Our last night on the Erie Canal

89 degrees at Erie Canal Lock 7, east of Schenectady. Tomorrow we do a flight of 5 locks, dropping 150 feet in less than a mile down to the Hudson River. Then we find a spot at Waterford.  So, our last day tomorrow on the Erie Canal. 

It's Labor Day Weekend. Many more boats around here. And lots of [expletive deleted] jet skis. At the lock dock with another sailboat - from Ann Arbor, MI - they are also going to Florida & The Bahamas. 

We have been traveling with (or around, or in-spite-of) the Ann Arbor boat and another, a 27' C&C being singlehanded (!) through the locks and down to Fort Pierce, FL.  And I though I was tired!

Hope everyone else is staying cool. Bucket of water over the head trick works.

Plan is to step the mast in Catskill NY on Monday, about 30 miles down the Hudson River.  Or something like that ...  It will be nice to be a sailboat again.

Along the Mohawk

The Erie Canal is getting much better as we get further east. Last night (and most of the day) we hung out at the Ilion NY Marina - laundry!!!  showers!!! that, along with the groceries we got the day before, and a day of rest, improved our moods and trip a whole lot.

Today we traveled a whopping seven miles to Little Falls.  This is more like it. The Little Falls Canal Harbor is beautiful.  The harbormaster gave us a personal tour of the town and dropped us off there (walked, hardware, cash machine, lunch) and we walked back to the boat. Decided to stay put for another day.

Allergies are acting up for both of us.  I went with the drugs and slept a lot yesterday. I went without and sniffled but stayed awake most of today.

Little Falls is the kind of town we were waiting for.  Old, historic, right on the river in a gorge cutting through the Adirondack Mountains.  And, finally, a town actually on the river and Canal.
The Indians called this place Little Falls (the Big Falls being Niagara).

Some pictures:

Dredging the Erie Canal.
Had to stop and wait for them to tell us it was safe to pass.

Gates like this are at all of the locks.
They use them to close off the locks in the winter (for maintenance),
and also if needed for flood control.

Looking upstream from the Little Falls Canal Harbor.

Ihana tied up at the Little Falls Canal Harbor.

Red Right or is it Green?

There have been so many changes in the buoy convention that we needed a way to remember which way was green and which side was red.  It changed depending on which river or canal or lake we were on, and which way some cartographer thought was "returning from the sea".  We used these lines, where we could see them at a glance and tell which side to pass the buoys on.

Going east on this section of the Erie 'Canal,
keep the red buoys to port and the greens to starboard.

Mowing while Motoring

A couple of days ago, we met another sailboat.  They had a folding prop, and had to dive under the boat to clear the weeds.  We have a non-folding prop and (so far) have been able to clear the weeds off it by motoring in reverse.
This may not be a universal rule, but we are glad we don't have a folding prop.
Your mileage may vary ...

Eerie (sic) Canal

This canal is really strange.  Some days we see 1 or 2 other boats; other days we don't see any at all.  It is really beautiful, but so far away from civilization when we are on the river.  I feel like we are on one of the larger rivers in Northern Wisconsin or Minnesota.

There are towns all along the Mohawk Valley, but most of them are not exactly on the Erie Canal.  They were started along the Mohawk River (possibly by native Americans). The river often is separate from the newer canal; and now the towns grow along the New York Thruway (the Interstate). This makes it hard to get supplies, do laundry, or even take (real) showers. 

Today we found a real marina in Ilion, New York, that has showers and laundry (we walked a mile yesterday for groceries). So we are set again for a few days. We only motored for 5 miles this morning – were glad to find this marina and stay still for the rest of the day.  I'm catching up on my sleep – motoring all day, day after day, is pretty intense.  But it is easier than the Trent-Severn Canal: wider, deeper, and a whole lot less boat traffic. I guess that makes up for the lack of services.

Ilona is catching up on boat cleaning - Ihana looks really beautiful again.

