Day 136 - Exploring the Old Canal

We didn’t have too far to go today so it was 9:58 am when we left.  The weather was like the day before, cool and sunny, going into the mid-70s very shortly.  Ten minutes later we were at Lock 16 but had to wait for an eastbound boat to come through.  After we went through, we tied up and walked over to the lock station.  The lockmaster was very friendly, as most of them are, and told us a little about how everything works.  An old switch box from 1905 is still in use to open the gates.  The locks have been reconstructed and modernized a number of times since originally built in 1825.  The canal was relocated to the river system around the turn of the 19th century as well, when steam powered boats were invented.   The State of New York has constructed biking and walking trails and will have over 500 miles when they are completed.

 

 

At this point, we left the Mohawk River for “the ditch” or new canal route.  We went through Guard Gate 3 at 11:35 am.  On the south bank we saw Herkimer House, built in 1764 by Nicholas Herkimer, a Revolutionary War hero.  His father Johan first settled there in 1725 and was one of the most successful German Americans in the Hudson River Valley.

It was a little disappointing to us to realize that we were not going to see much of the original Erie Canal.  We did see part of the old lock system when we tied up in front of Lock 17 near the City of Little Falls.  The lock was much narrower than the current locks.  Lock 17 has the highest lift on the canal at 40.5 feet.  It has a gate that lowers and raises rather than swinging gates.  We entered at 12:45 pm and were out by 1:05 pm.  As we left the lock, we saw a few rock climbers on the north wall.

 

 

 

 

 

 

As we approached Lock 18 at 1:38 pm, we could see a large boat in it.  That boat was Little Diamond III, a commercial boat with Erie Canal Cruises.  We waved as it went by and then saw it turn right around and enter the lock with us.  Evidently that is as far as the cruise went.  We were out by 2:04 pm and the cruise boat passed us.  There was a work boat on this side of the lock that appeared to be dredging and piling dirt up on the shore. 

 

 

Soon a tug was coming at us – this was the most traffic we had seen on the canal.  The water got very shallow here and Captain Randy wisely followed the Little Diamond III’s lead and swerved far to the starboard.  At 2:35 pm we passed Guard Gate 4 and by 2:50 pm we were docked along the wall at Herkimer, where the cruise boat originated from.  There were no cleats, just a few bollards and metal rings to tie to.  By now I am used to adapting to new docking conditions.

 

 

We went into the Waterfront Grille for lunch and felt like we were back in civilization again.  A large group had just left to catch the next cruise and there were several others eating, even at 3:00 pm.  We bought a couple of things in the store and strolled into the Terminal Building before getting back on the boat.  Old pictures of the village and canal lined the walls and an employee told us a little about them.

It was 4:30 pm when we arrived at Ilion Municipal Marina.  In checking our log, the Captain noted that we have now traveled 5000 miles (4350 nautical miles) since leaving Chicago last August.  We then had cocktails on board and watched a group of 3 boats come in behind us.  They were from Ohio and on the way home.  The dockside restaurant served only sandwiches from a window so we walked a few blocks to town and ended up at Sorrento’s for very generous portions of calamari, pasta and pizza.  Dad and I had a glass of wine, but again, no rum for the Captain.  Full liquor licenses must be expensive here in NY.  We managed to avoid the rain as we carried our leftover boxes back to the marina.