Saturday, October 8, 2016

Rolling with the Punches on the Erie Canal

Rolling with the Punches, or “If it isn't one thing it's another

Cleaning floor covers
I think it was the famous newscaster Roseann Rosannadana who said, “Well, if it isn’t one thing it is the other.” And so it goes.

Our TO DO lists
We try so hard to keep our boat home safe, clean and in good working order. Lately it seems like it is always something. And so it goes on this first leg of our journey.

After a final, thorough cleaning inside and out, we left Venetian Marina in Sandusky on Thursday Sept 22, 2016 on a bright sunny day. 

Leaving Venetian Marina
Leaving Sandusky Bay - Cedar Point
By the look  of some of these pictures, you can tell that our wonderful Nikon camera is taking a powder. But it does make the pictures extra colorful!! Put that on Kermit's list of repairs. 

Great water leaving Sandusky
Lake Erie was so pretty we kept going all the way to Erie PA where we met up with Dave and Nancy on Miss NanSea. They had gone ahead of us when we had to have our fuel polished. We wanted to test out the condition of the fuel so we pushed the boat a little bit up to speed rather than our usual butterfly pace. The boat performed well.
Good Karma and Miss NanSea
at the marina in Erie PA

Beautiful sunset at Erie PA

KABOOM
Dinner at a fun restaurant with Dave and Nancy, then early to bed. We are back on Looper time.   

On Friday 9/23 we crossed Lake Erie to Port Colburne at the south end of the Welland Canal with the plan of going through the canal 7am Saturday morning. Weather was beautiful when we left early in the morning. As we reached the middle of the lake we noticed the black clouds coming over the western sky. Sure enough KABOOM. A thunderstorm struck. We were soaked and cold. We turned up the speed to make it to the marina. We tied up, pulled on rain gear and long pants in time to tie up Dave and Nancy.
The check in spot at South end
of Welland Canal
Good Karma leaving Port Colbane going to the canal at dawn

Really amazing cloud formations
Saturday morning, we got to the check in spot on time at 7am. The tower told us we were scheduled for 10am. Ten am turned into 2pm before we actually began the locks with three other recreational boats, Miss NanSea and two other boats also planning to go to Florida.

One of those boats, the 40’ sailboat, was starting a year long journey through the Panama Canal and up to British Columbia. This Canadian couple have been living on their boat for over 30 years, putting it in winter storage and living in a rented cottage during the winter. They have traveled all around the world with some fascinating tales we had plenty of time to hear.

We were waiting for that red light to turn green
Kermit talking to the steel boat
The other boat was also from Canada, Port Stanley. This fellow refitted an old 65’ steel fishing boat and turned it into a beautiful live aboard. Simply amazing. Their kids and grandkids were traveling through the canal with them and would join them periodically.



Both these two Canadian boats planned to get to Florida via the St. Laurence Seaway, past Nova Scotia and Maine then down the coast. It seems awfully late in the season to go that route but neither couple seemed concerned. Perhaps we can do that next time.

Horse trail along the waterway
Bob, helping Miss NanSea -
we traveled with Bob last year going south
As time dragged on and we waited, we turned on the generator to make some lunch. POOF. With a white puff of smoke the generator died. Of course it did.

Our trip through the canal system was uneventful. Jack the cat decided to take a little kitty walk about to the bow of the boat while we were locking through. He is an adventure kitty!

Jack on his little kitty walkabout!
Locking through at night rafted off of Miss NanSea
With four vessels of that size, we were told only three boats could fit on the wall so we had to raft off of Miss Nansea! In a few of the locks where they are a flight together, we just left the boats tied together and moved slowly to the next lock. It was pretty interesting!

We made it through the locks in about six hours finishing at about 8:30pm. We just tied up to the wall on the north end of the locks and stayed the night without power. That was ok because we were tired anyway. Who needs dinner…

Sunday morning on Lake Ontario was a little rough. We anticipated a storm system with winds out of the east, right on our nose that was kicking up in a few days so we decided to leave very early in the morning. Our plan was to leave at 3am and travel all the way to Oswego.

Kermit changing fuel filter on Lake Ontario
At 3am we (Kermit) stuck our (his) noses out, didn't feel up to the challenge so decided to sleep for a few more hours. We left at 5:30am as the light came up. Dave and Nancy made it to Oswego by nightfall but we did not. We had fuel filter problems. We had to keep stopping four times to change the fuel filters in 1 to 3 foot seas. Of course we did.

Good Karma at Rochester Yacht Club
By late afternoon we had enough of this crap and pulled into Rochester. We always avoided Rochester because it sounds so industrial when you read Skipper Bob or the other guidebooks. But it is really beautiful. There are three marinas on the west side of the Genesse (like the beer!) River near the entrance to Lake Ontario. We thought one of those marinas might have some mechanics.

