July 5 - Crescent Boat Club to St. Johnsville
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July 5
We left Crescent at 6:45 AM.The skies were cloudy, but there was no
wind, and the river was calm.
We passed another Nordic Tug 42 at the Schenectady Yacht Club. They
called in on the radio, and we exchanged "howdies". The Erie Canal winds
around like a snake with trees on both sides. At times the NY State
Thruway runs along side the canal. The backyard of homes in some areas
face the river, and in others it's like going through the jungle with
trees on both sides.
We stopped at the Amsterdam Town Dock wall to give Lily a quick walk.
This was her first time leaving the boat from the pilot house. The wall
was a perfect height for her to step off. We were so lucky to have
found her Ruff Wear harness. It has soft fleece around the bottom
straps and a real strong handle and back support for holding her. She
also has a Ruff Wear life jacket, but that's only for "rough" weather.
We were behind a sailboat for the past few locks. We finally caught up
with him and passed him carefully. We locked through the next 3 locks
with ease. Locking through going up is much easier since you just need to
grab the lines from the wall, and they are easy to reach.
We reached St. Johnsville at 4:00 and set up the boat. We needed to
use our tailgate ramp to help Lily off. There is a little jump up from the
deck to the wall. Since the deck is narrow and she has long legs, it was
hard for her to grab on with her back legs. The ramp has carpeting, so
she can leave the boat "in style". The forecast was thunderstorms in
the afternoon, but the storms headed south from us, and all we got was
some light rain that lasted 10 minutes just after we docked.
We had steak and veggies for dinner. Jim cooked and I washed the
dishes. We did some inside boat cleaning, and Jim checked the oil and
racors. There's no TV here, so it's a good time to catch up on
housekeeping, read, and get to bed early.
We left Crescent at 6:45 AM.The skies were cloudy, but there was no
wind, and the river was calm.
We passed another Nordic Tug 42 at the Schenectady Yacht Club. They
called in on the radio, and we exchanged "howdies". The Erie Canal winds
around like a snake with trees on both sides. At times the NY State
Thruway runs along side the canal. The backyard of homes in some areas
face the river, and in others it's like going through the jungle with
trees on both sides.
We stopped at the Amsterdam Town Dock wall to give Lily a quick walk.
This was her first time leaving the boat from the pilot house. The wall
was a perfect height for her to step off. We were so lucky to have
found her Ruff Wear harness. It has soft fleece around the bottom
straps and a real strong handle and back support for holding her. She
also has a Ruff Wear life jacket, but that's only for "rough" weather.
We were behind a sailboat for the past few locks. We finally caught up
with him and passed him carefully. We locked through the next 3 locks
with ease. Locking through going up is much easier since you just need to
grab the lines from the wall, and they are easy to reach.
We reached St. Johnsville at 4:00 and set up the boat. We needed to
use our tailgate ramp to help Lily off. There is a little jump up from the
deck to the wall. Since the deck is narrow and she has long legs, it was
hard for her to grab on with her back legs. The ramp has carpeting, so
she can leave the boat "in style". The forecast was thunderstorms in
the afternoon, but the storms headed south from us, and all we got was
some light rain that lasted 10 minutes just after we docked.
We had steak and veggies for dinner. Jim cooked and I washed the
dishes. We did some inside boat cleaning, and Jim checked the oil and
racors. There's no TV here, so it's a good time to catch up on
housekeeping, read, and get to bed early.
Locks and Lifts
Lock 7- Schenectady 15 ft.
Lock 8-Scotia 14 ft.
Lock 9- Glenville 15 ft.
Lock 10-15 ft.
Lock 11-Amsterdam 12 ft.
Lock 12-Tribes Hill 11 ft.
Lock 13- Canajoharie 8 ft.
Lock 14- 8 ft.
Lock 15- St.Johnsville 8 ft.
Lock 7- Schenectady 15 ft.
Lock 8-Scotia 14 ft.
Lock 9- Glenville 15 ft.
Lock 10-15 ft.
Lock 11-Amsterdam 12 ft.
Lock 12-Tribes Hill 11 ft.
Lock 13- Canajoharie 8 ft.
Lock 14- 8 ft.
Lock 15- St.Johnsville 8 ft.
Leaving Crescent Boat Club Dam at Lock 6
Golden Lily at St.Johnsville Municipal Dock Gazebo at St.Johnsville
Locks and Lifts
Lock 16 St.Johnsville 20 ft.
Lock 17 Little Falls 40 ft.
