Roger Long wrote:

My planned transit of the Erie Canal by 32 foot sailboat this summer
is looking more difficult since the cruising guide arrived yesterday.
My plans require leaving the boat at a couple places, probably
Rochester and Syracuse, for one to two weeks and then returning to
continue the trip. There don't appear to be many places to do this.
Does anyone have any experience or recommendations on this?

A while ago, someone said that one of the two yards that take down
masts in Buffalo (where I also have to leave the boat for a while) was
to be avoided. I wouldn't want anyone to bad mouth a business but, can
anyone recommend which yard to use? There appear to be only two so I'll
draw my own conclusions.

When the mast comes down, will the marina have people with the skills
and materials to build a suitable rack to hold the mast? I'd like to
avoid trying to fly out with hammers, saws, drills, and lumber in my
luggage.


From the mid '90s be prepared to use lumber found at either end of the
canal near the gin pole and reciprocate by leaving it on the other end
when you hoist the mast back up. Fasteners may be another issue, and it
was a DIY job. No experience with hired help. Do a sturdy job, wakes
are a problem with 3% of other boats and it only takes one to spoil your
day... Also available were some scuzzy fenders - well suited to the
locks, we abandon them too at trip's end for recycling.

BTW I faxed an order to the canal corp the day before yesterday for
the cruising guide. I only specified and paid for standard delivery
but it arrived FedEx yesterday morning! This is incredible service
from a state agency. I didn't expect it for weeks. I've heard that
they are trying hard to attract boaters to the canal system. Maybe
good service is part of that.



On the plus side, the folks we met were delightful and the food was great.
Our platform was a CT-42, beginning at Oswego the last year of the
non-fee passage.
The boat preceding us at first up lock was the last (unverified)
commercial bulk carrier in the system.
She holed herself on that trip (scuttlebutt at later locks) and may have
been taken out of service that year (rumored later).
Rec vessels may be the only thing left?

Skip