Hi folks. Was reviewing the canal system in New York State this
morning on Google Earth, and was quite surprised at what I saw.

I'm investigating the option of going from Oswego to NYC. I'm guessing
it's 300 miles total.

Does anybody have any experience doing this? How long would it take on
a sailboat? Where and how does one go about taking their mast down?

Cheers

On 23 Feb 2006 16:46:30 -0800, "BeeRich" wrote:

Does anybody have any experience doing this? How long would it take on
a sailboat? Where and how does one go about taking their mast down?

There are several marinas in Oswego that have experience with this.

You can restep the mast anywhere south of Troy, NY where you exit the
canal.

Average transit time from Oswego to NY is about 5 days.

I highly recommend that you go to the NYS Barge Canal web site and
order their cruising guide. It is well done and indispensible.

http://www.canals.state.ny.us/exvac/cguide/index.html

My brother in law did this several years ago, bringing a
sailboat to Florida from Michigan. To hear him tell it, the
barge canal was one of the most enjoyable partions of their
entire trip

Hi guys, thanks for the replies. I saw that they do have a guide, and
am interested in getting one. I had expected the canal to be one of
the dreary parts of the trip, but I see that is a great part. 5 days
of motoring in a muddy narrow passage sounds like a bit of a headache
to me. However, coming out in NYC sounds like it would be a treat.

Cheers

On 24 Feb 2006 00:22:14 -0800, "BeeRich" wrote:

5 days
of motoring in a muddy narrow passage sounds like a bit of a headache
to me.

The trip is a great deal more than that. Most people find it quite
enjoyable, and I don't think you will discover it to be either narrow
or muddy.

Be aware that there is only one mast crane in Oswego. Nice town, nice
people, except for the marina operator. You do all the work and he
charges outrageous rates for his do-nothing staff.caveat emptor with
this gangster.

On Fri, 24 Feb 2006 16:29:16 -0800, rexbradley wrote:

Be aware that there is only one mast crane in Oswego. Nice town, nice
people, except for the marina operator. You do all the work and he
charges outrageous rates for his do-nothing staff.caveat emptor with
this gangster.

The above post should be ignored.

Oswego Marina has have taken my stick down and put it up.

Both times they were courteous, professional, truly competent and very
quick. They have de-masted and stepped thousands of masts and the
experience shows. I would use them again without a doubt.

I think the fees were something like $2/ft of mast length plus a set up
fee.

We did it this last summer in a 36' trawler with an air draft of 19.5'
without a problem, although the section west of the south end of the
Oswego requires that you get down to 15.5' or something like that.
Bring lots of fenders, as you don't always get to tie up on the side you
want, a big deal in a single screw trawler. Don't try it singlehanded.

The Hudson is way cool, especially going into NYC

Capt. Jeff

Tamaroak wrote:
We did it this last summer in a 36' trawler with an air draft of 19.5'
without a problem, although the section west of the south end of the
Oswego requires that you get down to 15.5' or something like that. Bring
lots of fenders, as you don't always get to tie up on the side you want,
a big deal in a single screw trawler. Don't try it singlehanded.

The Hudson is way cool, especially going into NYC

Capt. Jeff


Good to hear that 19.5' is no problem. I've been designing a fireboat
for the city of Baltimore and it will be built on the Great Lakes. We
designed it for a height of 19'8" (19.66'). They have been advised to
go slowlly under the bridges (no bow up trim please!) on the delivery
voyage.

Evan Gatehouse

Great notes, people. Thanks for the postings.

Does anybody have any pictures posted? I'd love to see them. I've
travelled what I think is the trip, through Google Earth. I bet the
Hudson is a great trip. Also where the seafood starts.

Cheers