Lock 18 Jacksonburg 20 ft.
Lock 19 Shcuyler 21 ft.
Lock 20 16 ft.
*We were now 400 feet above
sea level- highest point on this
leg
Lock 21 -25 ft.
Lock 22 -25 ft.
Lock 16 St.Johnsville 20 ft.
Lock 17 Little Falls 40 ft.
Lock 18 Jacksonburg 20 ft.
Lock 19 Shcuyler 21 ft.
Lock 20 16 ft.
*We were now 400 feet above
sea level- highest point on this
leg
Lock 21 -25 ft.
Lock 22 -25 ft.
July 6 - We woke up to clouds and mist. There were hundreds of
centipedes all over the wall and sidewalk. They come out during the
night from the damp wall. We also had hundreds of little bugs that
squeezed their way into our boat from the lights. We left St.
Johnsvile Municipal Dock at 7:45. After locking through Lock 16, we
headed for lock 17, the highest lift on the canal - 40 ft. It is one
of only 2 locks in North America where the entrance gate is lifted
ABOVE the boat, and you get wet from the dripping gate unless you
are under cover.
centipedes all over the wall and sidewalk. They come out during the
night from the damp wall. We also had hundreds of little bugs that
squeezed their way into our boat from the lights. We left St.
Johnsvile Municipal Dock at 7:45. After locking through Lock 16, we
headed for lock 17, the highest lift on the canal - 40 ft. It is one
of only 2 locks in North America where the entrance gate is lifted
ABOVE the boat, and you get wet from the dripping gate unless you
are under cover.
Lock 19 was a bit tricky. The hanging lines were way too spread out for both of us to reach at the
same time. I held onto the stern, but Jim had to fasten a dock line to the cleat to wrap around a
pole. We met up with 2 boats at Lock 21, one being the sailboat we passed yesterday. We heard
very loud rumbles of thunder. Luckily the storm passed to our north, but there were very dark clouds!
For Locks 21 and 22, we were dropped in elevation, and when there is a wind as there was today,
holding onto the lines can be difficult. Lock 21 was a breeze, however, Lock 22 was hair raising. As
we were lowering, Jim could not hold on to the bow line since the wind kept pushing the bow away
from the wall. He finally had to let go and stay in the pilot house to use the bow thruster to keep
the bow in. He also kept the engine running in case he had to drive the boat in the lock.It's pretty
scary when the wind takes the boat, and you find the bow and stern almost touching opposite walls!
We reached Sylvan Beach around 4:!5, tied up at Mariner's Landing Marina, took Lily for a long
awaited pit stop! We ate dinner at Captain Johns in downtown Sylvan Beach, took a walk to the town
wall to see if there were any "Looper" there, and walked back to Golden Lily to rest up and plan
tomorrow. Turns out that Jim forgot his sunglasses at the restaurant. We will have to spend another
day at Sylvan Beach since the restaurant doesn't open uptil 3:00 Saturday. It's a good day to do
laundry, enter waypoints for Oneida Lake, and take a walk on Main Street to see the sights.
same time. I held onto the stern, but Jim had to fasten a dock line to the cleat to wrap around a
pole. We met up with 2 boats at Lock 21, one being the sailboat we passed yesterday. We heard
very loud rumbles of thunder. Luckily the storm passed to our north, but there were very dark clouds!
For Locks 21 and 22, we were dropped in elevation, and when there is a wind as there was today,
holding onto the lines can be difficult. Lock 21 was a breeze, however, Lock 22 was hair raising. As
we were lowering, Jim could not hold on to the bow line since the wind kept pushing the bow away
from the wall. He finally had to let go and stay in the pilot house to use the bow thruster to keep
the bow in. He also kept the engine running in case he had to drive the boat in the lock.It's pretty
scary when the wind takes the boat, and you find the bow and stern almost touching opposite walls!
We reached Sylvan Beach around 4:!5, tied up at Mariner's Landing Marina, took Lily for a long
awaited pit stop! We ate dinner at Captain Johns in downtown Sylvan Beach, took a walk to the town
wall to see if there were any "Looper" there, and walked back to Golden Lily to rest up and plan
tomorrow. Turns out that Jim forgot his sunglasses at the restaurant. We will have to spend another
day at Sylvan Beach since the restaurant doesn't open uptil 3:00 Saturday. It's a good day to do
laundry, enter waypoints for Oneida Lake, and take a walk on Main Street to see the sights.
Approaching Lock 17
