BAM….

Sunday, July 16, 2023

Yesterday was our first day in the Erie Canal, which was much prettier than expected.  Not much industrial development.  A real surprise. 

<— this year….last year —>

The trip begins with Locks #2-6, which appear in rapid succession, roughly one-half mile apart.  The locks are imposing: the vertical lift in each lock was over 33’.  The process is simple: drive in; hook up to the wall; and ride the rise.  As the water surges into (or out of) the locks, it can become turbulent, but not dangerous.  You need large spherical fenders to protect the boat from the rough cement lock walls, and you can use your thrusters and engine to help hold you in position.  When the doors open, you simply drive out.

Here we are in the lock with the gates closed behind us

And here’s looking up at the wall with the mooring line-they’re really slimy and gross!

And here’s the same gate when the lock is full.

We shared these locks with three other boats, including two power cats with 20’ beams

Once we cleared the first 7 locks, we began to leave the other boats behind.  You are traveling the Mohawk river at this point: it’s wide and deep and features wooded shores.  The river was calm, and the skies were pretty.  The major concern was the amount of debris floating down the river: primarily logs and brush carried down by the recent storms.

This barge had a crane to pick up the debris but he had a long way to go

Lock #9 turned out to be a much bigger problem.  As we approached the lock, the lockmaster hailed us on the radio to warn us that there were strong currents and significant debris below the lock.  He wasn’t kidding.  There was a huge log almost completely blocking the lock entrance.  As we moved to avoid the log, the current slammed us into the lock wall, and we damaged the left-hand side of the boat.  

At first it didn’t look like much, but it got bigger as we travelled.

At first, I dismissed it as cosmetic damage, but I woke up this morning thinking that it may be structural.  It’s very important for a boat to have a rigid joint between the hull and the deck, and this may be compromised.  

We’ve decided to backtrack one day to see if we can get the boat inspected by a knowledgeable technician.  It’s possible that we can continue the trip, but at this point, I’d say it is equally likely that we’ll have to have the boat hauled and transported home on a tractor-trailer.   

The good news, of course, is that no one is hurt; and the damage is definitely repairable.  It won’t be cheap, but the wizards at Haven Harbour (our home port) will make it look and act like new.

The other good news is that we are not fretting over the possibility of aborting the trip.  We view ourselves as adventurers, not vacationers, and this is the price of adventure: stuff happens.  We’re not worried about completing the trip: we can always do it next year.  We’re focused on the issue in front of us: making the best decision for the safety of the boat.

We won’t be able to formulate a course of action until we have had the boat inspected.  Looking forward along the Canal, there are no qualified marine service facilities for 100 miles: that’s like 3 day’s travel on the Canal.  So we plan to reverse course and return to Schenectady for an inspection.   Unfortunately, today is Sunday, and the boat yard we want to use is closed.  Hopefully, we will be able to schedule an inspection tomorrow or Tuesday.

Until then, we are at a perfectly fine marina, at the foot of a lovely riverside park in Amsterdam NY.  Not much to do here, but the vista is lovely, and we have everything we need.

Stand by….