We finally pulled away from the free wall we had been at for three days around 7:45am. Yay! My ‘fix’ seemed to be working and we motored along through two locks and went about twenty miles. We pulled up to the free docks at Sylvan Beach and tied up. There was plenty of room behind a few other boats tied up there. We took Frank for a walk in to town but not much was open. Today is August 11, 2020 and COVID shutdowns are still going strong in New York. We were able to get some ice cream and walk around a bit. It was a hot day so we decided to head back to the boat and take it out to Oneida Lake and anchor off the beach so we could swim. We dropped anchor and I noticed a boat near us with an Ohio port. We swam around a bit then I took Frank in the dinghy to get a closer look at the boat. There was a guy hanging out and I said hello. We got to talking and it turns out he is a captain of a freighter that travels up and down the Cuyahoga River! He even told me a story of hitting Shooters! OMG! I returned to the boat and told Lauren the story and we laughed and were having a great time. We were swimming about and even had some ducks take over our raft we had floating behind Klondike. Then I noticed some dark clouds moving in kind of fast. Oh boy. We checked the weather and it looked like a front was passing by and it would only last a short time so we decided to stick it out at anchor instead of heading in to the dock. I let out more anchor line and most of the boats around us hightailed it in to safety. In hindsight we probably should have done the same, but here we go! The wind kicked up and the waves kept growing. The rain started to come down in buckets and the wind kept increasing. We were getting tossed about and I was keeping a close eye to make sure we weren’t dragging. Water was coming in any cracks in the doors and the waves were bouncing us around. It was a bit scary for a short time, but we kept watching the radar and the storm was coming fast and leaving fast. Eventually after and hour or so it started to settle down and we were treated to a beautiful rainbow. Since we had just gone through that we really didn’t feel like trying to to pull the anchor and get back to the dock, so we decided to just stay at anchor here overnight and leave tomorrow morning. The sun came back out for a while and Frank got another walk in to town as I just took the dinghy to the beach and hoped no one would care. We made it back with no issues and was treated to a nice sunset. We made reservations for tomorrow at a marina on the other side of Oneida lake. They have a courtesy car so hopefully I can find a shop to buy the parts to hopefully fix the exhaust. We made dinner and relaxed the rest of the evening and retired fairly early.
We all departed with our new friends around 830am. Our first lock (E17) is one of the tallest in the world according to the signage. We pulled in and thought got secured for the lift. There was a bit of debris but we made it through with no issues. We continued on to the next lock. We again got secured and the lock started to fill. I noticed the bow was getting pushed out and ran down to help Lauren. No matter what we did, we couldn’t keep the bow from being pushed out due to the high flow of water filling the lock. The Lockmaster came down and apologized for filling it too fast. We got control as best we could and finally saw the gates opening. Whew! That was not fun! About 10 minutes after leaving the lock our friends sent me a video of our locking experience. Apparently they were filming themselves going through the lock and caught us on tape. It is quite funny (after the fact!) to watch “how NOT to lock through”. We were in need of water and our friends were in need of fuel so we decided to stop at a marina along the way for a quick fill up. I had planned to stop at a free dock and told our friends who were going up river a bit farther for their fuel. We attempted to pull up to the free dock and saw weeds growing up from the river. This means it’s pretty shallow. Hmm. I pulled close and soon saw us kicking up mud. Shit. I reversed out of there and decided it was too risky. We continued up to the Village of Ilion Marina where they were still getting fuel. We pulled up and inquired about getting water. They agreed for a small fee to allow me to fill our tanks while we waited for our friends. Apparently we were close to the Remington Arms Plant as there was a big sign advertising tours and we also saw a bagpiper playing to the water. Unfortunately we weren’t staying and due to COVID the Remington Factory was closed to the public so no tour for us. Once we both finished filling up, we continued on our way. We got to lock E20 and it too was filled with tons of debris and floating grass. This did not make me feel good as I know this could get sucked into the water exhaust and cause clogs and problems. Sure enough as soon as we were pulling out of the lock I noticed a reduction in throttle and the exhaust sounded weird. We were passing a free dock and I told Lauren we were going to stop here. I radioed to our friends and told them my plan and they wished us luck and continued on. We pulled in and I went to work cleaning out the raw water strainer. It was full of grass and stuff and by now it looked like we were going to stay here for the night.
