Around the Great Loop on the Answer

Thursday finally arrived and the boat was hauled for repairs at 8:30am. Peter stayed back at the marina to be available to the mechanics (and Kodey) while I went shopping for provisions.

We met another looper at the state harbor next door and we went to a local community theater to see a play that evening –The Savannah Sipping Society at the Barn Theatre. A fun time was had by all.

The boat repair was an all day process that continued until the afternoon into the next day. At this point, it is easier just to copy the marina statement as to our problem:

ENGINE AND SHAFT OUT OF ALIGNMENT; ENGINE MOUNT BOLTS WERE MISSING THE LOCK NUT THAT HOLDS THE MAIN ENGINE MOUNT BOLT TO THE MOUNT CAUSING IT TO MOVE FORWARD AND BACK AND UP AND DOWN WHICH DIDN’T ALLOW ENGINE TO STAY ALIGNED CORRECTLY WHICH DAMAGED THE COUPLING, KEYWAY, END OF SHAFT, AND CAUSED THE PSS SHAFT SEAL TO LEAK BADLY. REMOVED PROP AND HAD TO ENLARGE HOLE IN RUDDER TO REMOVE DRIVE SHAFT. PSM HAD TO RAISE THE FRONT OF THE ENGINE ONE INCH TO GET THE ENGINE AND SHAFT ALIGNMENT CORRECT, THE RUNNING GEAR HAD TO BE REPLACED AND THE PROP HAD TO BE BALANCED TO CORRECT ALL OF THESE ISSUES

After two trial runs – one each day, we are happy to say that the boat appears to be fixed. Since this was the sixth mechanic, we are hoping that all is good and this is a permanent fix. We decided to go out for dinner to celebrate but Peter was unable to walk to the recommended restaurant since he either pulled a muscle or has a pinched nerve so we settled for the restaurant at the marina. Our plan was to leave early Saturday morning and head to Port Austin at the top of the thumb.

Saturday arrived with good weather and nominal winds, at least at the beginning of our journey. Peter is still having difficulty walking but there is nothing that would keep him from leaving Port Sanilac and running the boat. We arrived in Port Austin with no problems – a bit windy at times but still doable. He ran the boat at varying speeds to continue to test outcomes – all good! We would like to catch up to a few people we had been traveling with earlier on the trip and they are at varying days ahead of us. It is doubtful that we will catch up until sometime next week but that is assuming the weather/winds cooperate. While Port Austin looks like an interesting town to stay another day, Peter is not only anxious to leave and is not really capable of walking around town anyway. Next stop will be cutting across the mouth of Saginaw Bay to Harrisville, MI. This will be the first time that we will be totally out of sight of land.

Sunday we went to Harrisville and were joined by new loopers who began their loop last week from Port Sanilac state harbor. They are first time boaters and took lessons to prepare for the trip. Peter met them in Port Sanilac and I met them in Port Austin. While their boat is faster than ours, at this point we are just more motivated to keep moving so we will see them on and off on the journey. After Harrisville, we were planning to go to Presque Isle on Monday but then continued on to Rogers City. They needed to stop in Alpena to pick up some items they ordered and then have reservations in Mackinac Island for the weekend. We will probably see them again after we are both on the east coast of Lake Michigan.

We planned to travel on Monday since the winds did not look like they were going to cooperate on Tuesday so wanted to make the most of the water before we got stuck. We decided to stay another night in Rogers City and I took advantage of the time to locate an urgent care type facility for Peter to see a doctor. If the weather continued to be nice, he would want to keep traveling and eventually, he wouldn’t be able to walk at all. We were able to make an appointment for Tuesday morning. The marina had a courtesy vehicle so we were able to get a ride since we have found that Uber does not seem to exist in this part of Michigan and Lyft is spotty. Turns out that his sciatic nerve is pinched – they gave him a shot and steroids and pain medication. Wednesday, he was better already – still not great but moving much easier. So, of course we traveled and arrived at Mackinaw City. We have traveled over 200 miles since we left on Saturday without issue. On our next stop, we will be in Lake Michigan.

Most of the marinas we have stayed in have been operated by the state of Michigan. They have very reasonable rates but services vary from site to site. Many have laundry (some free), all are pet friendly, some have fuel and courtesy cars, and most seem to be within walking distance to small towns. It appears that on the east coast of Lake Michigan there is a state harbor every 20-30 miles so we will need to plan since there will now be many loopers traveling this route to get to Chicago by early September before the locks are closed for repair.

Since I have commented on the color of the water compared to the Hudson River, I have posted a few photos from when we docked today – it’s amazing to be able to see below the water right in your slip! Another thing that we found unusual – not a common occurrence in NY – is docking bow first. Everybody seems to do it, but not us!

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Week Nine has us in a slip in Port Sanilac Marina. We already know that we will be here a week. The reconditioning of our shaft will not be ready until next Wednesday.

The town is only a few blocks away so the first thing we did on Thursday was to take a walk into town and go to the library. Peter had finished reading his book and we figured this would be a big reading week. We have not come across any library that does not have a small section of books for sale. Unfortunately, there was nothing there for him to read so I searched my ebook files and identified a number of non-fiction and some fiction that he would read. In addiion to the library, we found a dollar store and picked up a few things. Most of the towns we have visited have some dollar store (even though everything is not $1 like the Dollar Tree) and have been a good source of some staples such as milk, bread, eggs and some boxed or canned goods. Some stores are better than others but here in Michigan we tend to find Dollar General closest to the marinas. We decided not to walk in the other direction to check out the grocery store until the next day. We needed to plan our days so that we had something to do.

