Rachel Carson trip update
 

Thanks for all the interest in the long thread below.

We left Weatley able to hear the wind howl and the surf as we boarded the
boat. We were almost immediately in a very snotty Lake Erie heading
straight into it. Although we experienced zero G's a few times that boat
did great and conditions steadily improved. She is very quiet and smooth.
Once the the wind got down to a bit under 20 and we used up some of the long
fetch, she felt like a much larger vessel with the engines sounding a long
way behind us.

We made it through the Welland Canal in record time with every lock and
bridge opening just as we reached it. In view of a rough forecast for Lake
Ontario, we decided to use the time saved to rest up. The forecast was
wrong and we had a great run down the lake arriving mid day. We spent the
afternoon lowering the mast, taking off the tops off the exhaust stacks for
bridge clearance, and refueling.

We're now tied up in front of Best Western and got rooms for the night and
are about to go out for dinner.

The weather report is for heavy, steady rain and possible snow for the next
few days. It isn't going to be much fun standing out in this stuff tending
lines as we go through the locks.

--
Roger Long

Rachel Carson trip update
 

"Roger Long" wrote in
:

We're now tied up in front of Best Western and got rooms for the night
and are about to go out for dinner.



Roger, how many hours are on those new diesels and what oil changes have
been done to them, so far? I wondered that aloud as you entered the
Welland Canal. I like to change oil quite often the first few hundred
hours to make sure the manufacturing and initial wear metal filings are
cleaned out of them.

Great trip. Thanks for taking us along! It's really a nice ride by remote
control....(c;

Rachel Carson trip update
 

On Fri, 24 Oct 2008 18:11:07 -0400, "Roger Long"
wrote:

The weather report is for heavy, steady rain and possible snow for the next
few days.

Yee hah !

That's the upstate NY that I remember. :-)

Watch out for gusty cross winds in the locks.

Here's some pictures from the Bahamas to warm you up:

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/re...29593c9bd5a555

or

http://tinyurl.com/6mqsqy

Rachel Carson trip update
 

"Larry" wrote

Roger, how many hours are on those new diesels and what oil changes have
been done to them, so far?

People from Harper Diesel in MTU coveralls were swarmng over the boat right
up until we left and the jet room has what would be a large pickup truck
full of various fluids. This isn't your new yacht owner's trip. Our
delivery captain is a Transport Canada inspectorand it's all full scale
professionalism. I haven't paid attention to the oil changes but I'm sure
it's right on schedule. This is more like being on a NASA launch than
yachting.

Off to eat breakfast before going out in the soaking rain.

--
Roger Long

Rachel Carson trip update
 

On 25 Oct 2008 03:12:44 GMT, Larry wrote:

I like to change oil quite often the first few hundred
hours to make sure the manufacturing and initial wear metal filings are
cleaned out of them.

You ever hear of oil filters?

Casady

Rachel Carson trip update
 

Rachel Carson trip update
 

On 25 Oct 2008 20:11:46 GMT, Larry wrote:

(Richard Casady) wrote in
:

On 25 Oct 2008 03:12:44 GMT, Larry wrote:

I like to change oil quite often the first few hundred
hours to make sure the manufacturing and initial wear metal filings are
cleaned out of them.

You ever hear of oil filters?

Casady

Have you ever seen what you can pass THRU an oil filter?

Not much. Mostly soot.
I used to change the oil on my sprint car once a week, and cut open
the filters to check for "Glitter". There is a purpose built cutter
for that. Changed the sparkplugs weekly as well.

I do own a microscope, the kind every doctor used to own.

Depends on the filter just what will pass through. They sell five
micron filters for fuel, but I don't know about oil. Below a certain
size particles are harmless. I am sure the filter makers know what is
needed.

Casady

Rachel Carson trip update
 

"Larry" wrote in message
...
(Richard Casady) wrote in
:

On 25 Oct 2008 03:12:44 GMT, Larry wrote:

I like to change oil quite often the first few hundred
hours to make sure the manufacturing and initial wear metal filings are
cleaned out of them.

