Boot Key Harbor
"Marathon- the Heart of the Florida Keys"

An On-Line Cruising Guide for the Florida Keys & Cuba
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For reference, check Cruising the New York Canal System by Skipper Bob, www.skipperbob.home.att.net
Cruising Guide to the New York State Canal System www.canals.state.ny.us
Charts: www.mapserver.maptech.com

We took the portion of the canal up the Oswego river to Lake Ontario, then over, since we couldn't fit under some of the bridges in the Erie Canal portion across the state to Buffalo NY on Lake Erie (about a 15' controlling clearance).
 

Capn Grandpa Greg Stands on the lock wall with the lockmaster buying the passes for lock transit at lock 2. They do sell seasonal passes but we just needed the two day passes. It took us 3 days solid so we bought two, 2 day passes at $20 each. These locks are all individualized by their lockmasters, and the lockmaster position is generally passed on within the family - sometimes for generations. They take great pride in their locks. They maintain them, paint them, take care of the grounds, plant the landscaping, plus work all the boat traffic. I didn't realize it at the time, but the yellow and blue colors I'm wearing are New York State's colors, and the official colors of all the Barge Canal! - Rich filled me in since he grew up in New York. We didn't take the canal all the way across NY to Buffalo since Creative Touch can't make the 15ft clearance of one bridge. We took the locks from the Hudson river, up through Lake Oneida to a "fork" called three rivers. From there we departed from the traditional canal and went up the Oswego river locks to Oswego on Lake Ontario. All told we transited about 30 locks in this system, in addition to the 8 larger locks in the Welland Canal into Lake Erie later on. Each lock here takes only about 15 minutes once you get in. There is a 10mph speed limit along the canal (which is our cruise speed anyway), but sometimes you have to wait at locks for traffic.

This is the NY Canal System Tug "Urger" which is over 100 years old! - and an official symbol of the canal. We tied up here for the night along the seawall in Amsterdam. Rich went exploring the ENTIRE town. I stayed with the dogs.
 

This is part of the "flight of 5" locks which takes you up about 170 feet in less than 1.5 miles! You're looking down at the Hudson river valley from which we come. It's up the side of a mountain. This could get really exciting at the top if all the lock walls opened up at the same time!! This is the initial set of locks you encounter when going from the Hudson River west through the system. - It's climbing the mountains.

A dredge on the canal.

Free Seawall at Sylva on Lake Oneida. Nice little resort town. A few good restaurants right there at the seawall. We tied up here in the middle of a heavy thunderstorm. This is in the middle of the canal system. Rich & I walked around through town, then came back to eat close to the boat. There is a small amusement park right there at the waterfront. The weather leaving the next day on the lake was ROUGH !!!! No other boats followed.

One of the massive flood gates used on the rivers & canals.

Things can get pretty foggy all along the Great Lakes & Erie Canal.