Friday morning we were advised the the prop/shaft repair changed – the prop could still be rebalanced but the shaft could not be reconditioned so we needed a new shaft – target day is still next Wednesday.

We walked in the other direction on Friday and went to the supermarket (the local IGA) to provision. Store was better than some but still not a full-fledged supermarket.

Friday and Saturday were spent reading and listening to the music from the Blues Festival. On Sunday, the local museum was having a Civil War reenactment and a number of tents with Civil War memorabilia. Since Peter is a history lover, I suggested he go to the event. While he did this, I ventured into town to do laundry.

In the afternoon, we met future loopers. They currently have a 30′ sailboat that is for sale and want to purchase a Mainship. Their plan is to leave next year since he will be joining his wife in retirement in February. They were interested in our journey so far and when they were leaving, she offered to take me to a real supermarket to provision before we left. She felt that she would be paying it forward. After consideration, I agreed that this would be a good idea since I don’t know what awaits me at the next few stops. The plan was to go shopping on Thursday when I needed to be off the boat because of the repairs.

Peter spent Monday cleaning the boat just to do something different. Port Sanilac is a nice town but too small to occupy time for a week+. On Tuesday, one of our buddy boats, Selah Way, came to the Port Sanilac Municipal Marina. They had a number of family events that sidetracked their trip but they are now ready to move forward. We were advised that they were told that they must go to Blue Water for their thin crust pizza – the place is known for it. So it looked like that took care of our dinner plans. Must say, the pizza was good.

Wednesday finally arrived and our parts were delivered. However, only the shaft and prop arrived as the box with the coupler, etc. was not put on the van. Fortunately, one of the employees was at a meeting near the shop and would stop by to pick it up on his way home otherwise, we would have been delayed even another day. We are anxiously awaiting Thursday – repair day!

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Thursday morning we left early as planned. Our travel up the St. Clair River was uneventful. Weather was good and the ride was pleasant. Kodey appreciated the trip to catch up on his napping. When we approached the bridge – in a permanent up position – we saw that the entire transient dock at Port Huron Yacht Club was empty. Our plan worked and we secured our lines and tied up close so that there would be space for others who arrived throughout the day.

Port Huron is a busy place. Lots of boats and lots of sail boats returning from the Port Huron to Mackinac Island race. The river is narrow at the opening and we experienced much rocking. It appears that people do not understand the meaning of NO WAKE. Our plan was to only spend one night in town and then head up to Lake Huron, second of our Great Lakes.

We read, and were advised about the strong current entering Lake Huron and the need to hug the Canadian side of the channel. All this is true! We are a slow boat, especially with our mechanical problems but fighting the current to enter the lake, our speed actually dropped to 1.8 knots. We were happy to get out of the funnel and enter the lake. Lake Erie looked large but it doesn’t compare the vastness of Lake Huron.

Destination was not much of question this time. We had thought about Port Salinac but it turned out that this was their Festival weekend and that meant no slip availability. Lexington looked like a cute town but it was only 20 miles away and we wanted to travel further. That meant we would have a longer day but would arrive at Harbor Beach in the afternoon. Water was good so it was no problem. Harbor Beach is undergoing renovations so the marina had some very nice new slips but they didn’t have power or water. We opted for the older slips with the rickety, narrow fingers since power and water is nice to have. In addition to the rickety fingers, the main dock to land had wide spaces between most of the boards. This created a difficult walk for Kodey since his paws were the perfect size to get caught between two boards. Walking down the dock, gingerly, took more time than usual. To offset these inconveniences, the staff were friendly and there was a courtesy car to get us into town.

Since we were headed to Jerry’s Marina in East Tawas on July 31st, we wanted to make sure that they were prepared to accept our packages – the part from PYI and two additional packages from Target and Amazon that I had ordered. Called on Thursday and left a message – no return phone call. Peter called again on Friday and wanted to speak with the mechanic who had left a message. He was unable to speak with him but was advised by their staff that they were too busy to look at our boat and that their policy is to not make appointments but to look at the boat two weeks after you arrive at the marina. Major issue – why did they create a work order two weeks earlier and tell us the 31st but not that we would need to wait an additional two weeks to actually have any work done?

Harbor Beach is a place to stay and does not have any mechanical services. However, there is a local mechanic who works on many boats there and Peter spoke to him on Saturday. He came to the marina, reviewed the issues we were having, the other “repairs” we had and diagnosed that the shaft was bent. He tested the shaft and said it was bent and would need to reconditioned. Of course, that meant that the boat needed to be hauled – he thought a friend of his had a trailer that could pull the boat but the boat was too heavy. He advised that if we continued to travel looking for a mechanic, we risked losing our prop.

By Sunday, we were struggling to locate a marina in the area that could manage the haul out and do the work or allow the mechanic from Harbor Beach to do the work if they were too busy. Peter finally spoke with the service manager at Port Salinac Marina and he advised that they would be able to help. Since we were concerned about losing the prop, we agreed that a tow would make sense. The weather was projected to be windy on Monday so we would probably not be towed until Tuesday. While they had the equipment and mechanics to help us, it meant going 27 miles back south. Not what we wanted to do but we want the boat fixed permanently this time. We cannot continue to travel and risk having additional problems.

