Western Erie Canal Part 1

After an excellent weekend at the Tugboat Round up, and with a limited 8 day schedule, I knew that I didn’t have time to remain in Waterford and head out to do the entire Erie Canal starting at lock one going east. I spent the night before talking with a number of people who were very familiar with the Erie Canal. They gave me some great tips and told me that the portion of the canal west of Lake Oneida is one of the prettiest stretches with a number of great towns along its course. John Callahan, who I had met during the event pointed me to the direction of a marina called Pirates Cove located in Clay New York. It was to be a several hour drive on the New York State Thruway and so I arose early Monday morning and prepared the boat for being taken out.

The city of Waterford has a boat ramp located at the Waterford Visitor Center. Unfortunately the ramp is not one of the best boat ramps for launching medium-sized boats. It has an unusual angle and to drop off on one side. Despite that, and with a little help from some bystanders, I was able to load Toto up onto the trailer and secure it for its journey Westward. As any owner of a ranger tug knows, especially the Ranger 21, you always have to allow an extra half-hour at every boat ramp questions and interactions with bystanders. People of all ages - young children and old guys alike - are attracted to the boat and love to come over and talk to you. This is one of my favorite parts about owning the boat. I get to tell everyone about Ranger tugs, hear their stories about the area and meet so many interesting people. After an hour or two I was able to head out and take my journey West

The Ranger 21 weighs about 4,250 pounds with the trailer and is easily towed with my 6 cylinder Toyota Tacoma. When towing I'm very cautious about my speed and always hyper-vigilant about traffic and other vehicles. Most of the time when I'm towing a boat I'm never in a hurry and I always adhere to the slow and steady paradigm. The trip on the turnpike was uneventful and I particularly found it easy to stop at rest areas on the turnpike where I could fuel the boat with diesel by just pulling the boat forward into a gas pump used by diesel trucks. While most big trucks were loading hundreds of gallons of diesel fuel on, I would pull up and just take on 10 gallons! The ranger tug 21 is an incredibly efficient boat and literally sips fuel. The joy of this boat is that it only uses about a half a gallon diesel fuel or less underway. This provides a great opportunity travel without having to spend an exorbitant amount of money onto like some larger boats. The tank holds 18 gallons and I keep a Jerry can diesel fuel with an extra 2 gallons on board just for emergencies. Over my whole 12-day trip I only used approximately 24 gallons of fuel.

I arrived at the Pirates Cove Marina mid afternoon and was greeted by the owners Paul and Patty. The marina is truly a Hidden Gem. It's a family-run generational Marina which caters to people who are both transient photos as well as owners who leave their boats there permanently. The marina is well kept and has an excellent store. There is a great launch site as well as an excellent restaurant on site. One of the owners Patty gave me plenty of tips for my upcoming Erie Canal trip and after allowing me to leave my truck and trailer securely on site I was on my way. It was great to be on the canal at last and headed out. Since I had gotten a late start I knew that I had a limited distance that I would be able to travel. I headed west and passed the entrance to the canal leaded to Onondaga Lake (I would head down that later in my trip) and made it to the Baldwinsville lock late afternoon.

This was to be my first lock that I would go through and I was pretty nervous. I would single hand my boat through and was worried about tying up and the lock currents. I radioed ahead to the lock and explained that I was a novice and was greeted with a quick reply and some kind words. As I was to find out over the next 10 days, all the lock tenders on the canal were great and helpful . After waiting for the green light to indicate that the lock was ready I motored in and proceed up the lock. This little boat is very easy to handle because you can tie a mid ship line and keep the boat alongside the lock with just one person and one line.

That was to be my one and only lock for the day. It was a terrific ending to a perfect day. Furthee on just past the lock on the west side is the town of Baldwinsville. I found some great public docks with free electricity and nearby bathrooms in downtown. Having had a really long day I made a quick meal and Tucked myself in for bed.