Mondays are usually moving-on days and so we left Waterford 8/17 with Orinoco. We all agreed that Waterford is one of the best small town stops on the Loop. There are only a few waterway signs on the Loop but this one points us to Lake Champlain so we can’t get lost. Orinoco is taking the Erie Canal for points west and way beyond (Alaska) to continue their expanding live-aboard adventure. Bon voyage. 
Have boat poles, gloves and fenders as well as lowered mast, radar and antennas so we’re ready to do the Champlain Canal locks. All of the boating guides warn that you have to be ready for a 15.5’ clearance---wow---are we going to make that one, Bob? We had the flybridge bimini ready to lower but luckily we had 17’ clearance throughout the canal.
The Champlain Canal rises 139 feet over 42 miles to Lock 8 and then descends 44 feet for 22 miles to Lock 12 in Whitehall. It follows the Hudson River upstream to Fort Edward and then through a dug canal to Whitehall. We bought a 4 day pass for $30 and it was well worth it.
It was constructed in the early 1800’s for sailing commercial canal boats with 150 tons of cargo which were pulled through the original narrow, shallow canal on side trails by mules and horses. Even when steam tugs were used later, the journey would be 4-5 long days. We’re feeling pretty speedy with our 135 horsepower Ford Lehman engine doing 7-8 mph. The canal was the superhighway of its day transporting goods and passengers around the region.
The canal takes you through the heartland of New York State with its fertile farmlands, famous battlefields, charming canal towns and wildlife preserves, but there has been a major glitch this year. General Electric was ordered to clean-up their sizable toxic PCB dumps in the Fort Edwards area and hired private contractors to do so. Their dredging unleashed PCBs into the canal area and downstream and also collapsed part of the old fort. The only positive that I can see is that with the PCB scrub, I probably will not have to compound the hull before I wax this fall.
Have boat poles, gloves and fenders as well as lowered mast, radar and antennas so we’re ready to do the Champlain Canal locks. All of the boating guides warn that you have to be ready for a 15.5’ clearance---wow---are we going to make that one, Bob? We had the flybridge bimini ready to lower but luckily we had 17’ clearance throughout the canal.
The Champlain Canal rises 139 feet over 42 miles to Lock 8 and then descends 44 feet for 22 miles to Lock 12 in Whitehall. It follows the Hudson River upstream to Fort Edward and then through a dug canal to Whitehall. We bought a 4 day pass for $30 and it was well worth it.
It was constructed in the early 1800’s for sailing commercial canal boats with 150 tons of cargo which were pulled through the original narrow, shallow canal on side trails by mules and horses. Even when steam tugs were used later, the journey would be 4-5 long days. We’re feeling pretty speedy with our 135 horsepower Ford Lehman engine doing 7-8 mph. The canal was the superhighway of its day transporting goods and passengers around the region.
The canal takes you through the heartland of New York State with its fertile farmlands, famous battlefields, charming canal towns and wildlife preserves, but there has been a major glitch this year. General Electric was ordered to clean-up their sizable toxic PCB dumps in the Fort Edwards area and hired private contractors to do so. Their dredging unleashed PCBs into the canal area and downstream and also collapsed part of the old fort. The only positive that I can see is that with the PCB scrub, I probably will not have to compound the hull before I wax this fall.
The northland is finally experiencing summer with temps in the 90's and humidity to match. We have only used our portable air conditioner about 5 times on the whole Loop but this week, we are plugging it in whenever we have shore power.
We tied up at the free dock in Whitehall (electricity and water) just before the last lock, #12. Whitehall is the birthplace of the US Navy due to its history of constructing the first 12 ships for the fledgling American War for Independence in 1776. Today, the Victorian/French Gothic Skene Manor presides over the town and welcomes visitors for lunch and tours on weekends.
We tied up at the free dock in Whitehall (electricity and water) just before the last lock, #12. Whitehall is the birthplace of the US Navy due to its history of constructing the first 12 ships for the fledgling American War for Independence in 1776. Today, the Victorian/French Gothic Skene Manor presides over the town and welcomes visitors for lunch and tours on weekends.