Our buddy boat, Bahama Voyager, left Harbor Beach on Sunday for Port Austin. They graciously stated that they would pick up our packages at Jerry’s Marina since they would not be doing the work. After a stop in Port Austin, they planned to stay at the state marina in East Tawas for a day or two and would be close by. Loopers are great!

On Monday, we received the tracking number from PYI once we confirmed that the package had not arrived. It was too late to redirect the package but we were able to have them hold it at the UPS facility and we hoped that we would be able to resend it once they got it.

Monday was too windy so it was arranged that we would be towed on Tuesday when the wind was better. With all this going on, there was another festival in Port Sanilac the following weekend – the 6th annual Blues Festival on Friday and Saturday, and that meant no slips if we needed to stay beyond Friday morning. The plan was to be towed and then hauled. We were told we could not stay on the boat and there are limited places nearby with rooms – none are marked pet-friendly. I called the motel closest to the marina and told them our situation. They were very nice and agreed to take a chance on our “low-maintenance, non-shedding” dog. The only thing was that if the boat was not fixed, we would still have to leave on Friday morning as all rooms had been booked since last year for the festival. He advised that this would be the same at all the local places. Not the best option, but it bought us a few days. All this juggling proved unnecessary since they decided not to haul us until they looked at the leaking and made some adjustments. After they made adjustments, there was a trial run and while there was no leaking, there were a few other things that need to be looked at – the bent shaft, etc. and that would be done on Wednesday. He suggested we stay in the state marina next door and they will work on finding a slip for us until the boat was operable. The gracious motel owner understood and allowed us to cancel our reservation without any payment even though it was close to 5 pm – the differences you see in small towns.

Wednesday arrived and the mechanic ran a number of tests on the boat. The final diagnosis was that the leaky shaft seal was never the main problem but it was the bent shaft and that meant hauling the boat so that the shaft could be reconditioned. Since pieces of the engine had been deconstructed, their barge towed us to their travel lift to be hauled. Once hauled, they needed to work on removing the shaft so that it could be given to the company they use for reconditioning. Removing the shaft proved not an easy task. They needed to work on the stainless steel rudder and enlarge the hole to remove the shaft. As I am a novice, I inquired why it was so difficult to remove and if so, how could the installer get the shaft in the boat in the first place. An unanswered question.

Finally, they were able to remove the shaft, prop and coupler just in time to give it to the company van for pickup. This reconditioning will probably take a week so we will be staying in Port Sanilac awaiting repairs. They were able to find a slip for us and put an old shaft into the boat so we would stay afloat. Staying on your own boat, even when it is not moving, definitely beats staying in a motel. Really didn’t want to move clothes, eat all meals out, and worry about Kodey. The weekend would have been problematic anyway since there were no rooms available in town. I guess I should also mention that there is no place to rent a car here.

Our parts were taken to the shop in Algonac with a return next Wednesday. We are staying on the boat and will need to find some things in this small town to occupy our time. At least we will be entertained Friday and Saturday as the Blues Festival is in the park next door so we just need to stay on the boat and we will be able to hear everything.

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We left Cleveland and the weather looked good. Some wind so there were a few options of where to stop depending on the wind/waves the rest of the day. Two possibilities were Lorain and Vermilion. The preference was for Vermilion since we would be able to cross more of Lake Erie. One problem we have been facing is the availability of docks – that are not under water. The wind/waves cooperated so we continued to travel. Bahama Voyager made some phone calls and was able to secure spots for us in Vermilion but at different marinas. Their beam is 17.5′ so that presents issues for a number of marinas – either they don’t have slips wide enough or it means using two slips to accommodate the boat. As it turned out, the spot they secured for themselves was partially underwater so that meant no power for the night. Vermilion has many small marinas in this harbor, up until the fixed bridge. The bridge has a low clearance of 10′ and it was right before this bridge that Bahama Voyager secured a place to tie up for the night.

We met up a little later in town to have dinner and stroll through the Vermilion 3rd Thursday festivities. The town sponsors musical performances on the 3rd Thursday of the month. There were 24 different musical performances – in the park, open-air gazebos, local restaurants, and street corners. The music was varied and we enjoyed strolling along with the crowd to listen to a wide range of genres and talent. It was great to see a town so vibrant with loads of people enjoying the activities and boosting the local economy.

While Vermilion was a cute town, it didn’t have enough of a draw for us to stay another day especially considering the accommodations. We dabbled with traveling to Sandusky, Port Clinton, Toledo Beach or heading north (over open water) to Put-In-Bay. So much depended on the wind, once again. Since we were also trying to locate a mechanic and thought our best option was on the Detroit River, we decided that we would start hugging the shore to test the waters first and if all was fine, we would head north to Put-In-Bay.

