One last bit of excitement...

The trip across the Erie Canal was a lot of fun without any real anxious moments. We did have a terrible hail storm, and lost the starboard engine on Oneida Lake but these rank as "inconvenient" and not even close to heart stopping. Guess we couldn't expect our luck to last forever.

 

We topped off our fuel tanks just before leaving Tonawanda and entering the Niagara river. We were about 1/2 empty, the same level as when the starboard engine quit working on Lake Oneida. We planned to stay at Smith Boys marina which is located north of Tonawanda, just a few miles upstream of Niagara Falls.

 

Just as we got into the middle of the Niagara River heading north (toward the falls) the starboard engine sputtered, then died. I was at the helm and didn't tell the crew (I was nervous enough for the entire crew). Smith Boys is located about a mile from where the engine quit and with a strong current carrying us we traveled that mile pretty quick. As we turned into the marina I told the crew to be ready to lasso the dock posts as we only had the port engine and we would be coming in fast. We docked without any problem. I will be replacing the fuel filters before bringing the boat home in two weeks. I also plan to replace the 50 year old fuel tanks this summer as I believe the tanks have a build up inside that is plugging the filters.

 

All in all we had a great trip from the Chesapeake Bay, Maryland, to the Niagara River, New York, travelling about 750 miles.

 

 

 

Bill finds a way to make every job easy.

Lockport, the last two locks on the Erie Canal.

Our neighbor in Tonawanda.

Tom and Bill, great shipmates and darn good cooks.

Mo and I played 81 games of Gin Rummy. At a penny a point Mo owes me $65.80.

Our last night at the end of the Erie Canal in Tonawanda, NY. That's the Niagara River.

Call your family doctor...

 

     We are travelling on the western section of the Erie Canal now. This canal way is almost entirely in its original location. Of course, the locks have been modernized and most of the bridges have been raised to the minimum 16 feet clearance required. There are, however, about a dozen "lift bridges" we have to travel through. One of these lift bridges provided todays blog title.

 

The lift bridges tend to come in groups of two or three, in small villages, within 3 or 4 miles of each other. These bridges are tended by "Roaming Bridge Tenders". After we radio a Bridge Tender requesting passage, he or she would radio back something like this-

 

"Yes captain, I will lift the Main Street bridge as you approach, please motor ahead to the Exchange Street bridge and wait for me there. I need to close this bridge then (walk, ride a bike, or drive) down to lift the Exchange Bridge for you".

 

There are two bridges in Spencerport. Tom was piloting the boat and in radio contact with the tender. After we passed under the first bridge the Tender radioed Tom that we may be delayed. There was some technical problem with the bridge and he was having trouble getting it down.

 

Tom's response-

 

"If it stays up more than 4 hours, call your family doctor"

 

We cruised 60 miles today without incident and docked in Middleport at a very nice municipal dock.

 

 

 

This is the bridge that "couldn't get down".

This is just plain weird.

Tough day on the Erie Canal.

There are many large murals on the canal.

This was neat, we cruised OVER a road.

It was a ball...

      Since we were stranded in Cape May two weeks ago I have wondered why the Canals were closed. The emails from the New York Canal System kept stating there was flooding, missing buoys, and dangerous floating debris. Today we were able to travel the "so called" dangerous waters (restricted to "no wake" for the first 30 miles). After cruising this section of the canal, I am really surprised the Canal managers opened it. There was enough timber floating down the river to build a lodge, the fields were flooded (cows competing with carp for prime grazing), and there was a very swift current, slowing our progress and making the locks difficult to navigate.

 

It was a ball !

 

We cruised 80 miles today and are docked just outside Syracuse, only 110 miles from Buffalo.

 

 

 

 

Now we can see why they had the canal closed.

Small obstructions like this kept us on our toes.

Buffalo, here we come...

 

        It was a risk to travel from the full service ESS-KAY marina to the east side of lock 24 in Baldwinsville. The travel book described the dockage on the east side of lock 24 as a high, bare, concrete wall with widely spaced tie offs and no electric power available (the west side of lock 24 is a park with docks that have power, close ties, and is next to a shopping area, with no FEE). We were aware that lock 24 was closed, so we would be forced to dock on the east side. We were willing to spend the night in these rough conditions in order to put 22 miles behind us in our effort to reach Buffalo by Saturday. The travel guide was very accurate. We tied up at 1:00 and with the generator running, settled in for the afternoon and night. I called the lock tender and asked when he thought the canal would open. The lock tender said to keep the radio on and he would keep us posted.

 

An hour after we tied up another boater introduced himself and suggested we ask the lock tender to "lock us through" to the park. I called the tender on the radio and asked, to my surprise he said yes, as long as we promised not to travel past the park.

 

If that wasn't enough good news, we received notice just before dinner that the entire Erie Canal will be open tomorrow at 7:00 am.

