Getting Ready to Cruise
My husband and I have followed a YouTube channel called “Cruising the Cut” for many years. We’ve always thought cruising in a narrow boat would fun, like having a floating camper.
Guess what? There is an outfit in Central New York that rents old-fashioned, wooden, packet-style canal boats. So, we rented one for a long weekend and set out on our first Erie Canal adventure!
When we arrived at the rental marina, we were given a classroom-style orientation that included all the basics of the boat and managing locks, including how to notify the lockmasters and bridge operators of our approach.
Onboard Orientation
After the classroom, we had a chance to load and stow all of our gear and supplies before the 2nd part of the orientation took place. When we were settled, a marina staffer joined us on the boat to go over the basics and answer any questions we might have. He then showed us how to cast off and ease out of the marina, and the three of set out on the canal so we could learn the basics. He taught us how to parallel park the boat, bring it to a complete stop in the water, and how to do a U-turn in the canal. As we puttered along (and I do mean puttered – top speed for these bad boys is 5 miles per hour), he explained the various signs along the canal and let us know a few areas where we should be extra cautious due to the water level.
It was now time for the big lesson – a lock. As we approached our instructor went over the basics again, and when we were given the green light by the lockmaster, we entered the lock and had to come up parallel alongside the wall with the ropes. After we finally got situated, the gates closed, and the lock began to empty out. Then we were off again. One more lock – we did better the second time – then we pulled up alongside a mooring wall, our instruction hopped onto shore, and Robert and I were off on our 4-night adventure.
On our Own
We cruised along, enjoying the beautiful scenery and the peace of being on the water. We soon approached the next lock and began the procedure of getting through. Robert powered the boat down to neutral while I grabbed the radio. “Lock 28, Lock 28, Lock 28. This is the Canadice requesting Eastbound passage.” We waited for the lockmaster to radio instructions and remained in neutral until the red light over the gates turned green.
We were a little nervous since we were on our own, but we did just fine, and motored out the other side on our way to Newark, where we would moor for the night.
When we were situated on the mooring wall, we sat on the deck and enjoyed a sunset cocktail before disembarking and strolling to find a restaurant.
After dinner, we spent another couple of hours on the deck before turning in for the night.
The next morning we took a stroll to a cute local coffee shop before casting off again. Our plan for the day was to cruise down to Lyons, where we would spend the second night. There were two locks between Newark and Lyons, and those both went really well. We really enjoyed the peace of the canal and rarely met any other boats that day. We arrived in Lyons around lunchtime, and cautiously moored to the wall. The dock area was really cute and looked welcoming, but we noticed quite a few people (like seven) who appeared to be living under a bridge a few yards from the mooring area. We locked everything up, and headed in to town to find a restaurant. Unfortunately, hardly anything was open, and it took us quite a while to find someplace. While having lunch, we decided that the whole area was a bit too sketchy for comfort while sleeping, so if the boat was still there when we returned we planned to head back up to Newark for the night.
Hooray! Our boat was right where we left it! We got aboard and got out of there, on our way back west.
Casting off Again
After another peaceful evening in Newark, we woke up the next morning to gray skies and chilly wind. We were glad we were only planning to travel a few miles that day since it was downright cold on the water!
We traveled about three hours to our next stop – Palmyra. The mooring here was a little different as you turned into a little cove off the canal with a turn basin. And thankfully, the dock was low so it was much easier to get on and off the boat than in our previous moorings.
We docked and went for a stroll around town, which was pretty quiet as it was Sunday. Too fun facts about Palmyra. First, it claims to be the only town in New York that has a church on each of the four corners of its main street. The second is that it was the home of Joseph Smith, the founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, and the sacred grove where Smith received his visions is still open for visitors. Much of the main drag of town still hosts businesses associated with supporting the churches.
The weather started spitting on us, so we ducked into a wine shop, then headed back to the boat. While it rained we practiced tying nautical knots and retaught ourselves how to play backgammon. Another boat similar to ours pulled up for the night, so we spent some time chatting with them before we set out for dinner.
A Little Leisure Time
The next morning was still a little dreary, and we didn’t have any locks to navigate that day, so we hung out on the boat, caught up on email and a few work tasks, then leisurely set off on our last full day on the canal.
The final mooring of our trip was Fairport, which is by far the largest village we stayed at. There were a lot of restaurants and cute shops, and a very well-developed mooring area. There is also a lift bridge you have to navigate if you are headed west toward Rochester. We moored on the east side of the bridge since we had to leave early the next morning to return the boat by 9am.
There was a highly rated restaurant on the canal, but it was closed, so we ended up having dinner at a wine and cheese bar, which turned out to be quite entertaining, as it was bingo night. We hung out there for a couple of hours then made our way back to the boat.
We were motoring down the canal before 7:30 the next morning so we could turn the boat in on time, already talking about what we would do differently the next time we do this. And there will be a next time!