Conditions weren’t optimal but they were doable. We headed across Lake Erie to Put-In-Bay. Slips were not readily available and we were not interested in going to South Bass Island and have to raft to four other boats. Sent a few emails, made a number of calls but by mid-day still no luck. Tried to contact the Ohio municipal dock on Middle Bass Island but their phone was busy consistently since 9 am when they opened. At a certain point, I contacted their non-emergency number and was advised that there were phone issues and was given an email address. Never received a response but we all decided that if there had been phone issues for a number of days, that also meant that others could not get through so we would go and hail them on the radio once we were close enough. That worked and we were able to get slips for two nights. If that hadn’t worked, we always had the option of a mooring ball on South Bass Island.

Middle Bass Island was a clean, quiet marina and practically half empty. We decided to take the ferry over to South Bass the next day since that is the “tourist” island and the “party place”. There is a boardwalk, many restaurants and bars, lots of the typical tourist attractions. We rented a golf cart and toured around the entire island. One of the stops we made was to visit Perry’s Victory and International Peace Memorial that commemorates the Battle of Lake Erie that took place near Ohio’s South Bass Island. We  went up to the observation deck and the viewed the sights and enjoyed watching part of a reenactment of one of Perry’s sea battles. Although we had fun on the island, we were very happy that we opted to stay on Middle Bass.

After spending two nights on Middle Bass Island it was time to head for the Detroit River and hopefully find a mechanic for a permanent fix to our leaky seal. The water was high on the river as we tried to locate a place to stay. I was impressed with the color of the water, especially when compared to our home water, the Hudson River. Seeing the water color as we travel highlights nature’s vast differences.

Once again, lots of phone calls, few available spaces for our size boats. One marina indicated that there were two slips at the end of the dock, with electric but no one would be there when we arrived – he would be there later in the day. We stopped for fuel and someone advised that they believed that the marina we were heading to had docks under water. It was only a few miles away and sure enough, the dock for “us” was under water and that meant not only no services but pretty impossible to get Kodey off the boat for a walk. I called the contact and left a message that we were passing on the slips but thanked him for at least returning my call. We pushed on and that meant a longer day but we felt it best to find a place to tie up. We were fortunate to find room at the Milliken State Park & Harbor just outside the city of Detroit. An additional bonus once we checked in was the availability of free laundry that was open 24 hours onsite.

The next day was spent touring and making phone calls to mechanics. Even with the help of Harbor Hosts, we were having a tough time. Mechanics were booked for three-four weeks before even looking at our boat. There was one possibility of only a week but that was before he could even look at it. It’s one thing to have to wait to have the work completed but another to wait to even have them look especially if you were not in a place where you want to stay.

The next strategy was to look further into the future and find a mechanic further north, probably on Lake Huron where we could schedule an appointment in advance for two weeks out and not lose time and make progress, even slow, towards the next leg of the journey.

We located a marina in East Tawas on Lake Huron and made an appointment to meet with a mechanic on July 31. In addition, contact was made with the manufacturer of the shaft/seal to ship a replacement seal directly to the marina.

After we left Detroit, we traveled across Lake St. Clair and then up the St. Clair River to the St. Clair Boat Harbor, a marina recommended by a boater in Detroit. The place was nice, close to town, and had a courtesy van to transport us within the city limits. We took advantage of this to have dinner in a local restaurant in the pouring rain and then again, the next day to go to a supermarket for provisions. This was the first real shopping trip since Fairport, NY. The town was very active as they were preparing for their annual boat race on the weekend. Slips were at a premium for this event so we were scheduled to leave on Thursday for our next stop, Port Huron. We were advised that slips could be difficult to obtain in Port Huron as there were many sailboats returning from the Port Huron to Mackinac Island race. The Port Huron Yacht Club has a few transient slips on a first-come basis so we decided to leave even earlier than usual to secure a spot.

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Thursday we entered Lake Erie and planned to travel to Dunkirk.  When we left Buffalo, we saw a number of the University of Buffalo women’s crew team practicing.  As we traveled along, we noticed a number of walls that highlighted their achievements through the years.  I guess when you practice in rough water, you develop great skills.

This was not a pleasant ride – wind and waves – that we learned is not that unusual for Erie. Peter declared it “his” Worst Day on the Water, EVER!  Arrived at the marina, Holiday Harbor (formerly known as Chadwick Bay).  The marina had recently been sold so there was much construction and noise. We connected again with Selah Way who we initially met in Fairport. They were on the city dock and were considering moving elsewhere. The weather for the next few days wasn’t going to cooperate so we walked over to the Dunkirk Yacht Club to inquire about moving there for the next day or two until the weather was better to travel to Erie, Pa.

The yacht club could not have been more inviting. They found space for all three boats even though their water level was 28″ higher than usual. In addition, they immediately invited us to their share-a-dish get together that evening. Peter had an extra burgee from our club and presented it to their commodore who in turn gave him one of their burgees. The two days we spent in Dunkirk were very pleasant even though the weather wasn’t.

We left Dunkirk and planned to travel to Erie and stay for one night. Bahama Voyager decided to anchor out that night but we made reservations at the Presque Isle Yacht Club, a recommendation from a number of members from the Dunkirk Yacht Club. Once again the Erie was windy with rolling waves, another rocky ride. Our boat continues to be bringing up the rear. It will be nice to finally get the leaking shaft fixed permanently. The plan to do this is to wait until we enter the Detroit River since there are marinas that are accustomed to working on larger boats.

