter we use to run the laptop and monitor. So, as soon as I put a heavy load on the batteries the inverter would shut down because of low voltage. The solution to the problem was to not use the bow thruster until the engine had a few hours to charge up the batteries.

Once we got underway we crossed Lake Oneida in very calm waters.

We took the photo below late yesterday afternoon on the way to Sylvan Beach. Being able to experience moments like this help to motivate me to do the other stuff that gets us there.

The other stuff includes me crawling into the engine compartment around 6:30 every morning to check the oil, engine coolant and transmission fluid levels.

But it’s not all that bad – & if I look after those things then they will look after us.

When we arrived in Brewerton at the other end of the lake we tied up at one of the Town’s courtesy docks to take a closer look at our power issues.

While we were there one of the locals came along and struck up a conversation with us. He was particularly interested in our boat because of it’s current name “Scott Free” – and his first name is Scott. He is also a boater.

We explained our situation to Scott and he generously offered to drive us anywhere we wanted to go in town for spare parts, food provisions, etc. Who could turn down an offer like that?!
Scott took us to the local Walmart and we managed to find everything we were looking for there. By the time we got back to the boat it was almost lunch time so we took Scott out for lunch at the restaurant beside the boat dock.

We had a great lunch and spent some time comparing boating adventures. I’ve said it many times before – one of my favourite things about boating is all the nice people you get to meet along the way.

After all of our early morning electrical troubles we decided to make a short day of it and we also had decided that we would stay in the Erie Canal system all the way to Buffalo instead of heading to Oswego and into Lake Ontario.

So, once lunch was over we said our goodbyes to Scott and cast off and headed up the river to a nearby marina called Winter Haven Marina which is just outside of the Town of Brewerton.

The canal route to Buffalo and into Lake Erie is much shorter than the Lake Ontario route and it also eliminates the need for us to travel through the Welland Canal and its locks. While that segment of the trip would be interesting it would also take us several days longer and we are not able to go into the Welland system unless there are at least 3 people on board the boat.

The only “downside” of taking the Erie Canal route to Buffalo is that there are several fixed bridges with a height of 15.5 feet or even a bit lower, if water levels are high. That requires us to take down our bimini because with the bimini up our height above the water is exactly 15.5 feet. So, the bimini came down.

Our little boat with the bimini down – seen bow on

Our boat seen from the stern. It’s gonna be hot up there without any shade!

Tomorrow we cast off again – Buffalo bound! It should take us 3 – 4 days to get there.

Cheers!

43°12′8″ N 75°43′34″ W
Aug 14 – Sylvan Beach, NY

We left Little Falls at 7:30am this morning headed for a series of 5 locks – 3 lifting us up & the final 2 lowering us down.

I have 2 chartplotters running on the flybridge at all times. My main source of info is from Tiki Navigator which is installed on my laptop & the 2nd unit is a marine Garmin unit. Both systems are good but I have learned to trust Tiki more than the Garmin.

The photo below of the screen on the Garmin shows me running over land …. not a good idea on a boat …. talk about running aground!

A few miles later we were in the canal running parallel to the Mohawk River – which is not navigable in this area.

Tiki shows our location….

Garmin (at the same time) – in the other channel!

Tiki wins first prize for accuracy!

On our route today we encountered a few work crews dredging the canal.

It was interesting to see them doing their thing….

In one location a bottom dredger was sucking mud out of the bottom of the canal & pumping it over the bank of the canal into settling ponds/spoil areas & in other areas excavators were loading the muck into barges because there were no spoil areas close enough nearby for pumping.

Tugs were taking full barges away and bringing empty ones to fill.

Good to see these people at work ’cause that means we have much less chance of running aground!

It was a beautiful day to travel on the canal… next to no wind & sunny, but not excessively hot. Our trip on the canal today reminded us a lot of our narrowboat adventure last fall in England.

We are now tied up on a canal wall at the end of Lake Oneida. We will travel 20 miles to the other end of the lake tomorrow morning & enter back into the Erie Canal System. The screenshot below shows our location relative to Lake Ontario, Toronto, etc.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) is a big decision day for us. After we leave Lake Oneida we have to choose between going on to Oswego, NY & into Lake Ontario or to continue in the Erie Canal system to Buffalo & then into Lake Erie. Each route has its advantages & disadvantages.

Check back tomorrow to find out which way we will go – we don’t even know ourselves yet!

Cheers!

