zschweter
New Member
- Nov 4, 2009
- 17
- Boat Info
- 1983 SeaRay 270 DA Sundancer
- Engines
- 330 Mercruiser w/ velvet 2 transmission and a 2-TR out drive
anyone boat the erie canal before?
Erie Canal
- Thread starter zschweter
- Start date
yes.. we had our boat hauled to Hudson at albany from Boston, up the erie to lake ontario.. great trip... than water route back to Boston..buy the erie crusing guide.. great help... search the forum.. a lot of info here on the this trip as well..
S
Summer Fun II
Guest
I do a lot of boating on the canal. Thats the only way i can get off of Oneida Lake to go anywheres. Why do you ask ?. :smt001
connie garcy
Member
Great boating on the canal. We live on the Oswego Canal which goes out onto Lake Ontario. Purchased our boat in 2006 in New Hamberg, NY - up the Hudson to the begining of the Canal all the way thru Oneida Lake to our marina in Clay, NY. The trip was about 3 days taking our time.
Clam Bake
Member
Two summers ago, I took a nice trip from Albany to Lake Ontario using the Erie canal. It was nice scenery and everyone was very friendly and helpful at the locks. I then continued up to Montreal, down to Lake Champlain and down the Champlain canal - so there is plenty of places to visit using the NY canal system. I purchased a very useful NY canal guide at the following site, http://www.nyscanals.gov/, it covers both the Erie canal and the Champlain canal (and several other NY canals as well). There is plenty of info in the guide to make yourself a good travel plan.
Regards, Pete.
Regards, Pete.
Progress
New Member
I have transited the canal between Tonawandas and Waterford twice a year for the last 4 years. It is one of my favorite parts of the "commute" between Charleston and Toledo. It's well run and maintained. The staff are generally very helpful and efficient. The scenery is varied and beautiful, I especially love the Mohawk River. I just was thru there the last week in October, and the colors were magnificent.
Last edited:
unklbuck
New Member
progress
where do you stay in charleston? and you make the toledo-charleston roundtrip every year? winter in CHS or TOL?
where do you stay in charleston? and you make the toledo-charleston roundtrip every year? winter in CHS or TOL?
Greg
Active Member
Made a trip out that way this year, it was a lot of fun. Check out the link below...
http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23161
We actually went all the way to Canada.
http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=23161
We actually went all the way to Canada.
Progress
New Member
I summer in Toledo and winter in Charleston. I stayed in the City Marina for the first couple of years. Last year and this I'll be in the Bristol, when I get there. The boat is in Norfolk right now, and I'm in Toledo taking care of some business. I'll resume the migration next week. Mid winter I try to take some time and explore on south where it's a little warmer.
zschweter
New Member
- Nov 4, 2009
- 17
- Boat Info
- 1983 SeaRay 270 DA Sundancer
- Engines
- 330 Mercruiser w/ velvet 2 transmission and a 2-TR out drive
sorry for the tardy response - one deadline after the next - and then it's 3 months later...
I am getting back into boating after a 5 yr. hiatus - and bought a SeaRay 270 1983 in Schenectady - and will be moving it down to City Island in June - and at the time of the original post was wondering about a lot of the logistics - like places to drop a hook, provisioning, gas docks, marinas, etc... - - i saw the cruising guide - however this is a one time trip (at least for a while) and the better information for me - other than the chart book i just bought - are stories and information from those of you that have boated down this canal before and items of information that are not covered in books/guides is what I'm interested in.
I am getting back into boating after a 5 yr. hiatus - and bought a SeaRay 270 1983 in Schenectady - and will be moving it down to City Island in June - and at the time of the original post was wondering about a lot of the logistics - like places to drop a hook, provisioning, gas docks, marinas, etc... - - i saw the cruising guide - however this is a one time trip (at least for a while) and the better information for me - other than the chart book i just bought - are stories and information from those of you that have boated down this canal before and items of information that are not covered in books/guides is what I'm interested in.
zschweter
New Member
- Nov 4, 2009
- 17
- Boat Info
- 1983 SeaRay 270 DA Sundancer
- Engines
- 330 Mercruiser w/ velvet 2 transmission and a 2-TR out drive
I do a lot of boating on the canal. Thats the only way i can get off of Oneida Lake to go anywheres. Why do you ask ?. :smt001
What's Oneida Lake like? - What are the nearby towns with shopping, restaurants and a pulse? I actually perused the shores of Oneida on Zillow earlier this week as i found it interesting on the map.
S
Summer Fun II
Guest
Take a look on this site .http://sylvanbeach.org/ .