When we arrived at the entrance to the harbor, we saw Bahama Voyager outside the entrance with the Coast Guard.  He was boarded in a somewhat routine stop – we learned that they do 2-3 a day when we were boarded on our way to Shady Harbor.  It was not quite routine since they had lost power in both their engines and were drifting so the Coast Guard was curious as to what was going on.  Fortunately, one engine started again so we stayed close until they were released by the Coast Guard.  The engines were on and off again as they traveled to the anchorage – we offered to tow but they were able to move to an anchorage and were secure.  We then continued into the harbor to dock at Presque Isle Yacht Club.  Selah Away was already docked and left the marina to have dinner and spend the night with some old friends.

Presque Isle Yacht Club is a busy, active club.  There were a number of members who met us at the dock until they determined the best place for us to spend the night.  As with many clubs/marinas we have seen along this journey, they are experiencing high water and in places, the water is over the docks.  They moved us to the inside, near the clubhouse and we had a secure dock for the night.  I took advantage of the washing machine and caught up on laundry.  The club had undergone some recent renovations and I must say that they had the nicest restrooms and showers since the beginning of the trip.  The members were friendly, offered Peter a car to use if we needed it, etc.  Peter thanked him for his gracious offer and was told that members offer this to transients all the time.  

On Monday, we left Erie and weren’t sure where we would stop.  We looked at multiple options – I believe we had 5 or 6 earmarked – Conneaut, Ashtabula, Geneva, Fairport, Mentor – all dependent on the weather.  We started the day with good water, little wind and it looked like this would be a good day.  A few of the next days didn’t look promising so we wanted to make the most of the only day we had on Lake Erie that was nice so far.  Whenever we came close to one of the earmarked spots, we decided to continue.  Selah Away left about 1 1/2 hours after we did because of their visit with friends and didn’t think they could catch up.  We finally decided to continue onto Cleveland – an 82 mile trip taking us 12 hours.  Selah Away stayed in Mentor for the evening with plans to connect with us on Tuesday.  Finding a place to stay proved a challenge since most yacht clubs are closed on Mondays and a few other marinas did not have any slips.  However, Lakeside Yacht Club finally agreed to let us dock even though they were closed.  They advised that we would not have any assistance and I told them we were OK with that as long as they would provide the slip numbers we could use.  We were finally settled at 8:19pm, a very long day.

Tuesday was a recovery day.  Weather was not wonderful anyway so Peter took advantage of their pool and hot tub.  This is a large upscale yacht club with a restaurant, banquet hall, large bar, etc.  Reminded me more of a country club than the yacht clubs we have experienced.  We decided to spend another day since it was supposed to rain and we went to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Science Center. We really enjoyed the Hall of Fame and their celebration of the 50th anniversary of Woodstock.  Word of advice – if it says “center” instead of “museum” it is designed as a hands-on experience for children.  When Peter visited the Science Center years ago on a business trip, it was a museum, things have changed.  There were many day camp groups visiting and lots of scientific activities for the children.  However, they did have a good exhibit on the Apollo Moon Landing’s 50th anniversary.

We will leave Cleveland tomorrow, again with a few possibilities but no reservations.

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July 4th was very quiet in Lyons – no fireworks and no activity around the lock. We spent a quiet day reading and planning for the next trip after our repairs on Saturday.

Friday was overcast and later in the day we had some rain. We walked into the town on the other side of the canal to pick up some provisions. As we walked, we saw a laundromat that wasn’t searchable (linked with a gas station) so I walked back later in the day and caught up on laundry.

One piece of good news: the parts came in later in the afternoon so the mechanic was able to pick them up earlier than expected so will be at the boat at 8am on Saturday. If all went well, we would be able to leave later that morning and head to Fairport.

Mechanic came and replaced the key and coupler on the shaft. Tested OK but he wanted to add a few locking washers and needed to get the right size. The plan was for us to leave and then meet him in a few hours at Mid Lakes Marine where he would replace the washers. This was also a 2 hour run to test the repair.

All was going fine until we got into Lock 28 and it starting to downpour – torrential rain. Of course we were already locking through so it was miserable. I do have to admit though that our foul weather gear continues to keep us dry. Perhaps I’ll write a review on the Lands End website telling them that I am pleased with my purchase.

Met the mechanic at Mid Lakes and he swapped out the washers. Told us to hang around until the rain stopped and then it should be an easy run to Fairport. We left once the rain seemed to have subsided.

Arrived in Fairport and were pleased that there were still a number of spots on their wall – a cute little town. We tied up east of the town at the quiet dock. We planned to spend two nights in Fairport to visit with a few of our daughter’s college friends who live in Fairport and Rochester.

The Greens met us Saturday after dinner since their kids insisted on taking us out for ice cream. The ice cream shop was packed and they had a nice variety. I was finally able to find my favorite – pistachio with real pistachios instead of the almonds that many companies now try to substitute. Peter ordered a small French Vanilla cone but the girl behind the counter kept loading ice cream on the cone. Needless to say, he had melting ice cream running down his hand. The kids laughed and the youngest kept repeating “that is not a small cone.” She had her share of melted ice cream also – on her clothes, flip-flops and body!

On Sunday, the Brightfuls came to visit from Rochester. Their girls loved the boat and were ready to move in…as was their father. Lots of questions about what type of boat is best for the Loop, how much experience and planning is involved, etc. A family of potential boaters.

