Ed. note: If you click on a picture in the blob, it should blow up to a much larger size. I realize many of you know that, but it came to my attention that not every reader was aware.
At the end of our last episode, Susan & I were headed back to the NY State Canal system. We left the little town of Fair Haven and headed for the canal entrance in Oswego. When we arrived and passed thru the first lock to tie up at the wall, my brother Mark had left his car there for us with the keys hidden inside. What a guy!
We headed south from Oswego with only 29 more locks to the Hudson River. The locking on the way south & east went much better than the trip north mostly due to much lower water flows and our recent practice on the way north. I'm going to take a moment here to elaborate on locking and docking since quite a few folks have asked questions.
This pic shows our boat (center, left) in the standard size lock with six other boats, after we are secured to the lock wall. To get us secured, you can see Susan (below), using a boat hook to snag a line that she then ties to the 40,000 lb boat. The captain is required to put the boat in reverse to stop the boat at the correct point and but not reverse too much and pull her into the water. The captain then moves smartly to the stern and secures another line before the boat goes sideways in the lock.
Once the water level goes up/down, the boats motor out like a row of ducks to the next lock. We transited 60 locks on this trip, about 7-8 each cruising day.
I mentioned in an earlier post that the highest lock, Little Falls, had a guillotine gate on the east side. Susan got a great shot as we exited the lock. The boat must pass under the guillotine and it disturbs us to do this more than it should.
Cruisers on the canal often stop at the same places and get together on the docks at the end of the day for what is called "docktails". This gathering occurred in Amsterdam, NY, after a nine lock day. Temptation's crew is seated farthest from the camera.
Lest you think the trip is nothing but stunning views and unlimited booze, as we were motoring east on the canal after one of the locks, we heard and felt a large BOOM. I jumped up and looked astern to see one end of a large tree pop up from under our boat. It then sank back out of sight. (Ed note: Robin, cover the grand kids eyes.) @$%^$%#$#!$%^&% we struck a submerged log!
I then went into discovery mode to check for damage. Luckily I could find no water coming in nor were our water intrusion alarms sounding. However, a check of the propellers revealed that the starboard (right side for the infantry) prop had a serious vibration starting at about 1,400 rpm.
As a result, we need to find a boat yard to haul the boat out of the water, remove the prop, send it to a prop shop for repair/replacement, inspect the prop shaft, rudder, yada, yada, for damage and repair as necessary. This will likely cost us 3-5 days of delay and several BOAT units. For non-boaters wondering what the heck is a BOAT unit? The acronym BOAT stands for Break Out Another Thousand. Hey, one definition of cruising is " fixing your boat in remote places".
The eastern terminus of the Erie Canal is in Waterford, NY, at the junction of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. This is a great stop and we enjoyed three days there including lunch with my sister, Patsy and her husband Stan, who live nearby.
Waterford has a long Erie Canal history. Since the early barges were pulled by mules (circa ~1830), they have a mule statue on the dock to honor the beasts. That is not graffiti on the mule, it is part of the monument, somewhat like a mural. There would a picture of us astride the mule but for several signs with dire warnings not to.
From Waterford we enter the Hudson River and head towards NY City, albeit slowly because of the propeller problem. The Hudson has several light houses on small islands in the river. They are quite picturesque.
When we decided to revise our plans, Susan recalled that we could now include a stop at West Point for a reunion of the West Point Glee Club. I can almost feel and hear the astonishment from many readers at the thought that this organization would have me as a member. Nevertheless, over 100 alumni voices gathered for the event whose highlight was a joint concert with the West Point Band. The concert venue was the outdoor amphitheater at Trophy Point. You are over a hundred feet above the Hudson River looking north in this shot.
Aside: Just after this shot, a group of new freshmen (plebes) wandered though the amphitheater in combat uniforms with rifles. Well, wander is probably a bit unjust since they were on a training patrol. However, I, like many other old goats, suspect that everywhere we ever worked, went to school, etc, has gone to hell since we left. It's a requirement for Old Goat status.
The concert seemed to be a big success and was great fun for our group. In the "looking for Waldo" picture below, I am in the last row, due north of the director's right hand. I'm the short guy in a gray shirt with gray hair between two tall guys in gray shirts with gray hair.
During the reunion weekend, we docked at Cornwall-on-Hudson just 4 water miles away. We depart here tomorrow for Haverstraw Marina where we will begin the repairs from the log incident. Susan promises that the next update will not be full of details about props, cutlass bearings, rudders, shafts, etc. I think there are at least two readers who, if those details were included, would not set themselves on fire. I'm willing to defer to the vox populi.
