Erie Canal - Day 1

Today was a day of river locks.  That means that as we are traveling west on the Erie Canal, for the first time, our boat is above sea level. Each lock raises the boat to a higher level of water. The Waterford flight of locks raised us 33-35 feet for each of 5 locks; the boat went up 180 feet in 5 locks!  It took 2 hours to accomplish this.  You wait in the river while the lock master gets the water in the lock to your level.  He opens two large gates, and the boat enters the lock.  There is room for 4-6 boats per lock.  You grab a long line hanging from the top of the lock wall to hold your boat in place.  Fred and I each held a hanging line.  Then the lock master lets water from the other side into the lock, and the boats slowly rise to the level of the river on the other side of that lock.  Once the water in the lock is equivalent to the river ahead, the gates open, and you drive out of the lock.  

There was one other boat traveling with us to each lock. So we took pictures of them, and they took pictures of us.  Loop people are great!

Various pictures of the locks -

New clean gloves for the beginning of our journey

The lines you hold onto are disgusting with the mud and algae from the river


















Comments

  1. Peg M.July 2, 2021 at 11:35 AM

    great pictures! This is truly and adventure, and those locks are an engineering marvel. Thanks for letting us tag along with your blog. Safe travels :)
    Peg

    ReplyDelete
  2. Taurus Great LoopJuly 2, 2021 at 12:10 PM

    Thanks! The locks were built in 1916, so you’re absolutely right. There have been updates through the years. Thanks for commenting. It tells me someone is paying attention. 😃

    ReplyDelete
  3. Stephanie LessardJuly 3, 2021 at 12:21 PM

    Very cool!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Taurus Great LoopJuly 4, 2021 at 6:27 AM

      Yes, it is! It’s all so different from boating in the salt water on the east coast. We don’t have to deal with tides now, or waves - well, just our own wake when we slow down 😆

      Delete
  4. Tom PastorJuly 6, 2021 at 5:50 AM

    Peg and Fred: 2 hours to get through five locks seems pretty efficient. I guess not much traffic>

    Tom

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Taurus Great LoopJuly 6, 2021 at 7:56 AM

      Hi Tom, it helps if a boat comes from the opposite direction. Then the water is already at our level. It takes longer if the lock master needs to lower the water in order for us to enter the lock. It’s been a real learning experience.
      Deb

      Delete

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