For the last 3 nights, we have been tied up on the wall at the locks (3 different locks).  And we were the only ones there!  Really quiet (except for the trains and Thruway which share this river valley).  Great views of the Adirondack Mountains that we are traveling through.

Haven't heard any Drums Along the Mohawk, yet ...  And I guess there aren't any more Mohicans ...

recent pictures from our trip

more photos from the voyage of s/v Ihana --

leaving the Bay of Quinte at sunrise, to cross Lake Ontario to New York 

lock on the Trent-Severn Canal

Ihana in a lock

double lock, central gate - looking upstream from inside the lower lock

Prinyers Cove on the Bay of Quinte, Lake Ontario, Canaa

another sailboat headed for the Bahamas
they passed us on the Oswego Canal in New York

lock on the Oswego Canal

beautiful place to tie up for the night, on the Erie Canal

happy helmsman

Sunrise on the Bay of Quinte, headed out into Lake Ontario

Mohawk

1. Starting tomorrow, we will be following the Erie Canal through the Mohawk Valley.
2. I badly need a haircut.

DON'T EVEN THINK IT ...

It's all downhill from here ...

We crossed Oneida Lake today - the big 20 mile lake on the Erie Canal. Supposed to have up to 6 foot waves sometimes. But no problem - we left the west shore with an onshore wind, so figured that it would only get better as we crossed.  And we were right. No pounding this time; wind according to the weatherman was 3 knots.  But of course it was more like 10.  Was building as we approached the weather shore, but by then we were out of there.
After a few more locks, we are now at the high point of the Erie Canal.  We're tied up on a lock wall just a few miles east of Rome, NY.  All the rivers, canals and locks go down now, to the Hudson River at Albany - through the Mohawk River Valley.
Tomorrow - finally - we might take an easy day and stop early.  It's supposed to cool off, a little - no more 90s, some lower 80s and maybe rain.  Okay.
It's amazing that it is very difficult to buy groceries or do laundry along this "popular tourist route".
But it is beautiful - reminds me of canoeing through some of the rivers in upstate Wisconsin.

More beer, perchance to sleep.  Cooling off, a little, now at night.

Current update on Lake Ontario

When we crossed Lake Ontario a few days ago, we were of course subject to the current near the outflow of the lake into the Thousand Islands on the St. Lawrence River.  You might call this the St. Lawrence Leeway ...

Water Levels

Well, we guessed right that the Mississippi River would probably be too dry for us to do the loop in the normal direction, leaving Lake City in the next few weeks and heading south via the Mississippi, Ohio, and Tenn-Tom waterways to the gulf.  Good thing we went north instead and out via the Great Lakes.

But all is not well up here either.
See:
http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/08/24/where-the-water-went-georgian-bay-and-the-future-of-the-great-lakes/?utm_source=_BQN7uCB8tlmPN-&utm_content=ml24&utm_medium=email

We have had our problems with low water levels, getting hung up and towed off twice on the Trent-Severn waterway - and rushing through to get out of there before the water level dropped so low that our 4'9" draft boat would be stuck there forever.  Figure we are okay now that we are on the Erie Canal, although the ICW may also be if-fy in places.

It was great to get to the lower end of the T-S Waterway, and actually be cruising in 7 feet of water.  Can you imagine over 400-500 feet today across Lake Ontario?

We're off the Great Lakes

We made it across from the Bay of Quinte in Canada to Oswego, New York, today.  45 miles, but it was not pretty. for the 7 hour crossing, we had over 4 hours of heavy pounding - taking water over the bow. the mast supports (holding the mast down on the deck) held together, but just barely. I had to take the dock lines and tie the mast down tighter (in spite of haveing added additional lines several days ago) - and let me tell you, it ain't no fun on the foredeck in pounding seas. our harnesses, tethers and jacklines just paid for themselves (no, I didn't go overboard, but would not have gone forward without them). tomorrow, after some sleep and when it cools off, I'll inspect the rig and improve what needs it. should be good enough for the Erie Canal now, though.

got a slip in a marina; immediately hit the nearest bar for burgers and beer.  and now for some sleep. and more beer. Erie Canal starts tomorrow.  Calm water at last!