Day 2- We started with taking Frank for a walk and having a leisurely coffee as we weren’t in a hurry and didn’t plan on going too far. Sylvan Beach is our next stop which is only about twenty miles and a few locks to the west. We got situated and I fired up the engine. I could tell right away something still didn’t sound right. Damn. Since I had cleaned out the strainer yesterday I figured it must be blocked somewhere else. Just to be safe I did check the strainer first and it was clear. Okay. Now I assume the block must be under the boat at the intake opening. I fire up the engine again and look at the exhaust; it should be mixing water with it and there is very little water coming out. Fuck. This means I have to dive under the boat and try to unclog the intake. I relay all this information to Lauren and neither of us are thrilled about the situation and Lauren wasn’t offering to jump in. It took me a little while to psyche myself up and prepare my safety lines then in I went. I wasn’t worried about sharks this time, but I was in a canal with lots of boat traffic and a lock right behind us. I had the snorkel mask on and slipped under to inspect. There did seem to be a bit of debris clumped in the opening and I cleared it best I could. I even took a straightened clothes hanger and used that to try to dig up and release the debris. I then fired up the engine and then re-cleaned the strainer to be safe. It was early afternoon at this point but we still had time. We prepared to leave the dock and off we went. As soon as I pulled clear and tried to throttle up I could tell it still wasn’t right. WTF!? We hadn’t gone far and I called to Lauren we had to go back. I circled around and we docked right back where we had just left. Now I was frustrated and not sure what to do. I started research online and looking at the books I had on hand. Lauren was trying to help too and we were both trying to figure this out. At this point it was getting later in the day and we realized we would be staying here another night. I noticed a boat coming through the lock and saw it was some more friends we had met a while back. They pulled up and we chatted a bit about my engine issues. He gave some suggestions and I was looking in to those. We didn’t feel like cooking tonight so I looked up a pizza place and ordered delivery to a nearby apartment building. I took Frank for a walk and waited in the parking lot for the pizza delivery. Once I picked that up we made our way back to the boat. We ate our pizza and tried to make the best of our situation. Tomorrow I will try something else and hopefully that will get us going. Fingers crossed to that! It was getting dark so we were getting ready to retire for the evening. Lauren was doing a head count and couldn’t find LuLu. I kept telling Lauren that she’s probably just hiding, but she wasn’t going to bed until we found the cat. I started looking around and I couldn’t find her either. Hmm. By now Lauren is convinced that the cat is not on the boat and is now searching with a flashlight along the park. I grabbed a bag of treats and a flashlight and start calling out for the cat. I worked my up along the forest line and the grass and thought I saw some eyes reflecting back at me up ahead. I shook the treat bag while calling her name and sure enough I saw Lulu slinking along in the grass. Holy shit! She was so close to making her big break, but we caught her! I was able to retrieve her and bring her back to the boat and turn her over to Lauren. That was close! Good thing Lauren is so diligent! Now that the animals were all accounted for she locked us all in for the night.
Day 3- We got up and I started tinkering around again to no avail. I assisted out friends off and they continued on while we were still trying to figure out what to do. We actually pulled away from the dock only to turn right around again. I was too afraid of doing damage (more damage?) to try to carry on. On another attempt to figure out the problem I had Lauren drive away from the dock while I was in the engine room. I saw that a rubber hose was collapsing and restricting the water flow! I had my aha moment! Now to fix this… there wasn’t any boat supply shops around so I was at a loss until Lauren had me call a marina mechanic and ask his advice. He told me to use a clamp or two to strengthen/ keep the hose from collapsing and it should be okay to get us to the next stop. Alright! Lauren always has the best ideas! I went to work and soon had us ready but again we had most of the day pass us so it was going to be another night spent along the wall. I decided to walk to a gas station that didn’t look too far. Boy was I wrong. Frank and I trekked to the store and I picked up some ice and beverages. The walk back was not fun and a quarter of the ice melted by the time we got back. Oh well- we still had enough for a toast and cold beverages before making dinner and retiring for the night. We plan to get a fairly early start tomorrow and head to Sylvan Beach. There is a free dock there and hopefully a beach! It’s been hot and we’re looking forward to swimming and cooling off in Sylvan Lake.
We departed Amsterdam by 8am. A boat had left before us and we again waited so we could go through solo. We got through the first lock and made our way through four more locks. Our stopping point is a free dock right before the Little Falls Lock. It is in a park setting and fairly secluded. We found a spot and tied off, then took Frank for a walk. When we returned I noticed another boat pulling in. I assisted with the lines and we got to chatting. They were headed to Rochester which is home for them. We chatted a bit more and decided we would leave together tomorrow morning to go through the locks together. Lauren and I walked around some of the trails and eventually settled in for dinner. There is no power at the free dock, so we had to run the generator to cook. We finished dinner, took Frank for another walk then retired for the night. Tomorrow we have several more locks to transit and we will see how far we can go before deciding where to stop. It is crazy to realize our adventure is slowly coming to an end. Don’t get me wrong- there is still plenty of adventures ahead, but we are about three weeks from returning to Cleveland Ohio. Wow! We don’t want it to end!!!