On Monday, we left Fairport and planned to travel to Brockport. Weather was good and we had contact from Bahama Voyager that they left Brockport and were heading to Albion. They took a quick look at the town and decided to move forward and go to Medina. We checked the mileage and continued so that we could catch up and have someone to travel with eventually on Lake Erie. Spent a night in Medina and traveled to the town of Tonowanda the next day.

Finishing our journey on the Erie Canal resulted in some interesting photos. There was one section that we passed that was dug by hand and it was solid rock. Another interesting spot was where the Erie Canal actually was over a road….look closely at the photo I posted. (For a better look, check out YouTube: https://youtu.be/HTGXdyK-Lo4) In addition to these sights, there was bike ride from Buffalo to Albany taking place and we saw a number of bikers along various parts of the canal – in groups, teams, and alone.

Tonowanda is very close to Niagara Falls so we took a little side trip – not by boat but by Lyft. I was the only one of four who had ever been to the falls and that was a brief visit during college-shopping with our daughter. The falls are magnificent and if you have never been, try to make this one of the items on your bucket list.

Wednesday we headed to Buffalo and the next travel day would then take us into Lake Erie. Bahama Voyager ordered some parts to repair his boat and had them delivered to the marina (there was a West Marine there too if other items were needed) so we stayed overnight so that he had time to finish his repairs before we entered Lake Erie. Next stop: first of our Great Lakes.

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*No WiFi for two weeks

We left Brewerton on Thursday in good spirits. The boat was not leaking and it looked as though the locks would be opening in a day or two. The Oswego Canal opened all their locks but Erie opened Lock 23 and continued to keep Locks 25-28 open but still no Lock 24. We decided to leave anyway and hang out on the free wall on the east side of Lock 24 with buddy boat, Bahama Voyager who had been there for close to a week. Since there are no services, we made sure to fill up with water at the marina and checked to see that we had enough gas for the generator. We had enough propane for cooking so we were good to go.

On the way to the lock, we saw another Manatee, named Manatee. This is rare. Kadey Krogen only made 99 of these boats (98 still in operation) and since we purchased ours in 2005, we have only seen two others, both on Rondout Creek. This one was a bit unusual as it had an orange hull. They are hull #62, built in 1987, the original owners. They have completed many different parts of the loop and this is their 29th looping voyage. Many modifications – not a standard dinghy but a 90hp engine on the towed dink and instead of a standard boom, one that is equipped to lift their motorcycle off the upper deck of the boat.

Friday arrived with no news about the locks so we will be staying in Baldwinsville another day. Took a walk around the town, went to the Visitor’s Center and ate dinner in the local B’ville Diner, a place we were advised not to miss if we stayed in Baldwinsville. The diner is old fashioned, with red vinyl seating and checkerboard tiles. It has a large menu of sandwiches, burgers, and home-styled cooking. Food was good and prices were reasonable.

Lots of discussion after dinner about the opening of the locks and we all awaited confirmation. During this time, we had a brief introduction to using the Navionics and AquaMaps apps on the iPad. This data is more current than the paper charts and will be a good back-up for the new Garmin since we can both be checking charts in the pilot house. Finally, we had confirmation that the lock would reopen at 7am on June 29th with a strict “No Wake, no more than 5mph between lock 24 and 25 ” – we could get through but it would be slow going. The plan was to leave in the morning but since Bahama Voyager wanted to spend a day on the west side of the lock to recharge, refill, and clean the boat after spending a week without services, we decided to spend the day with them so that we could travel west together.

We were the first boats through the lock when it opened in the morning. Wanting to make sure we would be able to secure services on the west side, we felt it best to leave early as a few smaller boats were arriving on the west side, docked and waiting for the big July 4th celebration next week. Baldwinsville was having a large fireworks display and a concert and we heard that many local boats dock and leave their boats until the event. Saturday was probably a bit early as there were only two boats docked so there was plenty of space with services. Another looper, El Tejon arrived on the west side of Lock 24 in the early afternoon. They have traveled before with Bahama Voyager so we all went out to dinner that evening – to the diner again since they hadn’t been there yet.

El Tejon left early the next morning as they were meeting family for the July 4th holiday and wanted to get underway. We left a little later, traveling with Bahama Voyager which proved to be the best scenario possible. Shortly before we reached Lock 25, we lost power – engine couldn’t seem to get into gear and there was no movement. At first, it seemed as though the prop was missing. Bahama Voyager rafted to us and started to tow us while we called SeaTow for assistance. Since SeaTow doesn’t operate in the Erie Canal, they were trying to make local connections for us. In the meantime, we traveled slowly west – we were a sight since we have an 13’8” beam and their catamaran has a beam of 17.5′. The lock master was called and advised that we could go through the lock, rafted. As we continued in this format, awaiting a phone call about a professional tow, they discussed other possibilities for the loss of power. Since the shaft was still turning while we were under tow, it was doubtful that we lost the prop. The idea that it may be the transmission since the engine didn’t seem to be going into gear seemed likely. Here, we started this journey with a NEW engine, NEW shaft & NEW prop and did not anticipate having any of these issues.

