Timing is Everything

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Written June 8-11, 2026 – Traveled May 27 – June 8, 2026

We have now traversed the Hudson River from New York to Waterford, just above Troy and gone through 22 locks on the Erie Canal (actually one on the Hudson and 21 on the Erie) to Brewerton on the west side of Lake Oneida north of Syracuse. The Hudson is a little over 150 statute miles from New York to Waterford and we have traversed 150.5 miles of the Erie. 10 miles and one lock to go before we turn north into the Oswego Canal that will take us 24 miles and 7 locks to the first of our Great Lakes, Ontario. We traveled this path before, from the City to the entrance to Lock 8 in 2021 before turning around due to flood waters and the entire path in 2022 when we traveled the St Lawrence River to the Bay of St Lawrence and down through the Canadian Maritimes and on to Maine. So, not new territory, but each time it is a bit different.

One thing that was different is that Jim’s brother Bob joined us in Troy and traveled with us for a week from there to Brewerton. You’ll not see any pictures of Bob on our journey as he prefers to not have his pictures published. So, you can imagine him as you wish if you don’t know him. This was his first time boating with us and he had lots to learn with locking, docking, tying to walls, charts, boat lingo, …. One must be a quick learner as the first lock was 12 hours after he arrived! It was also rather amazing that Bob brought drought from New Mexico with him. It had been raining LOTS before he arrived, but once he arrived, it did rain until the day after he left.

The Hudson

Before we get to the Erie, we made a few stops on the Hudson River.

We moved fairly quickly up the Hudson but did stop for a nice dinner at the Culinary Institute. We’ve eaten at each of the 3 restaurants at least once and they are all good.

I won’t bore you with food pictures. We did have a lovely meal. The grounds at the Culinary Institute are perched above the Hudson on a hill and a easy walk through the woods from a tiny marina on the river with a couple of transient docks that folks use to go to dinner.

We popped into Kingston next and found a lovely trail along Rondout Creek and the Hudson with some lovely marshy area.

The Hudson is tidal all the was to Albany. Thus, sometimes these breakwaters into Kingston harbor are under water, sometimes visible. Such a cute lighthouse, but mostly accessed by boat at the entrance to the canal. This pic is taken from the trail that does around a large pond/marsh area on one side and the Hudson/Rondout on the other.

Other stops were primarily to get us north with walks to get off the boat but nothing super eventful.

Troy, New York

We arranged to meet up with our friends Penny and Rob who live in Ticonderoga. A couple hours drive for them, but Rob’s daughter lives a bit further south of Troy so it was a good excuse for them. We met Penny and Rob with they house sat for us for a couple months quite a few years ago in Santa Fe. We hit it off and have stayed in touch.

We had a wonderful time at the Troy Farmers Market, a year around outdoor market; rain, snow or shine…. And it was raining! It is a very good market and we came away with sausage, bacon, cheese, greens, bread, vodka and alpaca finger-less gloves. We finished with a nice lunch of BBQ and more chatting. It was so good to see them; it was like it had only been a few weeks since we’d seen them.

Rob and Penny are such a joy. Rob is carrying a lamp we found on the boat (came with it) which we willed to him. Rincon in the background on the Troy dock. Just beyond the bridge is the Tory Lock (the Federal Lock).

We had planned for Rob to be our helper taking the mast down. We’ve taken it up or down 6 times so have a process, but it is always nice to have a helper or two. There is a train bridge between Albany and Troy which typically opens on demand. With our mast up, we can’t make it under this bridge when closed. Turns out there is construction on the bridge and they are not opening, period. Around we turn, back to Albany Yacht Club where we’ve stayed twice before, and taken our mast down twice before (link to demasting post). It was not far to the Club and they were kind enough to let us dock, deflate the dinghy, move it onto it’s special chocks and then take the mast down. Probably for the best that this happened as although it was a bit windy taking the mast down, it would have been less fun in the rain the next day in Troy.

Rincon all tucked down and ready to go… except for her antennas. The 3 tall ones cant back for the bridges.

We had a “fun” adventure getting through the train bridge after demasting, but I’ll leave that story out as it raises my blood pressure just thinking about it. A stupid, rude “safety” guy in his tiny boat trying to keep us safe whom we nearly ran over as he pulled in front of us and stopped. He apparently does not know how to use a radio.

On To The Canal

We did another pumpout in Troy and headed a very short distance to the first lock, the Federal Lock on the Hudson. A very easy lock which caries a fair amount of barge traffic. A left turn into the Mohawk River and immediately there is the first lock on the Erie, know as Lock 2; the first lock is the Federal lock on the Hudson.

And here it is, Lock 2 staring us in the face. Just under the bridge.

There is a group of 5 locks here in very quick succession. Sadly, we ended up doing these 5 with two other boats which slowed things down greatly while everyone gets settle in each lock. As we were the first boat, we also had to move to the front of the lock. It can be rather disconcerting being so close to the front.

Granted, this was with a long lens, but I tell you, we were 20 feet from this cascading water. Moany/most of the locks dribble or flow water even when the locks are closed. Lets just say they are NOT water tight.

We continued on, just past Lock 8. A lovely place to tie and very calm waters. In 2021 when we came to Lock 8, there were torrential flood waters.

