Erie Canal or Trent Severn waterway?

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Dean5735

Dean5735

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Aug 31, 2007
296
Catalina 30 Petoskey, Mich.
I just found out about the Trent Severn waterway, I did a little research on it, but it looks very indirect and wandering. It may be more beautiful than the cannal but not sure about any of it. It appears I could skip all of Lake Erie and the cannal, and get to spend some time in Georgian Bay too.
I guess this one is gonna take some thinking, but hey, there is time yet.

Thanks Dean
 
A

alexco38

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Sep 25, 2008
1,096
CS 30 Toronto
Trent Severn waterway

Generally water depth are
2.4 m (8') Locks 1 - 19
1.8 m (6') Locks 20 - 45
But there is no guarantee. Boaters are advise to call Parks Canada due to annual variation.

I did that with the family on a Macgregor 26S and had a wonderful time. You have to unstep the mast due to many low bridges. Not too many places you can actually sail. More like motoring all the way.

During high season make sure you arrive at a lock by no later than 4:00pm as the docking on the wall may be full. Otherwise you'll have to hang around until 7:00pm when the lock closes so you can dock on the wall. But you'll have to leave early around 8:00am.

When you finished with the Trent you'll be at Georgian bay, the best fresh water sailing area in the world. It's also known as the lake of 30,000 islands.
 
Scott B

Scott B

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Sep 20, 2006
2,952
Hunter 33 Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada
Trent Severn is an adventure.... with a lot of lakes, rivers and many many locks, including the highest hydraulic lift lock in the world... Peterborough Lift Lock

Trent-Severn

Parks Canada


If you go the best cruising guide is from Ports Cruising Guides It'll save you tons of time giving you ideas on where to go, facilities, groceries etc. etc.

Once you get to Georgian Bay and the 30,000 Islands, then you could spend weeks exploring.
 
Ed Schenck

Ed Schenck

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Jun 2, 2004
5,802
Hunter 37-cutter, '79 41 23' 30"N 82 33' 20"W--------Huron, OH
Why am I the only one who doesn't understand the question? Skip Lake Erie and the canal to go where? Can we assume you are leaving from home in Lake Michigan? So you can go and spend a summer in Georgian Bay without going through any canals. Or maybe your destination is Lake Ontario and I missed a previous post. But then you wouldn't be considering the Erie Canal. I am confused.
 
Dean5735

Dean5735

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Aug 31, 2007
296
Catalina 30 Petoskey, Mich.
Sorry Ed,

Sorry Ed, I should have noted the trip, we will be leaving Petoskey Mich. and heading south VIA the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway starting in New York. I have been researching the Erie Canal as the St.Laurence seaway is out of the question for us. Then I heard of the Trent Severn, so in that case we would be doing it from Georgina bay then to the south through the TSW. At this point I think we will stick with the Erie route.

I really appreciate everyones input on the mast storage and all that too.

Thanks Dean

ps.I'll have plenty more questions and comments to come, once we get underway.
 
Scott T-Bird

Scott T-Bird

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Oct 26, 2008
6,241
Catalina 320 Barnegat, NJ
Ed, you're not the only one confused ...

Dean, if I'm not mistaken, when you head south from Petoskey, you would end up in Chicago at the end of the Lake Michigan and not anywhere near the ICW, which happens to start in New Jersey, and not New York. Once you leave the Hudson and clear Sandy Hook, New Jersey, you have to sail offshore down to Manasquan Inlet to enter the beginning of the ICW. (I'm just sticking up for the Garden State a little bit.)

Now that I'm done busting your chops ;) .... I'm guessing that the Trent Severn avoids Lake Erie because it connects Lake Huron with Lake Ontario?? Having not googled it, am I right?

Not knowing where you end up at the eastern end of Trent Severn, I am guessing that you could sail Lake Ontario, visit the Thousand Islands area before entering the St. Lawrence, and heading downstream to make the locks that could put you on Lake Champlain. Of course, you would have to take the mast down again to make it from the St Lawrence to the Hudson via Lake Champlain.
 
higgs

higgs

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Aug 24, 2005
3,704
Nassau 34 Olcott, NY
I moved my boat from Racine, WI to Lake Ontario via the North channel, Georgian Bay and the Trent. It was a trip of a life time as the North Channel and G Bay are world class cruising grounds - that means they are as good as the BVI. I have been both places and the NC is indeed world class. I draw a couple of inches over 5 feet and the Trent was a bit of an adventure . The locks can guarantee you 6 ft, but often the channels cannot. At our 5' draft we hit bottom quite a bit - even center channel. Still, we made it without major damage and it was a fabulous trip. If you draw 4.5 or so I would go for it and allow plenty of time to enjoy the towns along the way. We did the Trent in a week, but I wish we had given it two weeks or more.
 
Scott B

Scott B

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Sep 20, 2006
2,952
Hunter 33 Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada
If you Google The Great Loop, there is tons of info on your trip options.

You can take the Trent to Lake Ontario and across to Oswego Canal which leads to the Erie Canal, avoiding the St. Lawrence.

Great Loop
 
Dean5735

Dean5735

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Aug 31, 2007
296
Catalina 30 Petoskey, Mich.
Thanks Scott, we would actually go over the top of Mich. then south, Lake Huron, to Erie, then the canal to the hudson and NY city to the ICW. I had thought about the Great Loop, but the Mississippi doesn't thrill me. Higgs, I do draw five'three".

Thanks again for all the info!! Dean
 
Scott B

Scott B

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Sep 20, 2006
2,952
Hunter 33 Georgian Bay, Ontario, Canada
I figured that part out. I'm from the great Lakes ;)


I wasn't sure if you were aware of the Oswego Canal from Lake Ontario and connecting to Erie / Hudson and bypassing St. Lawrence, so I gave you the link for the Loop. That way you could go NC, Trent, Lake Ontario, Oswego, Hudson, ICW. It appears to be shorter, but the Trent could be slow going with all the locks.

The Welland can be very daunting, but either way should be a fun trip.

It has good info on the "sections" of the Loop you're doing, regardless of which way you go.
 
higgs

higgs

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Aug 24, 2005
3,704
Nassau 34 Olcott, NY
At 5'3' I would not do the Trent unless water levels were quite high. Would you pick up the Erie Canal in buffalo, or do the Welland and take L Ontario to Oswego where you can pick up the Erie? I live in this are and the Erie does not look particularly interesting to me. This is from my observation from car crossing it many times in numerous places.
 
Sumner

Sumner

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Jan 31, 2009
5,254
Macgregor & Endeavour 26S and 37 Utah's Canyon Country
higgs said:
.......... I live in this are and the Erie does not look particularly interesting to me. This is from my observation from car crossing it many times in numerous places.
Click to expand
Hey don't burst our bubble ;).

We aren't much into motoring, but we've read were a number of people have done the Erie and actually wished they would have taken more time on it. We were hoping to maybe do it next year from the NYC area over to Buffalo then trailer home from there.

Anyone else have thoughts on is the trip worth it or should we spend our time some place else? My sister lives just off of Long Island Sound and we wanted to spend some time there visiting and sailing before heading to Buffalo.

Thanks,

Sum and Ruth

Our Trips to Lake Powell, UT - Kootenay Lake, Canada - Priest Lake, ID

Our Mac Pages

Mac Links
 
higgs

higgs

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Aug 24, 2005
3,704
Nassau 34 Olcott, NY
I am speaking of the stretch from Buffalo to east of Lockport which is not much of the trip. Thinking about it, i realize I really don't know. Sorry.
 
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