You ever hear of oil filters?

Casady

Have you ever seen what you can pass THRU an oil filter?

Try it some time.


Ya, I shot one with a .308 bullet once. :-D

Rachel Carson trip update
 

"KLC Lewis" wrote in
et:

Ya, I shot one with a .308 bullet once. :-D



Did it make it any easier to get off?

Rachel Carson trip update
 

"Larry" wrote in message
...
"KLC Lewis" wrote in
et:

Ya, I shot one with a .308 bullet once. :-D



Did it make it any easier to get off?


Na. Got slippery.

Rachel Carson trip update
 

KLC Lewis wrote:
"Larry" wrote in message
...
"KLC Lewis" wrote in
et:

Ya, I shot one with a .308 bullet once. :-D


Did it make it any easier to get off?


Na. Got slippery.


But you had somewhere to put the screwdriver!

Cheers
Martin

Rachel Carson trip update
 

"Marty" wrote in message
...
KLC Lewis wrote:
"Larry" wrote in message
...
"KLC Lewis" wrote in
et:

Ya, I shot one with a .308 bullet once. :-D


Did it make it any easier to get off?


Na. Got slippery.
But you had somewhere to put the screwdriver!

Cheers
Martin

Lol -- ya got a point there.

Rachel Carson trip update
 

Roger Long wrote:

The weather report is for heavy, steady rain and possible snow for the next
few days. It isn't going to be much fun standing out in this stuff tending
lines as we go through the locks.

Looks like you're stuck just before Lock 19,,

There's been a lot of rain in the last 36 hours, I wonder if the lock is
out of operation until the water lever goes down. Or maybe they don't
operate on weekends at the end of season?

Cheers
Martin

Rachel Carson trip update
 

On Sat, 25 Oct 2008 05:44:03 -0400, "Roger Long"
wrote:

Off to eat breakfast before going out in the soaking rain.

Roger, what is the problem at Lock 19 today (Sunday) ?

Rachel Carson trip update
 

On Sun, 26 Oct 2008 15:18:26 -0400, Marty wrote:

Looks like you're stuck just before Lock 19,,

There's been a lot of rain in the last 36 hours, I wonder if the lock is
out of operation until the water lever goes down. Or maybe they don't
operate on weekends at the end of season?

They operate on weekends but if something goes wrong with the old and
creaky electrical gear there is probably no one around on a Sunday to
fix it.

Rachel Carson trip update
 

Wayne.B wrote:
On Sun, 26 Oct 2008 15:18:26 -0400, Marty wrote:

Looks like you're stuck just before Lock 19,,

There's been a lot of rain in the last 36 hours, I wonder if the lock is
out of operation until the water lever goes down. Or maybe they don't
operate on weekends at the end of season?

They operate on weekends but if something goes wrong with the old and
creaky electrical gear there is probably no one around on a Sunday to
fix it.


Dang Gov'mint,, you know that there's more than enough expertise on that
boat to fix pretty much anything. To bad they wouldn't be allowed to do
just that.

Cheers
Martin

Rachel Carson trip update
 

On Sun, 26 Oct 2008 18:34:01 -0400, Marty wrote:

Wayne.B wrote:
On Sun, 26 Oct 2008 15:18:26 -0400, Marty wrote:

Looks like you're stuck just before Lock 19,,

There's been a lot of rain in the last 36 hours, I wonder if the lock is
out of operation until the water lever goes down. Or maybe they don't
operate on weekends at the end of season?

They operate on weekends but if something goes wrong with the old and
creaky electrical gear there is probably no one around on a Sunday to
fix it.


Dang Gov'mint,, you know that there's more than enough expertise on that
boat to fix pretty much anything. To bad they wouldn't be allowed to do
just that.