You can get to everything from the canal wall by walking. :smt001
Its a partying village in the summer :smt038
You can get to everything from the canal wall by walking. :smt001
Its a partying village in the summer :smt038
- Oct 31, 2009
- 3,455
- Boat Info
- 1992 370 ec
- Engines
- twin cummins 6bta's 300 hp
Rl80 pathfinder radar/chartplotter,SH 2150 matrix vhf w/ais
quicksilver 8
yes did it in 04 19 day trip from monroe mi to ithica ny by way of erie canal from tonawanda on and back.nice trip stayed alongsides a couple nights three nights in tonawanda for fireworks and to bring down radar arch on my 40 silverton convertible and of course the big ass storm.stayed at state docks in ithica for 5 days and went to see local falls and toured cornell university as step doaughter was there for phd at the time.there are a great deal of wineries around also with docks aqnd restraunts ,we skipped those i dont drink nor did my wife.Have fun if you go .:smt001
zschweter
New Member
- Nov 4, 2009
- 17
- Boat Info
- 1983 SeaRay 270 DA Sundancer
- Engines
- 330 Mercruiser w/ velvet 2 transmission and a 2-TR out drive
Ithaca is a fun town for people watching - we have a friend that works for Cornell... I'm going in the other direction though - from Schenectady to NYC - i'm trying to get a good sense of things to expect from other people's experiences and tips or "do's" and "don'ts" - thank you - i liked your story...
my3sons
Well-Known Member
- Feb 24, 2009
- 3,046
- Boat Info
- 2004 400DB, Onan 9 kw Generator, Highfield RIB,
- Engines
- Cummins 6CTA M-3
Hello,
We made the trip from Stratford Ct to Buffalo NY last May. As others have said, it was a great trip, but here are a couple things that you might want to look out for, or plan ahead for.
The leg from Liberty Landing to Albany was very scenic, but the Hudson was packed with striper fishermen. Saw some really good ones being landed, watch your wake. If your not familiar with the river, stay in the marked channels and know that the fishermen will be sharing those channels with you.
The federal lock at Troy was filled with debris (logs, plastic bags, etc, anything that was floating down the river. In the spring time, this can be at it's worst. It also had no lines or cables hanging to get a hook onto or a line around. We came along side a ladder and I held the ladder to keep the boat in place. Your going down, so when they open the door at the lock to let you out, be ready to possibly have to manuver between other boats that may be "hovering" in the strong current waiting to get into the lock.
The locks of the Erie Barge Canal from the hudson west were not filled with junk and were in great shape. The lock staff and canal corp. work off season to keep them in good shape. They remove any debris as soon as it comes into the locks. They do have lines and cables to hang onto. There are illustrations in the canal guide as to how to use those lines and cables. Some of those are not attached to the bottom of the lock wall so you can not just hold them with a boat hook or pass a line behind them, you will drift away from the wall if you do, so bring gloves for all onboard who will be handling those lines, they are slimy, and you may have to actually hold on to them. Being as you are going down to the river, the locks are much less turbulent when draining as they are when flooding but even so, if your crew does not usually wear pfd's, I would strongly recommend them in the locks, you will most likely need somone forward on the bow to handle lines, you may or may not be experienced in locking and it is a new to you boat. Be safe
The Mohawk did have some debris floating, so keep an eye out.
These are the only things I can think of that I could give you a heads up on. The trip was great and I'm sure you will enjoy. Here's a few pics showing some of the item's discussed.
the lines and cables to use to hold yourself in place are shown on the lock walls
We had no choice but to plow through this debris. Move ahead slowly and bump your transmissions into neutral and "drift through"
My daughter, on my boat, in NY Harbor. Most likely a once in my life shot, and one of my favorites. Take a bunch of pics to show us all at the end of your trip.
Have a great time
We made the trip from Stratford Ct to Buffalo NY last May. As others have said, it was a great trip, but here are a couple things that you might want to look out for, or plan ahead for.
The leg from Liberty Landing to Albany was very scenic, but the Hudson was packed with striper fishermen. Saw some really good ones being landed, watch your wake. If your not familiar with the river, stay in the marked channels and know that the fishermen will be sharing those channels with you.
The federal lock at Troy was filled with debris (logs, plastic bags, etc, anything that was floating down the river. In the spring time, this can be at it's worst. It also had no lines or cables hanging to get a hook onto or a line around. We came along side a ladder and I held the ladder to keep the boat in place. Your going down, so when they open the door at the lock to let you out, be ready to possibly have to manuver between other boats that may be "hovering" in the strong current waiting to get into the lock.
The locks of the Erie Barge Canal from the hudson west were not filled with junk and were in great shape. The lock staff and canal corp. work off season to keep them in good shape. They remove any debris as soon as it comes into the locks. They do have lines and cables to hang onto. There are illustrations in the canal guide as to how to use those lines and cables. Some of those are not attached to the bottom of the lock wall so you can not just hold them with a boat hook or pass a line behind them, you will drift away from the wall if you do, so bring gloves for all onboard who will be handling those lines, they are slimy, and you may have to actually hold on to them. Being as you are going down to the river, the locks are much less turbulent when draining as they are when flooding but even so, if your crew does not usually wear pfd's, I would strongly recommend them in the locks, you will most likely need somone forward on the bow to handle lines, you may or may not be experienced in locking and it is a new to you boat. Be safe
The Mohawk did have some debris floating, so keep an eye out.
These are the only things I can think of that I could give you a heads up on. The trip was great and I'm sure you will enjoy. Here's a few pics showing some of the item's discussed.
the lines and cables to use to hold yourself in place are shown on the lock walls
We had no choice but to plow through this debris. Move ahead slowly and bump your transmissions into neutral and "drift through"
My daughter, on my boat, in NY Harbor. Most likely a once in my life shot, and one of my favorites. Take a bunch of pics to show us all at the end of your trip.
Have a great time
