June 18 - Scotia, NY

Going Up

Erie Lock 8 Wall

Today was cool and overcast when we woke up...a sweatshirt day. Stan went back to Don & Paul's for breakfast while I sat on the flybridge and had my coffee. The lock was busier this morning, boats of all sizes were locking up. Several boats from the wall left this morning, so we decided to wait until after lunch and have a short day. We didn't want to get bunched up with a lot of other boats. There are speed limits on most of the canal and limited space in each lock...Gallivant and The Pearl were joined in the lock by a catamaran.

We went through seven locks (211' up) today, the first five are known as the Waterford Flight and must be done all at once. “The Waterford Flight” is a set of five locks, built in 1907, which raise watercraft 170 feet in a mile and a half. It raises boats from the Hudson River at Erie Lock 2 to the Mohawk River at Erie Lock 6. This is the greatest lift in the shortest distance on any canal system in the world. These five locks are necessary to navigate around the Cohoes Falls. Lock 2 in Waterford harbor is the most visited lock on the Erie Canal, but lock 4 provides the most scenic perspectives of open spaces including both sides of the Hudson River Valley where the Hudson and Mohawk Rivers converge. The American Society Of Civil Engineers has named the flight of locks as a significant historic civil engineering landmark, because of their innovative design and protective gates.

Most of the locks have free walls you can stay on at night, some offer water and electricity. We are on the wall just past lock 8, nothing fancy here, but an easy tie up and the Lock Master was very friendly. We visited with Pam and Donny for a while; making plans for tomorrow and then we had dinner onboard.

The Pearl in Lock E2

Lock E5

The view from the top of Lock E6...most of the views were wonderful, but there wasn't time to take pictures.

Scenery around Schenectady, NY

Gallivant coming into Lock 8