Erie Canal suggestions

M

MassTug

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Jul 3, 2019
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Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C SE
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Toto
Looking to put my R-21 in to spend 10 days on the Erie Canal starting at the Hudson and seeing how far I can get. Does anyone have any suggestions on a place to launch and leave a trailer/truck at the eastern end near Wateford and any other suggestions for cruising the canal?
 
Funny thing. My wife and I are contemplating a similar trip in late September, also with an R21.

First suggestion: Get a "Skipper Bob" Erie Canal cruising guide. This book is invaluable. All kinds of useful information. The state of NY also publishes some sort of canal guide that we at present don't own.

A few thoughts based on our trip planning so far: It seems that the Western end of the canal has some advantages. It is not so close to I-90 and the railroad. The towns are perhaps more frequent and interesting. We are going to put in at Massadon, and head West with the idea of skipping some towns along the way and then hitting turning around after about a week and heading back, visiting the towns we skipped on the way West. That gets around the problem of getting back to our car and trailer. We figure we might get to just short of Rochester.

The canal sounds like a great experience. Many of the towns have tie up facilities, some with electricity, restrooms, etc. You can usually walk to restaurants and stores.

When are you planning your trip? We had thought about participating in the Waterford tug event, but have had a very busy summer so far and can't quite get our act together to do it. We thought we might just drive out in a car (from home north of Boston) and see what it's about. I note that Brimfield is near I-90. If we were to drive out to Waterford we would be happy to stop and have lunch and show you some of our trip planning materials.

Where do you customarily use your boat?

Larry & Nancy
 
We cruised the western Erie Canal last September in our R27. It’s a perfect Ranger Tug Trip. Here’s a link to a post I made about my trip:

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=11887

If I were to do this trip again, I would put in at Buffalo/Tonawanda and take out at Bennett’s Marine at the Seneca Lake end of the Cayuga-Seneca Canal.
 
I also recommend the western canal if you’re choosing between east and west. We put in at Pirates Cove Marina and stored our truck and trailer on site. Very reasonable. We had a great time going west from there. Lots of towns with good bulkheads. Pirates Cove is a few miles east of Baldwinsville in the 3 rivers area.
 
Another interesting thing for you to do while trip planning: Visit a site called (roughly) Tug44.org. This person has a remarkable photo journal of his travels on the canal in a 44 foot tug. The trip looks beautiful. I believe he also did it in September.
 
Have a R29 on the Hudson and done all the canals several times.. it will take you about one week to transit the state each way. I hope you can take two weeks and do the entire Canal in both directions, if not I also think the western Erie is the best part and you should do that section first. Any of the marinas at the western end of Oneida Lake will accommodate you. Likewise any of the marinas on the Hudson will also help. The closest to Waterford would most likely be Lock One Marina on the Champlain Canal 518-238-1321

Have fun, when are you traveling? I will be on the Erie traveling from Oswego to Albany the last week of August. Keep an eye out for Coventina.
 
I have no experience east of Oneida Lake. If you do go west of Syracuse I can offer some input.

My C28 is currently in Brewerton. (Brewerton boat Yard is great). The original plan for this summer was the triangle loop in 2 stages, but with the high water issues on Ontario and in the seaway we scrapped that and did our first 2 week stint as a canal / fingerlake trip from Brewerton West to Seneca and Cayuga Lakes, and back. It was a GREAT trip. We spent nights in Brewerton, Baldwinsville, Seneca Falls (twice), Sampson State park (east shore of Seneca lake), Watkins Glen (2 days), and Ithaca (3 days). In all locations we had very reasonably priced (FREE at Seneca Falls) dockage and very nice facilities.

Baldwinsville is a great place to overnight on the southwest side of the lock. No marinas though, just a portacan. Try Danni's for dinner and B'ville diner for breakfast. Seneca Falls is worth the cruise even if you don't have enough time to go further - 33 miles between locks with some higher speed cruising sections. GREAT boater's amenity building - free bath / showers, and low cost laundry. Plan a couple of nights, and spend an hour in the museum. You can stop along the way in Cross Lake, a nice place to stop for a swim. no facilities that I could tell though.

If you go that far, make sure you have enough diesel to go down to Watkins Glen and back without refueling in Seneca Lake. We stayed at the Village dock marina, a great location. The one diesel location at the south end is old and VERY expensive. On Cayuga lake, the marina in Lansing (southeast shore) isn't so bad. You can walk all over Watkins Glen. Plenty of places to eat and drink. Don't miss the State Park falls and Tobey's donut shop for breakfast. A day touring the wine country is a lot of fun.

Ithaca, on the south end of Cayuga Lake, is a good sized town with a great downtown scene, the commons (a taxi or bike ride). The Treman state park marina is very nice and reasonably priced. The Boatyard restaurant / bar is a must. A good farmer's market nearby on the weekends. Our fold-up bikes came in real handy, great trails to get you around town.

I'm headed back in another week or so for a couple more weeks on the boat. As far as I can tell, the St. Lawrence is still a mess so might head east on the canal at least to Utica and back, not sure what to expect. I'll plan an overnight each way at Sylvan Beach on the east end of Oneida Lake. Maybe we'll pass some of you on this thread!
 
My wife and I did the entire Erie Canal starting from Waterford and ending in Buffalo. We also sailed the two finger lakes.
We enjoyed the trip very much. I agree that you should get Skipper Bob's guide and also there is a chart book, THE CRUISING GUIDE TO THE NEW YORK STATE CANAL SYSTEM which is quite handy.
The two finger lakes, Cayuga and Seneca are a good take especially if you are a wine drinker.
Amsterdam, this is eight years ago, had a good headwall with water power and laundry and shower facilities. There was also a great restaurant, run by the harbormaster's family. The two sisters that did most of the food preparation baked all the delicious cheese cakes.
If you would like more info, give me a PM.
Bon Voyage.
 
The Erie Canal is a true American treasure - we spent 6 weeks on the canal and down the Hudson River for a week in NYC. The waterway and locks are interesting from a boater's perspective, but it is the great towns along the way that are the real charm of that trip. There were days where 7 miles would have you at the next great town and an overnight stop.

As has been mentioned in this thread, we took folding bikes along, greatly expanding how far we could explore in each stop (there is also a bike trail along parts of the canal).

Easy navigation, friendly towns with free or inexpensive walls to tie to, close access to restaurants and shopping, farmers markets... we ran into several people who spent the summers on their boat in the canal, and then cruised south to Florida or the Bahamas in the colder months.

The towns are closer together in the western part of the canal, making the cruising easy. That said, Waterford, on the far eastern end of the canal was a delight. Every stop had its own charm and features.
 
I am local to that area. Just north (up river) from Lock C1 (First lock on Champlain Canal) is a decent boat launch. The C1 Park is gated and locked each night. I would imagine if you checked with the lock master, you could leave the truck & trailer there.

Also, just east of Lock E6 is another boat launch, locally referred to as Alcathy's Launch (spelling?) Not as steep or deep a launch, but probably fine for the 21-EC. The parking lot there is open public parking.

Back in 2002 I did the trip from Plattsburgh to Buffalo in 19' Bow rider with my two kids. They still talk about that trip!

Let me know if you need anything while you are here.
 
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