Some of that old gear they use on the canal looks like it belongs in a
museum. It was old when I was a kid. We did the reverse trip from
what Roger is doing in the summer of 2000 and were delayed several
times for lock repairs. We also get the same issue with lift bridges
here in Florida from time to time.

They know how to deal with lock equipment problems on the small
Canadian canals. Everything is hand cranked by college kids. :-)

Rachel Carson trip update
 

Wayne.B wrote:
On Sun, 26 Oct 2008 18:34:01 -0400, Marty wrote:

Wayne.B wrote:
On Sun, 26 Oct 2008 15:18:26 -0400, Marty wrote:

Looks like you're stuck just before Lock 19,,

There's been a lot of rain in the last 36 hours, I wonder if the lock is
out of operation until the water lever goes down. Or maybe they don't
operate on weekends at the end of season?
They operate on weekends but if something goes wrong with the old and
creaky electrical gear there is probably no one around on a Sunday to
fix it.

Dang Gov'mint,, you know that there's more than enough expertise on that
boat to fix pretty much anything. To bad they wouldn't be allowed to do
just that.


Some of that old gear they use on the canal looks like it belongs in a
museum. It was old when I was a kid. We did the reverse trip from
what Roger is doing in the summer of 2000 and were delayed several
times for lock repairs. We also get the same issue with lift bridges
here in Florida from time to time.

They know how to deal with lock equipment problems on the small
Canadian canals. Everything is hand cranked by college kids. :-)



Yup, I grew up around the Rideau, lived for a while on the canal withins
sight of the Kingston Mills Locks, and live on a Island just outside of
that canal. Hard to beat good old gears, chains, rods and hand power.

Cheers
Martin

Rachel Carson trip update
 

In article , Wayne.B wrote:
On Sat, 25 Oct 2008 05:44:03 -0400, "Roger Long"
wrote:

Off to eat breakfast before going out in the soaking rain.

Roger, what is the problem at Lock 19 today (Sunday) ?

From here it looks like he had the spot in his jacket pocket and went for a drunken dinghy ride, followed by a walk on the grass.

There's also one oddity in the track, it looks like they got to the lock, and then went back up the canal before proceeding to the lock once more. Looks weird.

Justin.

--
Justin C, by the sea.

Rachel Carson trip update
 

"Wayne.B" wrote

Roger, what is the problem at Lock 19 today (Sunday) ?


We're stuck but good. The heavy rains of Saturday have put this section of
the canal 2 feet above it's normal level and 6" above it's official maximum.
We are just 3" too high to make it under the railroad bridge below you can
see just below the dock.

We spent all of a perfect canal cruising day, bright sun, calm winds, warm,
sitting at the dock watching the level gauge. It went down just 3/8 inch
all day and the came back up half of that. At his rate, it we'll be here for
a few days. Our only hope is that small crews on Sunday prevented them from
opening all the dam gates downstream. We did learn that just two of seven
gates were opened. Hopefully, it is just a labor problem and not aging
infrastructure or downstream flooding considerations.

It was a beautiful place to spend a lazy day but it's going to be a lot less
appealing in tomorrow's weather. The captain and yard rep know the director
of the canal system personally so, if anything can be done, it probably will
be. We'll find out tomorrow.

We did head back up towards Utica late in the day but decided there was too
much debris to make the 16 mile round trip worthwhile and took a cab to a
motel.

The drunken dinghy ride Justin referrs to is just the non-waas SPOT fix
wandering around.

The canal is a great trip (when you can get under the bridges). The early
morning run with dawn breaking and mist rising off the water was worth the
price of admission.

--
Roger Long

Rachel Carson trip update
 

On Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:51:33 -0400, Marty wrote:

Yup, I grew up around the Rideau, lived for a while on the canal withins
sight of the Kingston Mills Locks, and live on a Island just outside of
that canal. Hard to beat good old gears, chains, rods and hand power.

