Canajoharie, NY to Rome, NY

Stats: Day 8

Travel Time: ~ 9 hours

NM today: 46

NM total: 256

Locks today: 7

Locks total: 20

So now I can say I’ve been to Amsterdam and Rome (New York that is)!  We left Canajoharie around 9:30 a.m.  I got up early and took a shower on the boat; however, the shower stall had collected an assortment of bags and items that had to be relocated first.  Getting organized to be aboard for months is difficult, and I’m still struggling with which things to keep handy, which to hide away, what I wish I’d brought, and what I wish I’d left behind.  As it is turning out, there are not too many items falling into that latter category. 

Every time I think maybe I shouldn’t have brought something, I end up glad I have it.  Today that was the case for my real old work coat that I have kept on the boat for years.  It was bright green and bright orange when I bought it, I’m embarrassed to say, about 20 years ago – a somewhat ghastly combination.  I went to Burlington Coat Factory with my mother and found this jacket.  It was exactly the style I was looking for, and she convinced me I should buy it regardless of the bazaar color combo.  Now it is faded green and faded orange. It’s dirty, ripped, and missing buttons, but I still love it – like an old friend.  It was remarkably cool on the canal today (considering it was so hot and humid yesterday that I was dripping).  Today I needed a jacket, and what did I reach for – my old cuddly friend.  I was so happy it was on board.

Today we navigated 7 locks including the infamous Lock 17 which is a 40 foot lift coming from East to West.  Lock 17 is called a “guillotine” lock due to the way the lock is closed for filling.  The “door” to the lock is raised and lowered.  Boaters entering the lock must go under the door which of course is dripping canal water from just being raised out of the canal.  Having been through guillotine locks before we were prepared for a slight shower!

We have fender boards on our boat for the Erie Canal.  This construct consists of 2 fenders (boat bumpers) tied to a 2x6 plank.  This contraption is then hung off the side of the boat by 4 lines – one for each fender and one for each end of the board.  We have a long fender board in front and a shorter one at the stern. 

Normally we tie up and lock through with fenders and lines on the starboard (right) side of the boat.  However, Lock 17 mandates a port lock through, so between lock 16 and 17, I had to drag each of the fender board contraptions onto the boat, untie the lines, carry them to the port side, tie them back on to the boat rails, and heave them off the side of the boat.  We had approximately 25 minutes between these 2 locks, and I needed almost the whole time to get my lines adjusted and fenders in place.  After passing through Lock 17, I had to go through the procedure in reverse to move everything back to the starboard side.  I told Clark I am building upper body strength by doing all this weight lifting!

Here are a couple of pictures of Lock 17 as well as a video of what it sounds like in a lock waiting for the lock to fill.

Lock 17 with Guillotine-type entryway

Entering Lock 17

Due to all the high waters from rain, the canal is full of trees, stumps, and limbs.  Some are floating obstacles, but many have embedded themselves into the canal waters where they are most definitely not wanted.   The majority of these are off to the side of the canal, some we see are stuck on the waterfalls / spillways, but all too often they are in the main channel.  We must be on constant lookout as they can be anywhere.  Since some of these are trees that have collapsed into the canal, the obstacles can be extremely large.  At one point today, we heard a ‘clunk” and knew we hit something.  I looked out the back of the boat and saw a tree stump which appeared to have newly chopped wood at the exposed end. 

I took the helm from Clark while he went to explore below for damage.  I was relieved when he said that he couldn’t see any water spraying into the bottom of the boat.  He then sped up the boat and went back downstairs to take a look at the propeller shaft at higher speed to see if there was any unusual vibration occurring.  All looks good.  I have to say that I am very happy I wasn’t the one piloting the boat when we hit the stump.  Clark would never trust me to drive again.  

Trees, limbs, and stumps in the canal

Today was much longer than planned.  Our target destination was Utica, NY.  They have water and electric there on the terminal wall with a restaurant and a reasonable-length walk into the city from the dock.  We were disappointed to see when we arrived there that every space (4) was taken, so we had to keep moving to see what we could find further along the canal.  This meant passing through an additional lock beyond what we had planned for the day.  It also meant finding a new place to spend the night. 

One place we stayed in the past apparently is no longer in business, another had reported water depths too shallow for our boat, another had only a picnic table and nothing more to offer, so we kept going and going and going.  We ended up in Rome, NY at Bellamy Park.  It was this or the Lock 21 wall another hour away.  Below you see the picture of the toilet facilities available and the picture of the "fixed dock" at the park.  We understood there to be at least some electric here, but no such luck.  We are definitely roughing it tonight.

Port-o-potty Toilet - that or fill the holding tank!

Bulkhead and Pilings form our fixed dock for the evening

Climbing off the boat looked like an interesting challenge. Clark suggested we go for a stroll around the park after dinner before it got too late and buggy, and I agreed that was a good idea.  To get off the boat I had Clark disembark first.  He then stood on the bulkhead while I climbed over the railing of the boat.  Then he helped me step up onto one of the pilings (only wide enough for one foot) and from there it was a short jump to the park grounds. After our walk I of course had to get back on the boat by doing the reverse procedure.  Clark said, “no problem, right?!” I just smiled.

On our stroll around the park, we found bike trails along the canal.  Clark is excited to take our bikes and go for a bike ride tomorrow morning before we leave here.  If we do that, I'll let him be the one to carry the bikes over our lovely fixed dock to the park!  After that, he'll still have to come back to lend me a hand.  I may be adventurous but I'm not insane.

Tomorrow, Thursday, we cross Oneida Lake which takes almost 3 hours at our normal cruising speed.  It can be rough later in the day when the winds pick up, so we need to get to the lake in the morning.  We are about one hour from the next lock (Lock 21) and then another 15 minutes to Lock 22 which is just before Oneida Lake.  Each lock takes about 20 to 30 minutes to get through depending on how fast they fill / empty the lock.  If the lock is full when we arrive, we have to wait while they empty it before they open the doors for us to enter.  Then, of course, we wait while they fill it with us inside before eventually heading on our way. 

Between lock times and lake-crossing times, we’re in for another long day.  I’m concerned that our next destination may be packed with other “loopers”, so we are going to call ahead to make a reservation if possible.  Our next stop, hopefully, will be a full-service marina so a reservation should be possible as long as they have space.  The lock walls like in Utica are first-come-first-serve basis only, so we were out of luck today.