just keep her in the middle
- Thread starter jon hansen
- Start date
Fortunately, a lock gate failure is exceedingly rare. Here is a report of what happens when one let's go.
https://www.sootoday.com/columns/remember-this/remember-this-a-very-bad-day-at-the-canal-181064
https://www.sootoday.com/columns/remember-this/remember-this-a-very-bad-day-at-the-canal-181064
NotCook
.
- Dec 29, 2008
- 806
Amazing how quickly they had the lock remained, and the ships! They wouldn’t even have the damage assessment done in a year nowdays...
NotCook
.
- Dec 29, 2008
- 806
No way that boat will fit in that lock! OK, he did!
Wish it was that quick! Going thru all 36 locks on the Erie Canal took us about a week.
I was seriously thinking of purchasing a boat out of Toronto, which would have had me going down bound through the channel, I spent many hours looking at videos of how it would be, but alas the admiral chose a more local boat over the ones I had chosen, from the videos I have watched the up bound passage is far more exciting as when the water enters the locks it enters with much velocity and turbulence.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 24,516
Those lock masters look quite nice. They drop a line to the boater. Here in Washington the boater has to bring 2 50 ft lines and must toss them to the lock master in the large lock or tie on to the float in the small lock. Some sort of rise or fall But only about 30 feet. The boater is responsible for adjusting the line as the boat changes height in the lock Make a mistake and you can sink your boat.
Ballard (Hiram M. Chittenden) Locks.
Ballard (Hiram M. Chittenden) Locks.
Whenever I see one of these long-boats in a narrow channel I think that them must have bow thrusters but never saw any evidence. In the first video starting at 2:00 I got the proof but it is still pretty impressive driving.
The Welland Canal is much shorter, however, you have to bide your time waiting for an opening for a recreational vessel.
It took us 4 or 5 days to go from Buffalo to Oswego on the Erie Canal. Your trip for the whole canal is about right.
Downbound is always easier. As the water drains from the middle of the bottom of the lock it tends to pull you away from the lock walls. Upbound is more challenging as the water comes up from the middle and flows towards the lock walls, pushing the boat towards the walls.
One big difference, besides the size of the locks, between the Erie and Welland is the dominant traffic. The Erie is almost all recreational whereas the Welland is almost all commercial. The lock masters on the Erie really work well with boaters slowing the water flow to make it easier to lock through.