43°2′9″ N 74°51′57″ W

Aug 13 – Little Falls, NY

We left Amsterdam yesterday (Sunday) morning at 7:30 & headed towards Little Falls. We were still not sure of how far we would get because we had to pass through several more locks & they could go quickly or slow us down if there were other boats ahead of us using the locks too. As it turned out, we went through each lock with no delays.

Catherine & I were the lead boat today & Kim & Judy on board their boat “Trust Me Too” followed our “path”

We saw several eagles today & even saw one swoop down right in front of us & catch a fish in it’s talons.

Kim & Judy took the lead boat position as we entered the last lock for the day – & it was a “biggie” – lifting us 40 feet in one shot.

This lock was also very interesting because it’s lower end has a massive guillotine gate that rises straight up (rather that the swing gates at all of the other locks).

Entering the lock was like going through the massive fortress gates in the Lord of the rings movies. Thankfully the lock master gave us a gentle ride up & we were soon back in the sunlight.

We stopped for the day at a small community marina in Little Falls. The place is cooperatively run by the Town & the local Rotary Club. It is a great place to stop with really friendly hosts, very reasonable dock fees, super clean bathrooms & showers, a small laundry & a club room. It’s one of the nicest spots we’ve encountered on our entire trip from Jacksonville.

At the marina we met another couple, Robert & Mora who were traveling in the opposite direction (towards Florida) on a sailboat that they bought in Georgian Bay, Ontario!

Our goal for Monday is to make it to the entrance to Lake Oneida. Kim & Judy liked Little Falls so much that they decided to stay another day – so we bid them adieu & who knows, we may see them somewhere else along the way.

Cheers!

42.9377° N, 74.1904° W

Aug 12 – Amsterdam, NY

We left Waterford at 7:00am Saturday morning. The first series of locks were immediately in front of us, so it was less than a 5 minute trip from the dock until we were inside the lock & ready to lift.

There was another boat in front of us & they entered the lock at the same time.

The Waterford Flight includes a series of 5 locks that lifts (or lowers) boats a total of 169 feet in less than 2 miles. It is claimed the only series of locks in the world to accomplish this elevation change in such a short distance.

Catherine liked going through these locks because all we had to do was keep the boat steady while the lockmaster opened & closed the gates & filled the locks. This was pretty easy compared to all the work she had to do on the locks during our narrow boat canal trip in England last fall.

We went through a total of eight locks and covered about 38 nm distance. Each lock had a dam close by & once the boat reached its top elevation it was easy to appreciate how much we had risen.

We stopped for the night at a small marina along the river in Amsterdam. By the time we got secured the sky was clouding over heavily & it poured rain for about an hour.

We introduced ourselves to the folks who were traveling in the trawler ahead of us all day. Kim & Judy are from Fort Myers FL & started an extended cruise this past April.

Today we will go through several more locks that are spread out along the Mohawk River & try to get another 35-40 miles distance covered.

Cheers!

42°46′58″ N 73°40′22″ W

Aug 10-11 – Waterford Welcome Center

(photo below copied from Waterway Guide – much better than the one I could take 😉).

We arrived at Waterford Welcome Center at 6:30pm on Thursday evening & spent Friday doing boat chores & being tourists.

Waterford’s Welcome Center offers great value. Visitors can tie up on the dock just below the lock for free for up to 48 hours.We tied up near the end of the dock, closest to lithe lock gates.

If you want electrical service that’s only $10 per stay & they also offer access to clean washrooms & showers!

This is a smart strategy for the Town to encourage boaters to stay longer in the town being tourists (& spending money).

We had a great breakfast at Don & Paul’s Cafe, a local restaurant on Waterford’s main street & then we walked along a trail that followed the old canal system to the new lock.

This part of the canal system is no longer in use

but it reminded us a lot of the narrow boat canals that we travelled on in England last fall.

After our brief hike along the trails we walked to a nearby grocery store & picked up some more supplies. Then Catherine did the laundry on board – the old fashioned way – in a wash bucket… (pink job)

and I changed the engine oil… (blue job)

… the glamour & excitement of the boating life is unlimited!

Following our “pink & blue” chores we hit the showers & then BBQ’d hamburgers for supper.

Welcome Center Volunteers put on a movie night in front of the Welcome Center & we watched Alfred Hitchcock’s “The Birds” movie.

We have experienced a lot of great hospitality at marinas & towns during our journey from Jacksonville, however, Waterford, NY is at the top of our list for places to stop, value & community spirit.