Crossing Lake Ontario - Today

It's forty miles to Os-Whee-Go,

Forget it I never shall.

What a wonderful time we'll have tonight

On the Ear-Eye-E Canal-al-al,

On the EAR_EYE_E CANAL !

Oh, the Ear-Eye-E was a-risen

And the gin is a get-in low

And I scarcely think we will get a drink

'Till we get to Os-Whee-Go Oh Oh,

'Till we get to Os-Whee-Go

[Headed out for the crossing this morning]

Fall is here!

Oh, no!  Looked at the calendar on August 15^th and said….oh no! Yet saying 30 degrees Celsius this weekend.

The weather changed over a couple of days ago.  Very pleasant days, very windy, very changeable; cool evenings.  Really feels like the first burst of fall weather now.  We wanted to get across Lake Ontario before this weather hit, enjoying a crossing with light or no winds. Oh, well …

Have been told my [Ilona's] lime-green jacket can be seen for clicks as we approach locks.

Lake Ontario !

August 2 through 22^nd. We did it. We are now finished with the Trent-Severn Waterway, at Trenton, Ontario.  Forty-three locks, 240 miles.  Eleven nights of camping on lock walls, one week away in Mississauga with Naomi, Clayton & Stephanie (boat in a marina for the week), two nights at the Peterborough Marina.  Ran aground twice, requiring getting towed off.  Left Georgian Bay on Lake Huron, arrived in the Bay of Quinte on Lake Ontario.

Now to get across Lake Ontario to Oswego, New York, where we pick up the Erie Canal.  If we follow the Bay of Quinte east (inland route along the northeast shore of Lake Ontario), we will work it down to a mere 40-mile crossing.  We did 40 miles across upper Georgian Bay, facing 15-knot winds and moderately large waves. We also did 10 miles of Lake Simcoe with some winds and outrageous waves – so this should also be just another semi-tough day. Of course, the Fall winds are here now. Oh, well ...

We are having dinner tonight with Annie Nundahl and her husband-to-be; she saw what we are up to on Facebook, and we go right by their place.

Oil change, finally.

We finally got to a marina that had a mechanic who knew what he was doing and had the right equipment to change our diesel engine oil & filter – and at a reasonable price.  Still need to buy a good pump to suck out the old oil through the dipstick. [I was going to say most pumps really suck, but that would not exactly be accurate…]

Most of the Waterway is pretty isolated; figure it's like shopping or getting services in the rural Yoop (U.P.) of Michigan.  Where is there a West Marine when you really need one?  We can e-mail order stuff and have it sent ahead, but want to see what we are buying and if it will fit. (Similarly, we need a bombproof Rocna 33# anchor. Someday.)

What worked & didn't; advice & learnings

Here's a list I have been compiling about things we have learned.  In no particular order. Some of this may be interesting and/or useful to you --

1. Weather & other conditions – "it is what it is".  We have a schedule to keep up with, sort of.  And the weather forecasts are – well, you know – sometimes accurate.  So we just go and deal with the wind, rain, waves, heat, cold, or whatever gets thrown at us.  [But we do hang out in shelter when it is supposed to be really bad.]

2. Infrared Heat Sensor (Heat Gun).  Bought one in Houghton, MI.  Invaluable for monitoring and measuring temperatures for the diesel engine, refrigerator, etc.  $100 but well worth having aboard.

3. Wireless "Walkie-Talkie" Headphones.  We use these all the time, especially when anchoring, docking, or locking-through. Ilona at the bow or rail, Bob at the helm. No more yelling obscenities at each other.  "Marriage Savers". Get some.  From Cruising Solutions on the Internet.  These are literally marriage savers.  Invaluable.  Reduces tension to almost nothing.  One of the best purchases.  We can talk normally.  And understand each other.

