Roger,

I've been through the NY Barge canal 6 times in the past three years and
have a few general comments.

1. There are many places that you could seemingly arrange to leave a boat
for a week or two. I did so at the municipal marina in St Johnsville, and I
might also recommend you contact: Cayuga Boat works in Cayuga (on Cayuga
Lake, but not more than a couple miles out of the way. ) Coopers marina in
Baldwinsville - http://www.coopersmarina.com/, or one of the marinas in
Oneida lake. Many of the marina's are very small with limited dock space so
I'd call ahead and ask about rates and reservations. Folks were generally
friendly and you might be able negotiate a deal for longer stays.

2. Sailing or motoring directly to Oswego through Lake Ontario is much
quicker if you are open to the idea. If the weather is good I think you
could make the trip from Buffalo to Oswego in three days, then three more
days to Albany.

3. Marina's at the entrance to the canal all seem to do a good business with
their gin poles. It may be easier to bite the bullet and let the "experts"
get you mast down quickly. You may find better deals but if you are on a
tight schedule it may not be worth the trouble.

4. Some sailboats carry their mast directly on their coachtop, bow and
stern pulpits, without a rack. It's not ideal but it's an option. A
simple rack could be built with 2 2x4's and 2 lag bolts. There's not much
to it. Secure it well with a couple lines tensioned to a winch to keep it
from wobbling when you encounter big wakes.

5. Pre-plan and carry an engine repair kit with a full set of spares.
Transiting the canal with a sailboat involves a lot of long days running at
nearly full speed. I feel that I can deal with most other eventualities
(price gouging marina's, rainy weather, big wakes) but a dead fuel pump will
ruin your day.

6. I never stay at marinas overnight. Stay at the lock walls or town docks.
They are free, usually nice, and you can get a good early start when they
open. Many towns have put in new free docks, some with electricity and
restrooms.

Good luck, enjoy the trip, and don't hesitate to let me know if I can be of
further assistance.

Jason
C&C 27 "Chaser"






"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
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.

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.

--

Roger Long