TI: Erie Canal - Guy Park Lock 11 to Lock 19 Wall

Depart: Guy Park, Amsterdam, NY 8:40
Arrive: Lock 19 wall, Schuyler, NY 5:30
Distance: 48 nm
Locks: 8 (E-12 to E-19)


Our second day on the Erie Canal was a long one with lots of work associated with locking. Fortunately we picked up a Canal Resource booklet at Waterford. In it, we find useful information like the time between locks at the specified speed limits of each section. Using this data, I could figure out when to make and eat lunch.

Lock 12 Historic Marker
(We had a picture of the first bridge over the Hudson in
the Waterford blog entry.)

Frequent Smell of Cow on the Erie
Here's one reason why!

A sign at Lock 17 says "... one of the tallest lift locks in the world". The entry to Lock 17 is a guillotine door. Having been here before, I knew to run for cover to get out of the way of the water that falls from the door. For Lock 17, I had to move all my fenders from starboard to port as only port-side locking is allowed here.

Entry door up at Lock 17

In lock. Door coming down behind us.

Waiting for lock to begin filling

At top! Getting ready to exit Lock 17.

Scenes along the Erie today ...

We passed Little Falls today - known for antiques.
(We stopped here once many years ago to explore the town.)

Little Falls - Art and Antiques

Erie Canal Tour Boat
People taking pictures of our boat as we took a picture of them!

Herkimer - 50 Stores!
(50 Stalls maybe but this building is too small for 50 stores!)

Ilion Marina

Sign advertising Remington at Ilion Marina

One of Dozens of Trees along the Erie Canal
with Pale Green Leaves - Strikingly pretty!

We did not have time to get through Lock 20 tonight, so we stopped right after exiting Lock 19. The locks stop operation at 7:00 a.m. but stop at 5:00 p.m. We arrived at Lock 19 at 4:45. The lock tender said he knew we were coming so he waited for us. While he adjusted the water level in the lock to allow us in, I once more moved my fenders from starboard to port. Yet again, we found a lock with a faulty valve forcing a port side lock through. Yet again, we had no warning in advance. Had we known I would not have moved the fenders from port to starboard after we left Lock 17.

We exited the Lock at 5:20 and headed straight for the wall to stay for the night. Docking on the lock wall presented a challenge. Rings used for lines appeared sporadically with bollards set way back from the wall. Very short lines hanging from the rings provided the only thing available for me to grab to help get the boat tied up.

Having tried a couple of options, Clark finally managed to get the lines on to his satisfaction. After settling in at the lock wall, we decided to take a self-guided tour of the area starting with an exploration of the lock itself.

Train Trestle over the Erie Canal at Lock 19 

View of Lock from our boat

Tracks running beside the Lock

Example of Sign at each Lock
Stats of current lock and distances to locks on either side

At dock on the wall at Lock 19

A peak of Sunset Delight from the picnic area on the opposite side of the canal.

As part of our tour of the area, we walked up to Route 5 and down a ways to see the Produce Market located there. Since it was so late in the day, everything was closed up tight.

Sign at end of street leading to Lock 19

Tripple's Produce

Beautifully Landscaped Flower Display
complete with Wheel Barrow and Watering Can
(Photo does not do it justice)

Sunset at Lock 19 on the Erie Canal