4. Binoculars. We have a good pair with an internal compass.  Very handy for Ilona spotting obstacles, buoys, other boats, swimmers, etc. – then giving me a bearing so I can check the binnacle compass and know where to look.  [Or maybe a Pelorus. A what?]  Squinty eyes.  Feel strange without them.  Vision changes big.  Steiners Observers.   Worth the $600.

5. AIS – Automatic Identification System.  Expensive, and we don't use it much. But it might come in handy as we cross shipping lanes. Was useful in spotting lakers (big ore carriers on the Great Lakes, and especially around blind corners in the St. Mary's River.)  Nice to have, but not sure it was worth the work, or the hassle in installing and debugging it.

6. Radar – we don't use it much (it sucks too much power from the Service Battery if we are not motoring), but it could be very useful if we encounter fog.  Worth having, I think, even if we never need to use it. [Same thing might be said about the EPIRB.] And a real pain in the butt to install, debug, and deal with its own mast.

7. EPIRB – expensive, probably (hopefully) we will never need to use it.  But glad we have it.

8. Chartplotter, with good electronic charts AT THE HELM.  Absolutely MUST have this. It saved us when we pulled anchor at night in the North Channel (see previous posting), and I have been using it continuously for route finding.  Can't live without it.  But, yes, we do have and use paper charts.  Ilona does the paper, I do the electronic, we both look – sometimes they tell us the same story.  [Sidenote:  I had Garmin sell me the best charts for Canada before we left home, but they sent me a chip of the U.S. only, and we spent a week anchoring ½ mile inland in Canada (!) until I saw someone else's correct chip and had to buy and download it over shitty WiFi in Little Current.  Glad I have the right one now.  All is forgiven, Garmin.]

9. Jacklines, harnesses with attachment-rings, and tethers.  Have only needed them a few times (well, nobody fell overboard, so I guess we really didn't need them …), but am very glad we have them.  Jacklines are installed on deck at all times.

10. Dinghy – We rarely tow it.  We crossed Lake Superior with it lashed on the foredeck, then tied it up sideways across the stern [sort of on the swim platform] for the rest of the trip (so far).  Stern seems to be favored.  Will not tow it again in open water.

11. Oil change. Almost impossible to find a mechanic who will change oil.  Absolutely impossible to use the small orange "made in China" pumps to get the oil out through the dipstick.  Get a GOOD pump, with a reservoir to collect the used oil. Test it at home before leaving on a long trip, like we didn't.

12. Non-availability of supplies and mechanics.  The places we have been have been only slightly better than the Lake Superior North Shore in obtaining things we needed.  Hard to e-mail order stuff and have it shipped ahead.  We needed to do a better job of carrying EVERYTHING we might need. Like MANY spare parts for the engine and everything else.

13. Cell phones & Internet.  For an extra $20/month, our Verizon iPhones do voice in Canada just like we were in the U.S.  When we can get a carrier, which is pretty often.  Internet was too expensive to use our Aircard in Canada ($2/MB !), so we rely on Internet cafes and marinas for WiFi.  Most of the time the WiFi is really slow here, if it works at all.

14, Charts; consignment; swapping.  We have been pretty fortunately to borrow or trade charts and cruising guides, so far.  We hear there are consignment shops all up and down the ICW where people going north trade or sell used stuff to those going the other way, & vice versa.

15. Local knowledge.  We have been able to make general plans for our trip, and get detailed information from lockmasters, other boats, local people, etc.  Really helps a lot in finding routes, anchorages, supplies, and nice places to visit and camp at (and to avoid).