At the end of our last episode, Susan & I were headed back to the NY State Canal system. We left the little town of Fair Haven and headed for the canal entrance in Oswego. When we arrived and passed thru the first lock to tie up at the wall, my brother Mark had left his car there for us with the keys hidden inside. What a guy!
We headed south from Oswego with only 29 more locks to the Hudson River. The locking on the way south & east went much better than the trip north mostly due to much lower water flows and our recent practice on the way north. I'm going to take a moment here to elaborate on locking and docking since quite a few folks have asked questions.
This pic shows our boat (center, left) in the standard size lock with six other boats, after we are secured to the lock wall. To get us secured, you can see Susan (below), using a boat hook to snag a line that she then ties to the 40,000 lb boat. The captain is required to put the boat in reverse to stop the boat at the correct point and but not reverse too much and pull her into the water. The captain then moves smartly to the stern and secures another line before the boat goes sideways in the lock.
Once the water level goes up/down, the boats motor out like a row of ducks to the next lock. We transited 60 locks on this trip, about 7-8 each cruising day.
I mentioned in an earlier post that the highest lock, Little Falls, had a guillotine gate on the east side. Susan got a great shot as we exited the lock. The boat must pass under the guillotine and it disturbs us to do this more than it should.
Cruisers on the canal often stop at the same places and get together on the docks at the end of the day for what is called "docktails". This gathering occurred in Amsterdam, NY, after a nine lock day. Temptation's crew is seated farthest from the camera.
Lest you think the trip is nothing but stunning views and unlimited booze, as we were motoring east on the canal after one of the locks, we heard and felt a large BOOM. I jumped up and looked astern to see one end of a large tree pop up from under our boat. It then sank back out of sight. (Ed note: Robin, cover the grand kids eyes.) @$%^$%#$#!$%^&% we struck a submerged log!
I then went into discovery mode to check for damage. Luckily I could find no water coming in nor were our water intrusion alarms sounding. However, a check of the propellers revealed that the starboard (right side for the infantry) prop had a serious vibration starting at about 1,400 rpm.
As a result, we need to find a boat yard to haul the boat out of the water, remove the prop, send it to a prop shop for repair/replacement, inspect the prop shaft, rudder, yada, yada, for damage and repair as necessary. This will likely cost us 3-5 days of delay and several BOAT units. For non-boaters wondering what the heck is a BOAT unit? The acronym BOAT stands for Break Out Another Thousand. Hey, one definition of cruising is " fixing your boat in remote places".
The eastern terminus of the Erie Canal is in Waterford, NY, at the junction of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. This is a great stop and we enjoyed three days there including lunch with my sister, Patsy and her husband Stan, who live nearby.
Waterford has a long Erie Canal history. Since the early barges were pulled by mules (circa ~1830), they have a mule statue on the dock to honor the beasts. That is not graffiti on the mule, it is part of the monument, somewhat like a mural. There would a picture of us astride the mule but for several signs with dire warnings not to.
From Waterford we enter the Hudson River and head towards NY City, albeit slowly because of the propeller problem. The Hudson has several light houses on small islands in the river. They are quite picturesque.
When we decided to revise our plans, Susan recalled that we could now include a stop at West Point for a reunion of the West Point Glee Club. I can almost feel and hear the astonishment from many readers at the thought that this organization would have me as a member. Nevertheless, over 100 alumni voices gathered for the event whose highlight was a joint concert with the West Point Band. The concert venue was the outdoor amphitheater at Trophy Point. You are over a hundred feet above the Hudson River looking north in this shot.
Aside: Just after this shot, a group of new freshmen (plebes) wandered though the amphitheater in combat uniforms with rifles. Well, wander is probably a bit unjust since they were on a training patrol. However, I, like many other old goats, suspect that everywhere we ever worked, went to school, etc, has gone to hell since we left. It's a requirement for Old Goat status.
The concert seemed to be a big success and was great fun for our group. In the "looking for Waldo" picture below, I am in the last row, due north of the director's right hand. I'm the short guy in a gray shirt with gray hair between two tall guys in gray shirts with gray hair.
During the reunion weekend, we docked at Cornwall-on-Hudson just 4 water miles away. We depart here tomorrow for Haverstraw Marina where we will begin the repairs from the log incident. Susan promises that the next update will not be full of details about props, cutlass bearings, rudders, shafts, etc. I think there are at least two readers who, if those details were included, would not set themselves on fire. I'm willing to defer to the vox populi.
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