Erie Canal Boat Rental and Canal Trip tips

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Disclaimer: This video is not advice, just a bunch of opinions based on my experience.
In September of 2021 Robert Kothe, his wife Cathy and good friends rented a 42’ Lockmaster Canal boat and traveled the Erie Canal East to Newark, NY and ad far West to Holly Falls. The trip was a 5-day, 4-night rental.
Unlike most canal boat vacation videos the purpose of this video is to provide trips and tips to help with planning, safety and goal-setting on an Erie canal trip.
We rented from Erie Canal Adventures:
Email info@eriecanaladventures.com
Phone (315) 986-3011
Address
1125 Marina Parkway
Macedon, NY 14502
eriecanaladventures.com
Highlights of a canal boat trip include going through locks and under lift bridges.
Robert and Cathy have a lot of boating experience including having owned a 32-foot cabin cruiser and are both current certified boat-crew members of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary. Cathy and Robert also volunteer as crew members of the 150 Year old Oyster sloop, the Pricilla.
Prior to taking the boat rental, they drove under the canal in Medina, NY and also drove to Lockport, NY and took a cave tour and visited museums.
on the way to and from Newark, New York we can see Port Gibson, NY. Port Gibson is not geared up for canal boats and is mostly private homes on the water.
On the first night of the trip they slept in Newark, NY. At first light they headed west, past Macedon, NY and towards their goal stop at Holley Falls.
Heading West they skipped Palmyra for the return trip. As it turns out they slept in Palmyra, NY on the last night to be closer to the boat return. Original concerns from the Internet feedback was that the train tracks were somewhat active but the trains added to the charm of the trip and nothing woke us up at night.
On the second day, cities visited along the way included Fairport NY, Pittsford NY, Bushnell Basin, and Spencerport. They passed by Greece NY and Slept in Spencerport night 2 and night 3.
We were advised to skip Binghamton, NY due to the fact that the city docks were silted in. This gave us more time to guarantee we would be able to reach Holley falls and return the boat on time.
On the fourth day stops included Brockport and the westmost goal of Holley Canal Falls. Bushnell Basin was supposed to be the Night 4 stop and instead stayed at Palmyra to be closer to the return dock.

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1 ноя 2021

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Комментарии : 18

@EdEdelenbos 2 года назад

Well done. A pipe dream of mine... I appreciate your work.

@piratesinparadise5 2 года назад

At the end of July I was stuck at Bushnell basin for two weeks. Waiting for the depth between 29 and 30 to get increased. My boat draws 7 ft. It was entertaining to watch those rentals. You could tell pretty easily who was experienced.

@factxback 2 года назад

The bow thrusters do help a lot and also the fact that my wife and best friends were on board and I would never live down anything I do. The important part was in the end when returning the boat to a finger slip, an employee uses you as a remote-control puppet. If you have a light hand and can listen to instructions, it just slides right in.

@johnmeyers3954 Год назад

Good video and advice. Wish we had this before we did out rentals. We have done two rentals over the last several years - with friends and without. Each time most enjoyable. I could do this every couple years and not get board at all. I picked up a book called Wedding Of The Waters by Peter Bernstein which is a GREAT source of the 200 year plus history of the canal, even some before the canal. Also, knowing what bridges are lift bridges is not always obvious so in the planning make sure you know which ones are lift and not.

@factxback Год назад

Eventually I realized the trip planning was liquid so creating planning tools and charts made the biggest difference. On day one there was a fire under a bridge, and we were detained on the other side until it was put out. Cany plan for that.

@gregbrady1031 Год назад

You mention in your notes about skipping Binghamton. This is a great idea since it is nowhere near the Erie Canal. Perhaps you meant Brockport? I agree with the other commenter who suggested sharing the navigation tools you came up with. Thanks for your video!

@factxback 11 месяцев назад

Probably had Binghamton on the mind because our friends went there, and we stopped on the way up. Made a great mid-way point for the drive up. New York is a big state. I will have to see if I can find my notes. It was all researched during covid.

@alkraus8818 Год назад

Great informational video! We are on The Harriett June 2023. Our goal is to cruise straight to Tonawanda NY, tie up for the day eBike into Canada (over the Rainbow Bridge) and then take our time getting back. That way we are not at risk of being late on the way back. How many days would you estimate that "non-stop" cruise to Tonawanda take if we did 8-10 hours per day???