During this time, we made a number of phone calls to marinas/mechanics trying to find someone who would be able to work on the boat. The one closest to where we were going advised that he does not do that kind of work and that our boat was too big to be pulled out of the water in his marina (not what was posted online). When we left for this journey, the engine only had 12.9 hours. Hard to believe that this was happening. By the time we heard from SeaTow/TowUS, we were close to Lyons which was where we were planning to stop anyway, so advised them not to bother. Fortunately, El Tejon was there and was coordinating space for both of us. It was an easy enough docking but we still needed to locate a mechanic who would be mobile.

Once we were situated, the three captains had their heads in the engine compartment. The conclusion was that the key in the shaft was broken and this involved replacement of the key and possibly the coupler. While it could not be fixed immediately – parts and a mechanic would be needed – having the diagnosis was invaluable. They took a video, sent it to a few people – including the person who supplied the shaft and prop last year, and all concluded this was the problem. The search for a mechanic was first thing on the agenda for Monday morning.

Monday morning was spent on the phone. In addition to calling local marinas and mobile mechanics (which was proven inaccurate – never revised their postings), calls were placed to the two closest Harbor Hosts. The Harbor Host from Fairport, Dan Schwab, was able to give us a few leads and called a few people that he knew also. One of his leads led to a mechanic on contract to a local marina and he would be able to come to the boat and see what needed to be done. Unfortunately, it was going to take a day or two before he could come because of prior work commitments. The mechanic stopped by on Tuesday evening, took a look and agreed with the diagnosis. On Wednesday, he tried to get parts and also conferred with the guy at Propeller Works who had worked on our prop last week. With the July 4th holiday, it looks like parts would not be available until Saturday.

Took a small diversion and visited the Peppermint Museum. Lyons was once known as the peppermint capital of the world. There were many farms that grew peppermint, spearmint, and wintergreen. They were one of the largest exporters of peppermint oil for many years. They celebrate this heritage by hosting a three-day festival each July.

We spent a few quiet days on the Lyons wall – reading, walking and of course, laundry. The locks were quiet, only a few boats passed and we were alone on the wall.

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We arrived at Ess-Kay Boatyard in the pouring rain on Thursday morning. We have now been traveling with a leaky seal for two weeks. The mechanics looked at the problem and spoke with the mechanic who attempted the repair in Waterford. They talked about a shut-off valve to control pressure if necessary. The work was done but the test run was scheduled for Friday morning.

We all went out for dinner at the local Mexican restaurant – Mariachi’s. Friday morning, our buddy boats were leaving to go through the Oswego locks to Lake Ontario. Our plan was to follow them once our repairs were done. The restaurant had a good variety of dinners, even to satisfy our non-Mexican food boaters. There were 20 loopers in attendance from three different marinas. A great time was had by all.

On Friday we had our first trial run – boat still leaked so more adjustments were needed. The mechanics could not understand why the problem continued but with some additional tightening of the seal, the boat appeared to be fixed during our second trial run. We scheduled our departure for Saturday.

Saturday morning arrived and we left the marina. By this time, the Oswego locks were closed because of high water and turbulence. Our buddy boats were in various locations along the Oswego. Projected opening of the locks was questionable.

The next lock was only 2 miles and by the time we reached the lock, the leak started again. We went through the lock, frustrated, not knowing what to do. With the Oswego closed, we thought about option #2 and continue through the Erie Canal into Lake Erie and not going to Lake Ontario. Peter really wanted to visit all the Great Lakes but we were concerned by the time we lost and the indefinite opening of Oswego.

The seal continued to leak and Peter called Ess-Kay who first said that it was fixed when we left (all of 1/2 hour) and I looked for other marinas who could handle the repair. Ess-Kay called back asking us to return to another marina on the Seneca River and they would meet us and try to fix the leak. We decided to do this and the leak could not be repaired there so we returned to Ess-Kay. By this time, the westbound locks on the Erie Canal were closed and we were lucky to be returning via Lock 23 eastbound which had remained open.

This time, Ess-Kay spoke with the mechanic who installed our new engine last year. They discussed various options and decided that it would be a good idea to check the prop. A diver was arranged for Sunday morning. The diver found a black plastic bag wrapped around the prop and found that one of the blades was out of balance. In the meantime we needed to scramble to rent a car to take the prop to their prop guy who had his workshop in Canandaugia – 80 miles a way. We needed to do this on Monday morning early – his shop opens at 5:30am and he only works in the shop in the morning. Our plan was to leave the marina right after 4:ooam since he would be able to check the prop and repair if we were early.

Sunday evening, Ess-Kay held a BBQ for the stranded loopers and invited those from Winter Harbor. There were 34 of us in attendance, each bringing a side dish/docktail, etc. while Ess-Kay provided hamburgers, hot dogs, corn and potatoes. It was a good break from thinking about how long we all would be stuck.

We drove to Canandaigua and met Mike at Propeller Works. He explained that he would need an hour to fix the prop so we made use of the time by washing our laundry. As it turned out, two blades on the prop were out-of-balance but it is now fixed and we returned to Ess-Kay. The diver was scheduled for Tuesday morning to install the prop.

On Tuesday, the diver installed the prop and they took another trial run. At cruising speed, the shaft seal still leaked. Frustration level was unbelievable. Ess-Kay once again spoke with PYI the manufacturer of the shaft/seal and they advised to tighten it more than the original instructions. Another trial run was needed and Kodey and I stayed at the marina. They were gone a bit longer than anticipated and when they returned, there were smiles all around – no leaking at cruising speed or beyond! All is fixed, no leaks finally!