16. Ad hoc "flotillas".  We have been meeting and re-meeting other boats heading in the same other direction.  Boaters are great people, and we are starting to like powerboaters too (now that we are one.)  But we are now pretty much with just us.  Two minute exchanges with lock personnel who on the whole have been great.  Very few boats on the water.   Saw 5 total today.

17. "Go Small and Go Now" – Great advice from the Pardees, or was it Karen & Jerry of Good Old Boat?  Our 30' boat seems about right for the two of us – a little tighter for the few times we have a third hand aboard but do-able.  And we are learning a lot as we travel, and should have gone sooner (when we were younger?).  It is okay, Bob.  Need to relax more.  It will be okay.

18. Money – the boat cost is the least of it. Figure on maybe another $100K over budget, or more! We have been paying more for marina fees and doing a lot less anchoring than we had figured on.  But we are so exhausted that we need to do this for safety, supplies, meeting people, and making good time.

19. Boat cards & blog.  We are glad we have printed cards with our contact info and blog URL to hand out (trade) with other boats. Most cruising sailboats have them.  Sort of like the old CQ cards the hams used to use.

20. Extra crew – Superior; Jersey shore.  We sure are glad we had Jim Kimmet help us with the Lake Superior crossing, and are looking forward to having Tom Cronmiller help us on the New York City to Chesapeake crossing, since there is no ICW in New Jersey.  The two of us are making it on the more protected areas, and sure can use (need?) the help for the long crossings.   We have become lockmasters       for the 44 on T-S Waterway.  39 new ones coming up on the Erie Canal.

21. Buoys move; charts vary.  Very often the buoys are not where the charts say they are, or there are extra ones not on the charts.  Get current charts, then keep a good watch at all times.  When in doubt, trust the buoys, not the charts.

22. Bikes.  We have two Dahon folding bicycles in a locker.  We have not used them much.  Probably should not have brought them, but we may use them more when we are not trying to cover so much ground.

23. Netting.  We put netting across all the open shelves, to hold things in place when heeling.  They work great, and were pretty inexpensive.

24. LEDs. We replaced all of the interior lights with LEDs, as well as the running and anchor lights.  And those inside are red or white – good for night travel as well as parties.  Saves energy, much brighter.  Was a good idea.  marinebeam.com gives excellent products, support and service – better than the inferior Dr. LED at West Marine.

25. Antenna and cabling. Another nightmare – hard to get the co-ax connectors on right.  Wish we had an SWR (standing wave ratio) meter; will get one next time we get somewhere.  If you get the connectors working, take the deck apart for the thruhull wires if you have to, but don't remove the connectors from the coax!

26. Water, waste, diesel, propane.  First needing pumpout is the holding tank.  We get about 6 days without needing a pumpout with our 24-gallon tank.  Can't wait to get out to sea so we can dump it ourselves.  The water – 40 gallons – lasts well over a week or more, no showers though.  Our 10 lb propane tanks (for cooking) last a month each; glad we carry a spare.  Diesel seems to be about 2 hours (12 miles of motoring) per gallon, about the same as our camper van.

27. DeLorme InReach.  This satellite tracking / short messaging / system was something we bought just before leaving home.  We spent an entire day with their Tech Service, and the thing never did communicate with a satellite.  They did let us out of our 1-year contract (no trial period!), since it didn't work.   Boat US was pushing this as a great way to reach TowboatUS from anywhere, but they didn't have it when we were in a West Marine in Toronto. Did they figure out it was junk and discontinue it?  The DeLorme Tech Service people were very helpful.  Glad we no longer have to deal with this. A good idea, if it had worked.

28.  You need an Ilona. With her reading the paper chart, scanning for obstacles, and relaying what is going on, I was able to concentrate on the helm, engine and chartplotter, while not watching out at all times.  Everyone should have an Ilona aboard.  [Ilona adds: AND a Bob at the helm.]