Cool. We have fond memories of that cruise in our old Bertram 33. Up
the NYS/Erie/Oswego canals to Lake Ontario; across the lake to
Kingston; up the Rideal to Ottawa; down the Ottawa River to Montreal;
St Lawrence River to Sorel; Richelieu River and Chambly Canal back to
Lake Champlain; and then south to the Hudson River/NYC.

Here's a picture of us on that trip, headed north on the Oswego Canal
towards Fulton, NY and Lake Ontario:

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/1...djustedzy5.jpg

Rachel Carson trip update
 

On Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:38:23 -0000, Justin C
wrote:

There's also one oddity in the track, it looks like they got to the lock, and then went back up the canal before proceeding to the lock once more. Looks weird.


I'm guessing they got stalled out at the lock, thought about heading
back to Utica and civilization for the night, changed their mind and
went back to the lock to get an early start in the morning.

They lost a day off their schedule which gets expensive with paid
delivery crew.

Rachel Carson trip update
 

Morning:

Just got a call from the boat. Water went down an inch overnight. Maybe
we'll get out this morning.

--
Roger Long

Rachel Carson trip update
 

Roger Long wrote:
"Wayne.B" wrote
Roger, what is the problem at Lock 19 today (Sunday) ?


We're stuck but good. The heavy rains of Saturday have put this section of
the canal 2 feet above it's normal level and 6" above it's official maximum.
We are just 3" too high to make it under the railroad bridge below you can
see just below the dock.


I guessed right!

Cheers
Martin

Rachel Carson trip update
 

Wayne.B wrote:
On Sun, 26 Oct 2008 19:51:33 -0400, Marty wrote:

Yup, I grew up around the Rideau, lived for a while on the canal withins
sight of the Kingston Mills Locks, and live on a Island just outside of
that canal. Hard to beat good old gears, chains, rods and hand power.

Cool. We have fond memories of that cruise in our old Bertram 33. Up
the NYS/Erie/Oswego canals to Lake Ontario; across the lake to
Kingston; up the Rideal to Ottawa; down the Ottawa River to Montreal;
St Lawrence River to Sorel; Richelieu River and Chambly Canal back to
Lake Champlain; and then south to the Hudson River/NYC.

Here's a picture of us on that trip, headed north on the Oswego Canal
towards Fulton, NY and Lake Ontario:

http://img412.imageshack.us/img412/1...djustedzy5.jpg


Nice trip Wayne, you would have passed west of Wolfe Island, I live at
the east end of that island.

Cheers
Martin

Rachel Carson trip update
 

"Martin Baxter" wrote

I guessed right!

You win the tee shirt! Write your name and address on a $50.00 bill and
I'll send it to you:)

We made it under the bridge with about two inches to spare.

We're in Amsterdam, NY after a pleasant day of canaling despite cloudy
skies. It really doesn't sound like it's going to be much fun working our
way down the locks to Waterford though in the weather predicted for
tomorrow. There are flood warnings for where we are right now so it will be
a race between us and the water flow. Keep your eye on the SPOT.

--
Roger Long

Rachel Carson trip update
 

Roger Long wrote:
"Martin Baxter" wrote

I guessed right!

You win the tee shirt! Write your name and address on a $50.00 bill and
I'll send it to you:)

You've been listening to too much "Click and Clack"

We made it under the bridge with about two inches to spare.

We're in Amsterdam, NY after a pleasant day of canaling despite cloudy
skies. It really doesn't sound like it's going to be much fun working our
way down the locks to Waterford though in the weather predicted for
tomorrow. There are flood warnings for where we are right now so it will be
a race between us and the water flow. Keep your eye on the SPOT.

Yes, we're going to catch some of it,, I live on the St. Lawrence just
around the corner from Oswego.

You staying in hotel/motel or on the boat?

Cheers
Martin

--
Roger Long

Rachel Carson trip update
 

Roger, make sure you are looking forward at the last three locks. It
is a thrilling end to a long ride.