June 20, 2019 – Around the Great Loop on the Answer

Note to all: Blog postings seem to be somewhat restricted to availability of WiFi – pairing phone to computer is too slow.

Left Peekskill and had a pleasant ride to Kingston. Peter thought about anchoring at the end of the creek but then we thought we may see other loopers at the city docks. When we passed the docks, we saw a number of looper burgees…and definitely decided to stay at the city docks for our first night. We met people on 4 boats all heading to Shady Harbor in New Baltimore for the looper pig roast – a 209 lb pig. All of these boats started the loop before we did as they hail from Tennessee, Minnesota, Georgia and although the other was from Rhode Island, attended the looper rendezvous and was traveling from Virginia since May. We traveled with a few of these boats at various times during our first week.

Woke up Friday morning with a considerable amount of water in the bilge. Pumped out and traveled with one of the loopers upriver to Shady Harbor and kept watch. At cruising speed there is a leak in what we believe is the shaft seal. Supposedly this is an easy fix. The mechanic at Shady Harbor was off for the weekend so with advice from the mechanic who installed our new engine, shaft and prop, and one of the loopers who is a mechanic, Peter did as instructed. Seems our dripless stuffing box is not dripless!

Left on Monday to head north to Waterford, just west of the Troy Lock. Seal continued to leak but the auto bilge was on so we continued. We met a mobile mechanic in Waterford and he tightened the seal – quick test and all seemed fine.

We stayed in Waterford for two nights – great deal $10 for electric and a free dock! Left on Wednesday to begin the flight . There are lines in the locks to grab and stabilize your boat and also cables, similar to the poles in Champlain. The harbor master in Waterford mentioned using cables and securing the line to your mid-ship cleat. Lock 2 was simple enough using a cable and I held the line as I used to do in Champlain. However, Lock 3 was another story – still cables and lines but Peter mistakenly tied the line on the starboard mid-ship cleat and I couldn’t get it off. Actually needed to get a knife to cut the line (thank you Wusthof!) as the tension was starting to lift the boat. Cleat needs some fiberglass repair but still secure and all is fine minus a few more boat bruises.

The leak seemed fine since speed in canal is slow between locks. Once achieving cruising speed, the leak returned and called the mechanic. He agreed to meet us at Schenectady Yacht Club — they were great and let us tie up and just wait for the mechanic. When he arrived, the stuffing box collar adjustment he made was still tight and with two trial runs, he determined it was the shaft seal. He located a kink in a piece of tubing that was pushing the water out. He was not equipped to fix this and recommended that we travel to Ess-Kay Boatyard in Brewerton – 150 miles west at the end of Oneida Lake. A long way to Lock 22 but advised that if we keep speed down to 1800 rpms, we will be dry and do no damage. He was an experienced mechanic – many decades – and had owned his own marina at one point and wanted to steer us to reputable, reliable, marine mechanics for the repair. He agreed to speak with the boat yard about his diagnosis.

We left Schenectady and planned to continue until we needed to stop. Turns out that after we went through Lock 11 (Scotia) at 4:30 pm we were told that the next 3 locks closed at 5:00 pm and we would only be able to complete one more. On the other side of the lock we saw LuckyMe and TxAu (Texas Gold) tied up for the night and decided to do the same free tie-up, no electric. Better to travel together. Had dinner and a small fire for smores. There is so much wood on the sides of the canal, practically full tree lengths.

Next day was projecting rain so the target was only to Amsterdam with another free tie up with electric. Walked into town to Russos for good Italian food. A good place to stop.

Next morning is the beginning of more projected rain so the three of us left Amsterdam on a chilly morning of 54 degrees. Rain came earlier than expected but new foul weather gear works well. Kodey is cold — may need to crochet him a sweater — breaking Peter’s rule of “no clothes for my dog.”

Traveled to Canajoharie – Riverfront Park for free tie-up and some electric. The only remaining outlet was on the other side of the park and since we have multiple lines (200′) we were able to connect. Nice to be able to make coffee in the morning for the ride. No rush, no schedule, boat is running OK, dry, so we’ll continue even slower than usual until we get to Brewerton.