While this was excellent news, the locks remained closed. We continued to have more rain which was not helping the situation. On Wednesday there was heavy rain during the night. The weather cleared but with no place to go, Peter took the dink down – started on the second pull – and played around a bit and then washed the dink. While the locks were still closed, we were advised that Lock 23 would let us through so we could travel at wait at Lock 24 with another of our buddy boats who was not doing Oswego. Oswego remained closed. Our plan is to leave on Thursday, beginning of Week Four, to travel to the east side (free wall, no electric) of Lock 24 that still remains closed.

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As planned, we stopped just outside of Lock 14 and tied up at Riverfront Park in Canajahorie. Once again, we met more loopers. Docktails on the Idyll Time III hosted by Dan and Janet brightened spirits in spite of the weather. Once again, too many snacks so dinner seems like overload – we decided to just eat some leftover chicken cutlets from the other night.

With our buddy boats we left early to get through Lock 14 when it opened at 7am. Everything was fine until we got outside of Lock 16. The lock master advised that there were a few tugs and barges using Lock 17 so we would have an hour and a half wait. When offered the choice, we decided to wait on the upper end of the lock and locked through. Until we get the shaft leak fixed in Brewerton, we are running slower than usual and used the “wait” time to get to Lock 17, our last lock for the day. Arrived at Lock 17 and still waited another hour. Tough lock – 40′ rise and needed to use the bow thruster to maintain position.

Registered at Little Falls Canal Harbor – great little place – water/electric/WiFi (if your boat is close enough to the Clubhouse; we weren’t)/ clean restrooms and showers – all for $1 a foot. Rain continued, pounding rain most of the day. Good day to catch up on vacuuming the grass clippings from Riverfront Park, testing recipes in my new Instant Pot – meatloaf and potatoes, and chocolate banana bread. Recipes were a success.

Sue from Lucky Me, ever the organizer, coordinated a looper dinner for Saturday night and a game night (Left, Right, Center)/ birthday celebration for Dan from Done Diggin’. To celebrate his birthday, all boats brought a gift – something from their boat that they either didn’t want or need. Two fun nights!

Everyone but us left on Monday morning, Ali and Jeff (daughter and son-in-law) were able to stop by for a visit. It was easier to stay put than to have them try to find us somewhere along the canal. They flew east into JFK from San Diego to attend two weddings – one in PA and one in VT. They visited with one of Ali’s former college roommates who lived at a midpoint between the weddings. Since I had one of their cars (C-Max) for a loaner last year, they decided to make this into an adventure and drive the car cross country instead of shipping it back. This also enabled them to visit places they wanted to see (Niagara Falls, Grand Tetons, +others), along with visits to long time friends who now live scattered across the U.S.

We enjoyed their visit and the thoughtful things they brought with them: cookies from both weddings (some made by family members), air pods for easier communication on the boat, an ID for Kodey as “first dog” of the Answer, and a customized Shutterfly book of family photos for when we get lonely. Be prepared if stopping in Little Falls, there are practically no places open for lunch on a Monday! We found Bonitas, a sandwich shop that served a wide variety of sandwiches, paninis, and salads.

Once again the next day was cloudy and chilly – no sun until midday but at least it wasn’t raining. We left alone, early as usual, planning to travel to Utica. Lock 18 was probably the easiest lock we went through – only one in the lock. As it turned out, we were alone in all the locks we covered that day.

This was a long travel day. We decided to skip the stop at Utica or Rome and head to Lock 22, Sylvan Beach, to meet up with our buddy boats. This way we only had to cross Oneida Lake to get to Brewerton for repairs. Once we are “fixed,” we will both travel easier. Along the way, we passed a work boat going east pulling long dredge cables and also two loopers heading east (very unusual).

Random Act of Kindness: When passing by Ilion, a sailor, with his two golden retrievers, on Teake, called out and advised he was stuck at the dock. We grabbed some lines and pulled him off. He was very grateful.

Arrived at Sylvan Beach just in time for Docktails with our buddy boats and a few new ones. Another free dock but no electric. Took a walk into town to see their “Bike Night”. Peter counted 213 bikes – wide variety of motorcycles.

Generator cut out when I started coffee so needed to wait until breakfast. Breakfast with TxAu, Lucky Me and Done Diggin’ at the Pancake House. Good food and pleasant staff. Everyone has a reservation for Ess-Kay for Wednesday night but they couldn’t accommodate us. Spent the night at Winter Harbor.

Kodey has been enjoying his daily walks and multiple naps as we travel — no need to use tinkle turf yet.

We left after breakfast and the water on Oneida Lake was like glass. TxAu and Lucky Me had an opportunity to run faster to clean out the gunk that accumulates at much lower speeds than usual. It was nice to see the sun but once again, possible showers are projected for the afternoon. It’s been a real rainy start.

Later that morning Ess-Kay called and explained that there would be no room for us on Thursday as a few boats that were projected to leave, decided to stay. Also decided to make another phone and push the repair since that was primary. Good thing for buddy boats! As we were in Winter Harbor trying to get some action from Ess-Kay, one of our buddy boats was pushing the repair at Ess-Kay for us, even offering to leave and go to the free dock so that we could get it. Finally, Ess-Kay called and told us to come over at 9:30am.

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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.

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