29.   People ask me what we eat.  The same as at home or in the camper.  Have two burners and an oven and a BBQ.  And grocery stores.  Go 4-5 days before shopping for fresh food.  Have back up food in storage.  Eating less because less hours of motion.  Still learning about the oven.   Slowly cooked, marinated chicken is good.

30.  Here in Canada, marina fees are based on boat length, not total length with the mast down.  So, we pay for 30', not 43.

31. We are always figuring out the next step.  Not relaxing but fighting dementia is good.

The Peterborough Lift Lock

Passed through this today.  Much like the slightly-smaller one in Kirkfield (several days ago), but 65 feet lift (well, drop - as we are going downstream towards Lake Ontario).  This was the first hydraulic lift lock in Canada, the first in the world made of concrete, and the world's tallest.
See Kirkfield posting for details on how it works.

the blurb at the Visitor Center

approaching the lock, from above

view from inside the lock, as seen from our foredeck

view from below, as we are about to exit the lock

as seen from our boat, just after we cleared the lock

as seen from the Peterborough Lift Lock Visitor Center

Lakefield Lock #26

view from cockpit

front view

side view

rear view

We stayed here last night; had an enjoyable dinner and conversation with and at the home of Kathy and Sean Blackwood, friends we have known from the Trailer Sailors since 2004.  They live in Peterborough and picked us up / dropped us off / at our boat here at the Lakefield Lock. Great dinner and company.  Another beautiful lock wall to tie up to.

Lovesick Lock #30

A real pretty place. We tied up here at the lock wall overnight.  No roads - the lockmasters have to commute to here by boat!

Kawartha Lakes

many days of motoring through narrow and shallow passages. beautiful. 

sunset at Lovesick Lock - tied up here overnight

it's been like sailing (well, motoring) through hundreds of miles of the Boundary Waters.

s/v Northern Whisper

Cynthia and Eric, leaving Bobcaygeon through the lock --

Bobcaygeon

We're still here this morning.  Watched s/v-Northern Whisper leave through the lock, then we are here using the free WiFi in the town library.  In no hurry to pull out today - might stay another night.

BETTER TRAVEL NOW

Leaving the Kirkfield Lift Lock, we switched the lines since we are now going DOWN to Lake Ontario (RED LEFT LEAVING).  Only one bad hour, crossing Mitchell Lake & connecting canals – more weeds, more shallows – just for a couple of miles.

Then great!  Deep water – sometimes over 8 feet!  And now, often 30 feet deep through the lakes.

Stopped at Fenelon Falls for lunch, another lock, and walk through a cute canal-side town.

Ihana at Fenelon Falls

Fenelon Falls

Just below the Fenelon Falls lock

Ihana below the Fenelon Falls lock

We thought about staying the night (tied up to the wall below the lock - see pictures above), but it was getting pretty hot and windless (memo: stop ABOVE the lock next time), so we continued on across Sturgeon Lake (deep! - 10 to 30 feet) and on to the really neat town of Bobcaygeon.

A real nice surprise: As we were nearing the lock, I picked out spot to tie up to the wall. Told Ilona: right behind that sailboat.  And it was Eric & Cynthia of s/v-Northern Whisper.  Didn't think we would see them again (but that's not how it goes while cruising).  Beer, immediately. Then dinner with them in town.

Note: Bobcaygeon was NOT named after Bob Caygeon.  It's an Indian word - something about a channel connecting 2 lakes between the rocks or something.

Kirkfield Lift Lock

The second highest lift lock in the world (the highest is coming for us, in Peterborough, in a few days).  There are two "chambers" - one is up, one is down - sort of like a Ferris Wheel.  Boats motor into the upper or lower chamber, at the same time. The gates close, they put a little more water in the upper lock, and the hydraulics then have the upper (heavier) lock come down and push water under the lower lock, and they switch places. One comes down, the other goes up. The gates open and everyone motors out.

Really neat!

boat coming out, above the lock

The lock on the left is open to the upper canal.
Looking down to the other lock, at lower canal level.

