A few miles north of Albany, at the town of Waterford, a decision must be made: continue on the Hudson River to the Champlain Canal or turn left and go through the Erie Canal. We chose the Hudson/Champlain to cut several hundred miles off of our trip. Boats going on the "Great Loop" turn left and go through the Erie.
We knew when we began our trip that the controlling height on some bridges in the Hudson/Champlain is 17'. The height over our tender is 17'6". If we remove the tender, lower antennas,lower naviational lights, etc, our minimum height is 15' 1" so away we went.
In order to travel from Albany, NY to Lake Champlain, we had to lock through 12 locks. We knew it would be slow going so we decided to make the trip in two days, stopping overnight at Schuylerville, NY.
Nine locks carry you to your maximum elevation, 139 ft above sea level. The last 4 drop you to the level of Lake Champlain, 95 ft above sea level. On average, each lock moves you about 15 ft. We were all pretty nervous as we approached the first lock because we didn't know what to expect. This lock required us to tie our own line at mid-ship around a pipe in the wall and "ride" the line up the pipe as the water rushed into the lock. Terry handled the line while Judi was forward and Tom aft, manning boat hooks to keep the boat off of the slimy walls. We also had 2 giant-sized mooring balls, wrapped in garbage bags for protection, alongside the boat. On the remainder of the locks, very slimy lines were attached to the lock walls so we donned our gloves and grabbed one fore andone aft, easing and tightening as needed to move with the water flow. The rides were really lots of fun and the lockmasters helpful and accomodating.
Just after our fourth lock, we knew there was a 17' bridge so before entering the lock, we lowered the tender and hung it over the side of the boat, tied off at each end. After clearing the lock and bridge, we repositioned it up top.
Today, the lockmasters told us that the water on the Champlain Canal was lower than normal and the lowest bridge we would encounter was 17'8". The intrepid, fearless crew proceeded ahead. At each low bridge, Judi and Tom stood watch as Terry eased the boat, fully loaded, under the span. We honestly only cleared by 3 or 4 inches on 3 bridges. After two long days of locks and bridges, we are tied up in Whitehall, NY at Lock 12 Marina ready for a bath, a washing machine, a decent meal and a cocktail, not necessarily in that order.
We knew when we began our trip that the controlling height on some bridges in the Hudson/Champlain is 17'. The height over our tender is 17'6". If we remove the tender, lower antennas,lower naviational lights, etc, our minimum height is 15' 1" so away we went.
In order to travel from Albany, NY to Lake Champlain, we had to lock through 12 locks. We knew it would be slow going so we decided to make the trip in two days, stopping overnight at Schuylerville, NY.
Nine locks carry you to your maximum elevation, 139 ft above sea level. The last 4 drop you to the level of Lake Champlain, 95 ft above sea level. On average, each lock moves you about 15 ft. We were all pretty nervous as we approached the first lock because we didn't know what to expect. This lock required us to tie our own line at mid-ship around a pipe in the wall and "ride" the line up the pipe as the water rushed into the lock. Terry handled the line while Judi was forward and Tom aft, manning boat hooks to keep the boat off of the slimy walls. We also had 2 giant-sized mooring balls, wrapped in garbage bags for protection, alongside the boat. On the remainder of the locks, very slimy lines were attached to the lock walls so we donned our gloves and grabbed one fore andone aft, easing and tightening as needed to move with the water flow. The rides were really lots of fun and the lockmasters helpful and accomodating.
Just after our fourth lock, we knew there was a 17' bridge so before entering the lock, we lowered the tender and hung it over the side of the boat, tied off at each end. After clearing the lock and bridge, we repositioned it up top.
Today, the lockmasters told us that the water on the Champlain Canal was lower than normal and the lowest bridge we would encounter was 17'8". The intrepid, fearless crew proceeded ahead. At each low bridge, Judi and Tom stood watch as Terry eased the boat, fully loaded, under the span. We honestly only cleared by 3 or 4 inches on 3 bridges. After two long days of locks and bridges, we are tied up in Whitehall, NY at Lock 12 Marina ready for a bath, a washing machine, a decent meal and a cocktail, not necessarily in that order.
Just spent the last hour catching up, sure looks like your having a wonderful time.
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