We left Waterford around 9am after pumping out. We wanted to let the others get a head start as we didn’t want to lock through with a bunch of other boats. We are heading on the Mohawk River which is part of the Erie Canal. “Proposed in 1808 and completed in 1825, the canal links the waters of Lake Erie in the west to the Hudson River in the east. An engineering marvel when it was built, some called it the Eighth Wonder of the World.” Here we go! We had out first lock almost immediately and then a succession of 8 more before we reached our final destination of the day at Riverlink Park in Amsterdam, New York around 5pm. We had also made plans to meet our friends Sonia and Duane Finch from their boat Trinity. They had completed their loop in January (in Florida) and returned home to New York, but we stayed in touch and they drove down to meet us. Once docked with Duane’s help, we found a spot to have dinner on a patio and enjoyed each other’s company and stories. They drove us around to pick up some stuff, then we had to say goodbye. It was awesome to see them and sad to see them go. They are some friends we’ll always stay in touch with with our shared adventures on The Great Loop! Lauren and I retrieved Frank and explored a little more of the town. There was a cool pedestrian bridge that had art installations and great view. We planned our next stop at Lock E17, LIttle Falls, Erie Canal. There is a free dock there so we think it should be a good stop. We’re still not in a hurry so no need to try to go for long daily trips…
We got an early start and took the dinghy to Hudson, New York. Frank was excited for his walk and we were looking forward to exploring. We found a dock and disembarked to find a film crew filming something along the river. We made our way in to town and walked around. We stopped at a coffee shop for a snack and some coffee. We walked around town and took plenty of pictures. We know we’re coming close to the end of our journey and it’s bitter sweet. We figure we have about three weeks until we’re back home in Cleveland, Ohio. Today we are heading to the beginning of the Erie Canal which will eventually take us to Lake Erie. Canada is still closed and not planning on opening to travelers any time soon so we already know we will not be able to do the Oswego Canal/ Georgian Bay like we had planned. We also know we are very blessed to be continuing our adventure while lockdowns and uncertainty is happening in the world. Back toHudson- we were chilling out at an overlook enjoying our snack when I struck up a conversation with a couple standing nearby. We exchanged information and chatted for a bit before it was time for us to head back to the boat and make our way up the Hudson River. Our destination is Waterford which is the last stop before entering the Erie Canal. We pulled anchor and we’re on the move right around 1pm. The current was in our favor so we were cruising along about 7.5 knots and life was good. I was researching our destination when I suddenly realized something; we needed to drop our mast before getting to Albany. WTF!?! Somehow it had slipped my mind that we needed to drop the mast before now. I thought we had more time! We were cruising along when I suddenly throttled down. Lauren came out to see what was up. I explained we would be soon approaching a low bridge and we need to drop the mast. Now. She looked at me like I was crazy, then went right in to “ok. Let’s do it.” mode. Lauren took over the helm while I did a little more research. From what I could tell we were going to come across a bridge that is only 20’ high and that’s not enough clearance for us with our mast up. Next I found a ‘marina’ along the river ahead of us and gave them a call. Me: “Hi. Can we stop and tie up for a short time to drop our mast? We’ll leave quickly and pay you for the space/time.” Marina: “uhh… sure. When? You’re here now? Yeah, ok.” I told Lauren the plan and we pulled in to the marina to an empty spot. We went right to work and got everything disassembled and finally attached the winch to the mast. Now the final part was to actually drop the mast down. That went fine and we secured everything. Whew. We still have enough time to get through the Troy Federal Lock and get to Waterford before dark. We now had the mast down, cast off from the dock which was so gracious and didn’t charge us and made our way to the lock. We made it through with no issues and eventually came to Waterford where a lot of boats were tied up to stage the next jump. We slowly pulled up and found a spot between a couple of cruising boats. The dock master welcomed us and gave me a run down of the area. He also told me we docked in a pump out zone- we would be ok for the night since we arrived so late, but couldn’t stay there tomorrow unless we moved. Ok… We planned on moving on tomorrow morning anyway so we decided to stay where we were. We walked around town and walked Frank, then stopped to pick up some beverages from a gas station. There wasn’t much going on so we headed back to the boat and planned our next stop. We have quite a few locks to go through so we researched that and possible side trips. We don’t want to rush through so maybe we can take our time and explore areas along the Erie Canal.
