Overall impressions - 1999

Swimming

I was disappointed in not having more opportunities for swimming off the boat. I suspect this is typical of canaling given the nature of the waterways, but we're new at this and one can always hope.

Cross Lake was listed as swimmable in one of the guide books. Seneca Lake was beautifully clear and inviting for swimming. Our circumstances didn't afford a good opportunity to do so. I suspect Cayuga Lake would be as nice.

Our boating experiences are mainly in lakes in the Adirondack Mountains and on Lake Champlain. We're probably spoiled by the clear clean waters although they are cold. The Seneca River may be fine for swimming, but it wasn't my cup of tea. It reminded me of the expression "too thick to drink, too thin to plow", but it wasn't that bad.

The days were hot, generally in the high 80s, hitting 90 at least one day. The shade of the canopy was very helpful. We drank lots of ice water. There was always a breeze when we were moving, and often when we weren't. Two keys to happiness were taking a shower before bed (there was a very nice shower on Oneida), and using the fan to help cool down upon retiring.

How many miles did we go?

The brochures and charterers downplay this, and I'd agree that it shouldn't be a goal to max out the mileage. We may have been exceptional in that we doubled back part way through the week. On the other hand, we met people who had been as far as Rochester, and we met them on Tuesday!

I was surprised that we covered over 280 miles in the week according to the GPS. We didn't stop and shop and browse in many towns along the way as the brochures suggest. I would like to spend more time in Seneca Falls, and perhaps Geneva on Seneca Lake. I'd also like to check out Oswego more than our brief look from the grounds of lock 8. There are probably other towns along the way we might dawdle in if we do this again.

You clearly don't have to start at dawn and motor to dark. Then again, it's not like you're motoring down the highway at 65 mph. You can have breakfast, lunch, whatever, while underway. It's pretty docile.

One thing became apparent, Erie Canal Cruise Lines features one-way charters that cost extra as they transport your car from the starting port to the finish. Having spent some time canaling, I realize that it's about a 1 day cruise from start-port to finish-port on their itinerary. If you only go from Seneca Falls to Fairport in a week, you've missed a lot of canaling. They do suggest other diversions such as Watkins Glen at the southern end of Seneca Lake. I'm not saying their plans are bad (we didn't see their guidebooks), but don't let the one-way feature be the deciding factor.

Yes, it maybe counterproductive to double back on a route, but realistically if you don't do some repeating, you're not going to do much canaling in this part of the Erie system.

Seating

Be prepared for lots of time sitting on hardwood seats. It wasn't as bad as I thought. The large canopy over the rear deck was wonderful in that you could pretty well hide from the sun during the hottest parts of the day. There's plenty of room around the helm and controls. I would frequently stand while steering to relieve butt-fatigue and move around to keep in the shade.

Bugs

We had little trouble with bugs. The boat was equipped with full screens; all hatches have velcro strips and screens that can be attached when needed. One night we had a mosquito leak that caused a little loss of sleep, but in general, flying critters weren't a problem. Check for small cracks that aren't covered by the screens and stuff them with a piece of paper towel or such. On Oneida, we did this for small cracks on either side of the sliding hatch to fix the leak.

At lock 26, we discovered in the morning that at least 100 "daddy-long-legs" had joined us by climbing down the dock lines over night. I put as many back ashore as possible; one sprinted back to the dock line to rejoin the crew. For the rest of the week we kept discovering more company. We left a few at every stop from then on. We were Johnny Appleseeds, of sorts.

They weren't a bother except I did wake with a start when one of them ran across my chest in the middle of the night. Step lightly, please.

Locking

We found the lock operators to be very friendly and helpful. The locks are quite impressive.

Bring extra gloves for the crew. Be prepared in case there aren't ropes hanging down for you to grab. We found this in Oswego lock 3. (Ropes on a boat are called lines; what do you call ropes in locks?)

Canal trivia

Distances and speeds were given in statute miles and miles per hour, not nautical miles or knots.

Oneida didn't have

a knot meter (or speedometer, either),
a depth sounder (stay in the channel),
nor a compass (it's a canal, you can't get lost).

Our speed references came from the GPS.

 

Wildlife - we saw

Water

We did buy gallons of water for general consumption. The water on board was potable, but this way we were assured of drinkable water. On one other charter years ago in Florida, the tap water on the sailboat was not something you'd like to drink. Besides, gallon jugs of water fit in the coolers and refrigerator.

Erie Canal Museum

If it works into your travel plans, stop at the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse before heading out. If you can't, stop by Saturday morning after you leave the boat as we did. The museum opens at 10:00 am.

 

What else would we bring next time?

None of these are big deals, they did occur to us during the week, though...

Would we do it again? Absolutely!

Would we rent from MLN again? Yes. In fact we're booked for the same week in 2000.

They're a first rate outfit. The friendliness and helpfulness of those we met in person during check-out, check-in, and the mid-cruise repair affair were outstanding.