Once the locks stop opening and closing for the day, the water above the locks gets quite calm. The boat in front of us is a “typical looper boat”, loopers being people doing the Great Loop. We are not officially doing the loop although have done more than half of it, the East Coast up portion but not the down part through the mid-country rivers. We have done what they call the Triangle Loop (Erie Canal to Lake Ontario, down the St. Lawrence to Montreal and down the Richlean/Chambley to Lake Champlain and the Hudson; although not in this order) and the Down East Loop (Hudson River to Erie Canal to Lake Ontario, down the length of the St. Lawrence, Through Quebec, and Nova Scotia, down the New England coast and through Long Island Sound to the Hudson). Our boat is well suited for this last trip, a bit more “size challenged” for the first two.

I’d been hoping this trip to stop in different locations than our previous trips. However, for the most part, the day lengths and quality of tie up dictated where we stopped. Little difference than past trips. Follows are some additional pics of our transit.

Coming to Lock 8. This is a typical entrance to many locks, a dam on one side with flowing water and a lock to get us to the level of the water on the other side (could be we are above or below) In 2021, there was surging, royling water between where we are and the lock. I started to go through and finally the lock answered and told us we could come through but would have to tie up as the locks ahead were closed. We turned around. I can’t imagine how the water would ahve been above or how we would have tied. In 2021, it was quite scary, this time it was a piece of cake.
Many of the dams have this structure over them to support steel plates that they drop into place to control the flow of water. They had us stopped (tied up below the lock) while they got this steel plate in place. If you look closely you can see big logs in the way of completely getting the plate in place.
This image is not distorted, really. The train bridge crosses at an oblique angle to Lock 19. One has to go under the bridge and into the lock. As we were approaching, a freight train began crossing the bridge; they wre just opening the lock gates. If you look closely, you can see the train engine. Last pick I got as I had to concentrate. It was LOUD and a rather narrow, low entrance. Jim and Bob have video. About the time we entered the lock, the train passed.
Another fun lock. This one at Little Falls has a guillotine gate on the lower entrance as the lock is a 50.5 foot lift. I guess they felt the guillotine would provide more security for the gate then swinging doors. At Little Falls I’d hoped to visit the antique stores. Last time we were here we bought silver for the boat for a pittance. Alas, today was a day the antique stores werer closed, but we had a nice Italian dinner.
There is a foot/bike train the entire length of the Erie Canal; much of it likely old tow paths. Many of the locks have been moved over time. This is a remanant of Lock 23, about 3000 ft from Lock 8 which we came through. Lock 23 was built in 1841 and replaced the original Lock 26. Now isn’t that clear. From it’s beginning in 1836, the canal has been widened and deepened and new technology introduced to support larger barges. The trail allowd us to have a lovely walk each day we tied to a wall at a lock. Most locks have small parks with tables and places for boats to tie as well as, of course the trail and car parks.
In Sylvan Beach, a resort community on the east side of Lake Oneida (part of the Erie Canal) these young kayakers removed a large branch from the water next to the wall where we were tied. There is lots of debris in the water and one has to be diligent when boating to not hit these things. Bad for props and the bottom of boats. This one seemed to just sit mid canal and thus the passing boats were comming quite close to the docked boats to pass. It was a fun kayak challenge for them.
And there was the car show. Every Thursday on the grass by the lake, folks bring their cars. Some pretty vehicles.
This was an expecially pretty and well done kit car.
As always, there were some oddities.
And one monstor truck. I’d never been close to one. We had a chance to chat with the owner a bit about it. You knid of just hoist yourself in. Would not be easy with a tight or short skirt.

Tori’s Eyes

Somewhere along the Hudson, Tori seemed to develop a pink eye. It started in one eye and migrated to the other. I e-mailed my vet and they suggested perhaps allergies or it could be an infection otherwise but to try warm compresses. I did this a bit but it seemed like it was getting worse.

This was early on. Her right eye was noticably pink.

It was hard to find a vet along the canal, not many, not taking patients, too far away or just we’d have to wait too long. Once we made it to Brewerton, there were several vets and the marina also has a courtesy car. Jim dogged (or is that catted) the vets and we got an appointment for Tori the afternoon we arrived.

Tori anxiously awaiting the vet’s arrival. She almost got her first bicycle ride. The marina car was out and we needed to go to the vet. We had the bikes ready to go and wer going to strap tori’s carrier into Jim’s basket. Luckliy the marina car came back just in time!

They checked and she did not have a scratch on her eye so gave us some eye drops. She gets a nice spa treatment, an eye wash which she likes and then the drops which she does not. But, she is getting better. Probably the 10 day course as opposed to seven.

Tori seems to really enjoy being wrapped tightly in a towel and having me gently wipe at her tear ducts with a warm rag. She is very quiet with both eyes closed and slightly grunts. When Jim arrives with the drops, she is not happy and squirms. I think they sting a bit. She is getting better but seems to be in the 3 times a day for 10 days regime to get this completely cleared. About half way there. Chicha loves when Tori gets the drops!

As you can see, timing is everything; Penny and Rob being able to visit, Bob making a last minute trip to the boat, the car show in Sylvan Beach, missing the antique shops in Little Falls, an available vet in Berewerton. Somehow things always seem to work out.

Along part of the Erie Canal Trail, they had signs from the Color the Canal initiative. I particularily liked this one!

Comments

Timing is Everything — 4 Comments

  1. I was with you, it was my very first Rincon Feliz trip, for the big water adventure at lock 8 and remember it well … scary indeed! Glad the Lock attendant answered before we proceeded much further.

  2. You next canal transit with be interesting. “Lock” 44 will be fun. Look… Rincon is flying 😉