Big height difference here.
Too big for a single conventional lock.

How it works

View from below.
Right lock is at the upper canal level.

Left lock at lower level

This is the highest point of the Trent-Severn Waterway.
The buoys here are (logically) RED RIGHT UPSTREAM.
So, we now keep the reds to port, as we will be going down from here
to Lake Ontario.
[Picture shows Red to Port for boats going downstream to
Georgian Bay]

A better boat for traveling the Trent-Severn

Shallow draft, no keel, no motor to catch weeds.
We met this woman traveling, solo, at the Kirkfield Lift Lock.

A VERY BAD DAY

Rain, Shoals, Deadheads, Weeds, Towing --

Today was a very BAD DAY.  The worst of our trip so far.  We had rain most of the day – often heavy, but this wasn't the real problem.

Fuck - #1: To start out, we hit bottom coming out of the (expletive-deleted) Mariposa Marina in Orillia.  We couldn't motor off and, stuck in the channel into (preferably, out of) the marina we couldn't run out a kedge.  A local marina sent a boat and towed us off.  It only cost us CN$ 280.  Hopefully TowboatUS will reimburse us for some of this. Hopefully.  

Fuck - #2: Since we a later start, we had an awful crossing of Lake Simcoe.  People tell us that this lake (the 4th largest in Ontario) has the worst waves of any place on the whole Trent-Severn Waterway - INCLUDING Lake Ontario and Georgian Bay.  It's about 20 miles + around, sort of like Mille Lacs in Minnesota.  It must be the varying depths - very deep, shallows, mixed. The waves were much stronger than they should have been for the 10-15 knot winds.  The sail didn't steady the boat any, since the mast was down.  15 miles, 2.5 hours. Hang on.

Then, thankfully off the big lake and back in the canals, we had a series of 5 locks.  We met up with Eric & Cynthia of s/v-Northern Whisper, a Catalina 28 out of the Thousand Islands, who were returning from the North Channel of Lake Huron.  We shared the series of locks, and some conversation between the boats. We were going to meet up with them  for the night at Rosedale (sic!) Lock, but ran out of energy and patience and stopped at Kirkfield lock for the night  Because of:

Fuck - #3: We got hung up, again, in the middle of Canal Lake.  And, again, we could not motor off.  We were right in the middle of the "guaranteed 5 foot channel".  Probably ran over (and up onto ) a deadhead; depth gauge showed 8 feet, but ...   [This time, I was really ready to call Cross Country Boat Transport back home, for a "tow" all the way back to Minnesota.] We flagged down a fishing boat and they would have tried to pull us off but they couldn't get their motor started so THEY called another boat for a tow.  Their friend did pull us off, saving us another big towing charge.  [Thank you.]

The weeds are in the channel - right of the red buoy!

Motoring through Canal "Lake"

Motoring along side this in the canals

This was the worst part of the entire waterway.  Shallow, weeds everywhere.  We had to continuously stop and back up to clear the crap off the rudder and keel.  Canal "Lake" is a large, (barely) flooded swamp they dammed (damned) up to create the T-S Waterway, and they didn't make it deep enough.  Rows of pairs of buoys down the middle and through the weeds. Miles of shallows.  Thankfully, mostly mud and weeds - done with the rocks for now.  And deadheads - whose idea was it to flood a forest?

We won't do the T/S again with a boat with more than a six-INCH draft!  I think we are finally through the worst of it.

But we did make it through (slowly!).  We were doing 5 knots at 2500 rpm; normally we would have been doing 6 knots at 2500, but we were mowing our way through a forest of weeds. Didn't dare back up to clear the weeds off the keel and rudder, for fear of getting 2 feet off the middle of the channel (I'm not kidding).

This got us to and through the Kirkfield Lift Lock. Spectacular.  See separate posting with pictures.  Nice quiet night, all by ourselves, tied up to the wall above the lock. I slept 11 hours.