June 17 Waterford to Scotia via the Erie Canal Flight of 5

June 17

Waterford is as accommodating a town to loopers as anywhere we’ve stopped so far.    They have a 1000’ long floating dock and another 600’ of fixed wall for boating visitors to tie up against for free.  Only charge is a flat $10 fee for power regardless of your stay length.  They say it’s a 2 night max but in our case we stayed 3 without issue – along with most boaters who were there – due to a a very rainy and cold Sunday that had us all hunkered down.

Waterford artsy animal - the mules which used to pull the barges

 Waterford is at the junction at the Hudson River, Erie Canal and Champlain Canal so was a once a very prosperous town.  It’s a bit weathered and worn down but still very proud of it’s history as a canal town.  The extra day we spent here gave me time to do some preventive maintenance that was about due.  A full engine oil and filter change and a transmission fluid and filter change both got done along with some new zincs on the aftercooler. Glad to have that out of the way.   The extra day also gave us a chance to go back to Don and Paul’s restaurant for breakfast – home of the 2 eggs and toast breakfast for $2!   We were back for blueberry pancakes.

Looper group breakfast at Don and Paul's Diner

We’ve been traveling for 2 solid months now and have covered over 1200 miles.  Today started a new section of the trip as we head through the Erie canal.  We ascended the “Waterford Flight” sometimes called “The Flight of Five”.  A series of 5 locks that take you up the highest amount in the shortest distance of any locks in the world – 169’ in less than 2 miles.  Basically, it’s a series of 5 locks that each lift you over 30’. 

Leaving Waterford and loading into the Erie lock #2 - the first of the flight up

These are the “modern” locks built in the early 1900’s trying to allow larger and deeper barges to travel and compete against the railroads.  The remains of some of the original Erie and Champlain canals are part of a park that sit right next to the new lock.  

Remnants of original canal - now a spillway

The single new lock at Waterford replaced a series of 5 step locks from the old canal yet all that modernizing still couldn’t make the canal competitive with rail shipments. These lock chambers are 300’ x 45’ and we had a group of 6 boats averaging about 40’ in length passing together through each one.   We were the last boat in so always had a good view looking back down the lock once the chamber completely filled.

At the top of a filled chamber

Looking back down after being raised

   I was actually quite pleased with our locking skills considering a number of past loopers talked about how difficult the Erie locks could be.  We seemed to get into exactly the spot we wanted, were able to quickly grab lines to hold us in place and ride it up.  We watched some of the boats ahead of us with twin engines and extra crew struggling at times which made us even prouder of our skills.  

Martha tending the lines in the lock

After those 5 locks we traveled the scenic and meandering Mohawk River   up to lock 7 and then turned off and headed for the town docks in Scotia.  Arrived about 1:30 which was still a long busy day as we were off the wall in Waterford to catch the first opening at 7AM.  

Scenes along the Mohawk River

There is a pretty good current in Scotia and it took 3 attempts to get the boat tied up. Thanks yet again to our friends Russ and Jax on Cat and Dogs who grabbed our lines and pulled us in.   We’re all still trying to figure out the best ways to dock with these sideways currents pushing hard on the boat as you’re backing in.  We knew it would be a challenge as we watched Jax abandon several attempts before us.

The town docks in Scotia are very nice, newer and even has power and water.  Very nominal fee and an ideal location with woods across the creek and a large town park behind the dock.   We were hungry so grabbed a quick bite at Jumpin Jacks Drive in next door.  That place is a local institution and stays packed.  Pretty good burgers and great shakes and ice cream.  We walked up and down main street Scotia but not much to it.   By this time Russ had done some research and discovered several breweries across the bridge in Schenectady that were actually open on a Monday.  So off we went searching them out.   We sampled from 2 of the breweries but the best part of our trip was getting to walk through the old historic section of Schenectady called the Stockade district. 

The town was actually founded back in 1690 and had a stockade around it for protection.   The Albany “hiway” ended at the stockade.  It was the scene of an Indian uprising that resulted in the loss of a large portion of the citizens. There are some gorgeous old homes in this section of town dating back to the 1700’s and early 1800’s that showcased the wealth available in these new territories.   George Washington got around sleeping in several of the towns homes.  An internet search revealed you can purchase one of these fairly large historical homes at unbelievably low prices.  Property taxes are still outrageous and then there’s that whole 9 months of winter to deal with, but for the right person it seems a great deal.

After getting back to the boat and giving it a quick washdown, I had settled into a chair on the sundeck to relax and finish off the end of a very busy day.  Then I see a ski boat tearing down the river hauling several skiers behind him.   The US Ski Team Show is based here and performs shows on special weekends. They were out practicing doing a 6 person pyramid running not 50' off the back of our boat.  One of the few times I didn't mind getting waked by a passing vessel.    What a way to end our day!!

Journey for June 17