 

Buffalo, here we come!

 

 

 

 

Mo got sent to the Gin minor leagues.

The mechanic said "I dont know the first thing about these engines"...

 

       I was really hoping to have the starboard engine repaired before the new crew showed up. Kim, the marina owner, told me that their mechanic, Craig, should be back in town sometime today. Craig showed up at my boat at 2:30 this afternoon. After the initial greetings, Craig and I entered the stateroom with the floor board open to the engine, tools scattered about, and the valve cover off the engine. That's when Craig turned and said,

 

 "I'm sorry, but I don't know the first thing about these engines".

 

When Craig offered to find a more knowledgeable mechanic, I told him I really think we can fix this if he can get me an electric fuel pump. Craig searched the marina parts department and returned in 10 minutes with a fuel pump. Two hours later I had managed to cut through the intake fuel line (1/2 inch of steel reinforced, petrified, 50 year old fuel line) and connected the fuel pump to the open ends of the fuel line. We disconnected the other end of the fuel line from the filter, I touched the power wires from the new fuel pump to the generator battery and, after a few sparks, (glad it was diesel) the pump started running. We finally got fuel through the lines, then cracked open one of the fuel injectors to bleed out any remaining air and tried to start the engine. She fired up and ran perfectly.

 

I am going to leave the electric fuel pump in line in case this happens again.

 

The new crew showed up one hour after I got the engine repaired. Just enough time for Mo and I to get the tools put away and vacuum the floor. Perfect timing.

 

 

 

 

 

My new booster fuel pump. 

The fuel line was titanium braided.

New crew Tom and Bill with their driver, "Rickchester".

Some things just never change.



A passing boater.

calm, very calm

 

The distance down from the bow to a dock on "Whatever It Takes" is about six feet, unless one is jumping from the bow to a dock. My knees and rump suggest the distance is more like 20 feet.

 

      We needed to move the boat from the east wall on which we were docked to the west wall, where our bow would be headed out to the river. With one engine and a prevailing west wind, I knew it would be difficult. We decided to wait until this morning to move the boat hoping the winds would be calm and agreed to meet the dock hand at 7:30 so she could grab lines. I was awake at 6:00 and there was no wind. It was calm, very calm. I woke Mo and started dropping our lines. Mo pushed off the bow with our long boat hook while I held the stern to start our turn. We were drifting toward the opposite dock.

 

       Everything went perfect until our bow arrived at the other dock. That's when I realized I would need to jump from the bow to complete the docking. Upon impact, I fell backwards on the splintered, oak dock boards. Fortunately my backward movement was stopped when my rump and elbows acted as an emergency brake.

 

OUCH

 

We did get the boat moved to the new marina and expect the mechanic to arrive sometime tomorrow. Mo and I went out in the marina courtesy car for groceries and dinner. Tom and Bill should arrive around 7:00 tomorrow night. The Erie Canal is still closed at lock 23 and is expected to open on Tuesday or Wednesday. 

 

OK, I found the engine. Now what?

The marina has a courtesy car. We were able to stock up on groceries and had dinner out while we had wheels.

One very well known boat

 

        Lock 23 is still closed (supposed to open in 2 days) so we couldn't travel any further than the western shore of Oneida Lake today. Being that it is only 20 miles across the lake (2 hour cruise) we decided to take it easy and fish on the lake this morning. The fish were uncooperative, but the conditions were nice. We stopped fishing at 1:00 and headed for the western shore when the starboard engine began to sputter, then died. Damn, it felt like the fuel filters were plugged, I experienced this same problem in the Florida Keys last year. The difference between then and now is, I had Jeff Smith (mechanical wizard) on board then. We limped into the first marina we found on the western shore. After the engines cooled down, I crawled into the engine room and replaced both fuel filters on the starboard engine. Just like in the Keys, the engine still wouldn't start. Apparently the fuel line has air in it and needs to be bled. I could probably perform the task, but would prefer to have a real mechanic work on it, so I called ESS-KAY Boatyards, the next marina down river. 

 

That's when I found out that "Whatever It Takes" (formerly Rosie) is so well known. Kim Mann answered the phone at ESS-KAY and when I told her the boat type she asked if I was from Cleveland. Kim went on to explain that she knows Bill and Anna Rose West (former owners and no relation) and that "Whatever It Takes" actually spent an entire winter at their boat yard. Kim assured me that their mechanics could repair my motor and she was looking forward to having our boat back in her Marina.

 

I plan to move over to ESS-KAY first thing tomorrow morning when the winds are calm. This boat can be tough to maneuver with two engines and this is a tight dockage so we will be going easy. A wise captain once told me "Don't go any faster than you want to hit something". 

 

 

I spent the morning sitting in the pilot house watching my fishing rod.

View of Oneida Lake.

Where the hell is Smith when I need him.