Erie Canal

[eric]

My Sailing and Tugging Buddy (TugBoat Annie) and I are planning an Erie Canal end to ender. Plus some exploring on the Hudson. We will be taking my R27 Quest. Her 21EC will sit this trip out. We are wondering if anyone who recently did the canal can give us tips. There is a Canal Guide I plan on getting and was also wondering if its pretty up to date on fuel stops and pump outs etc. I was thinking of going West to East. Any thoughts on this?
I have been spending a lot of time on Quest on the upper Chesapeake, In fact she has been getting some exercise being a true tug. I have been helping the marina tug boats around the slips to the lift well for winter removal.
What wonderful boats. Ranger does a great job. But alas......my trailer will be done at end of week and Im probably pulling Quest for the winter on Monday. Will be a sad day 🙁
Eric Hughes Central Pa

 

[John Shea Jr.]

My wife and I sailed the eastern end (Waterford to Newark) Lune of 2012. We had such a good time that we are planning to do the remainder of the east - west route in 2013. We may add lake Senica also. If you would like to get my suggestions, send me a PM.

 

[John Shea Jr.]

Oh my typi9ng skills are really bad. The month was June.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Eric:

You lucky dog to be heading out on the Erie Canal next year, you'll have a good time. Before you head out make sure to check with the NY Canal System for when they open in the spring, hours, dockage and so much more before you go. Check the attached link:

http://www.canals.ny.gov/boating/index.html

In addition you can check out our Great Loop blog postings from when we went thru the Hudson and Erie Canal to see photo's and or what we did and wrote about. When you click on the attached link then click onto either Hudson River and or Erie Canal.

http://www.favorsgreatloopblog.com/

Have a great time and if you have any questions I might be able to answer feel free to PM me,

Jim F

 

[Bay Ranger]

Elaine and I cruised the Hudson and Erie Canal to Lake Ontario on Bay Ranger in 2010. We found Richardson's Chartbook and Cruising Guide - Hudson River & Adjacent Waterways very helpful. It covers the entire length of the Hudson and the western end of the Erie Canal from the Seneca Lake area to Waterford, NY where the Erie Canal and the Hudson connect. Each chart page has a narrative description of marine services along the route. We found them accurate everywhere except in the Richleau River north of Lake Champlain to the St. Lawrence River. There, we found a couple of listings for marinas with diesel which no longer carried it.

There is a lot of great cruising in that part of the country. While you're in that neck of the woods, you may want the consider spending some time cruising Thousand Islands area of the St. Lawrence River. It is a beautiful cruising area with many rustic marine facilities operated by the Canadian Park Service on islands throughout the area.

We also enjoyed cruising from Kingston, ONT up to Ottawa, ONT on the Rideau Canal system - again beautiful cruising. From Ottawa, it's down the Ottawa River to Montreal and back to the St. Lawrence, then down through Lake Champlain and back to the Hudson!

Would be glad to answer questions via PM.

Ed
Bay Ranger

 

[JamesTXSD]

Besides the Erie Canal and Hudson River, consider adding the Trent-Severn Waterway in Canada to your cruising plans - that was our favorite part of cruising in that area!

On the Big Chute Railway...

Peterborough Lift Lock...

You can find more details about cruising on the Erie Canal on our cruising blog...

http://captnjim.blogspot.com/2009/07/and-were-off.html

It is a cruising treat, perfect for trailerable boats!

Best wishes,
Jim

 

[Todd]

My wife and I cruised the eastern end of the Erie this september from Waterford to Lake Oneida and back. We found the cruising guide provided all the information that is needed and was up to date. The lock-masters also have a lot of free printed maps and information to give out, just ask them.

Really great trip. we hope to someday do the whole canal system.

 

[trailertrawlerkismet]

Eric:

Skipper Bob has a very good Erie Canal Guide as well and you can always look things up on Active Captain.

http://www.skipperbob.net/publications

Jim

 

[eric]

Thanks everyone for the input. I have been on my tug at the bay. Internet system is not working there so just got home and saw messages,
I got my trailer and tomorrow my truck gets wired for the brakes. Then back to bay for a few days before bringing Quest home to Pa for winter.
Then down to planning canal trips.
Thanks again
Eric Hughes

 

[colobear]

We will be doing what some people call the "little Loop" next year; starting in May at Seneca Lake we will head West on the Erie Canal to Tonawanda, reverse back to the Cayuga canal and over to do both ways of the Trent-Severn, then the Rideau up to Montreal and then over to Lake Champlain and down the Hudson to NYC, then back to the Erie and Seneca Lake. At least that's the plan; we'll go as long as stamina and money lasts 😉 There is a wealth of cruising information about this area. We have searched using "Trent-Severn cruising, Rideau cruising, cruising Erie Canal, etc. and have found lots of helpful data. There are several Youtube videos that whet one's appetite and give good visual hints. Thus far our main cruising references are: "Cruising Guide to new York Waterways and Lake Champlain" by Chris Brown, Skipper Bob's "Cruising the New York Canal system" and Great Destinations "The Erie Canal, Exploring New York's Great Canals". Several C-Brats have made various parts of this trip and you can find information by searching on the C-Brats site. We will be doing more planning as the time gets closer and will be happy to share with any Tugnut or C-Brat. And...we will welcome any opportunity to learn from Tugnuts who have cruised back there. I'm not on this site all that often so a PM or PM on the C-Brats will be the best way to reach us. We'd love to hear from you.