Rochester Port from the yacht club



We started calling. The first marina we called, Rochester Yacht Club, answered the phone! So we went there!
Air view of entrance from
Lake Ontario - Rochester YC
on the right side

This club is just beautiful. We tied up on the wall at the entrance to the marina. This is a sailing marina, hosting many sailing tournaments around the Great Lakes. There are sailboats everywhere with a few power boats thrown in for color.

Short rib grilled cheese -
unbelievable!
We went to the dining room to meet the manager and sign in. Everyone was so nice we decided to stay for dinner. Every single person in the bar and restaurant stopped by to say hello! The all said, “Hi, I don’t think we’ve met. My name is _____. How are you?” Isn’t that nice?

And the food was wonderful. Probably the best restaurant food we’ve had in years. Kermit had meatloaf and I had short rib grilled cheese sandwich. Unbelievable! We both saved half the meal for dinner the next night because the food was so good. Later we visited again and had a similarly wonderful experience. And not expensive either! We will definitely stop back on our way home in the spring.

The next marina is Shumway Marina. They have a good service department. Kermit walked over and did his thing, smoozing to find a good mechanic and get attention to our various problems.

So now comes the time Don Donataccio has been waiting for. The mechanical stuff. Remember that the generator pooped out in the Welland Canal and we were still dealing with fuel problems.

Kermit made friends with a mechanic named Ray, referred by Shumway, who helped diagnose all the problems. Kermit started working with Ray on Monday and the repairs happened on Friday. Here is what happened:

·         Generator – Ray figured out that the relay switch and “dynamo” (an alternator for the generator) caused the generator to stop working. The relay switch has been obsolete for 5 years at least. If we couldn’t find relay switch then we needed to replace generator. Kermit did not tell me this because he knew I would freak out because a generator costs $15k to $18k. He was freaked out enough himself.

The dynamo was a little easier to handle. Shumway found a Dynamo at the local Kubota tractor dealer for $900 plus 18% for shipping plus $65 for overnight plus a 30% markup for Shumway. Kermit started Googling and found the same part for $600. He had it shipped in overnight to arrive on Friday morning.
Kermit is very good at changing fuel filters now

Ray could not find any relay replacements through Onan/Cummins. The part is completely unavailable. Again Kermit got on computer. He found someone in CA who told him to look for the relay part number instead of the Onan number. Kermit sent me down into the engine room to read that tiny little number. Kermit Googled it and sure enough he found a replacement part! He bought 4 for $35 each that shipped overnight for arrival early on Friday morning.
See all the chunks in the fuel?

The generator repairs were completed on Friday. 

See how dirty the filter is?
This is ONE DAY of use!
Fuel – Since he had plenty of time on his hands, Kermit changed the fuel filters again. The Racor gauges are definitely worth it by making it so much easier to see where fuel problems are located. This time we could see actual chunks of crud that looked like mulch in the diesel fuel that drained out of the filters.

Ray thought he could help blow out the fuel line. He sent over his assistant. Kermit said, “Do this in this order. Remove the hose at the Racor. Then go over and take the other end off at the on/off valve on the fuel tank. Then blow through towards the Racor to make sure that hose is clear. If there is nothing in there, then take the valve apart to see what is in there. If there is nothing in there, run a line down into the tank to push the blockage out.” Sounds clear, right?
 
The assistant promptly removed the hose at the Racor and blew through the valve towards the fuel tank, blowing the crap in the line back into the fuel tank. There it sits waiting to cause trouble in the future. Kermit was MAD. I guess he will get over it.

Deer hung around the yacht club
It was very windy most days
 - we wouldn't want to be out
on Lake Ontario in this
While in Rochester for a week, I traveled to Rhode Island for a speaking engagement, tooks the bikes to the grocery store and to Walmart a few times, and took a long bike ride along Lake Ontario. The yacht club has an active youth sailing program so we watched the kids sail on the river almost every day while we relaxed with a glass of wine. 

I even made bread one rainy day. I only have one bread pan so I got creative and created a bread pan out of aluminum foil. It worked perfectly!

Mom, hey Mom, MOM!!!
Repairs completed we left Rochester on Sunday October 2 after a full week at the Rochester Yacht Club. We will be back. These folks are great!

Leaving Rochester
It was a perfect day to travel on Lake Ontario. The water was so clear that the clouds reflected on the water. A tiny breeze made slight ripples just shimmering in the sunshine. 

We sped up a little to burn some fuel and made three locks that day after passing Owsego into the Erie Canal. We stopped in Fulton NY just before it began to rain.

Rochester Light

The Erie Canal on a beautiful day


After the first lock - check out the waterfall
Winter Harbor at Brewerton

Kermit in the lock
We tied up on a free wall just outside the lock. This was kind of unusual. We tied our longest lines around the big bollards that tug boats tie up to. It felt kind of funny to tie up in a park open to anyone while the lines were at least ten feet away. But we made it through the night safely.

Monday we stopped at Brewerton at Winter Harbor Marina by about 10am because we had yet another mechanical problem. Kermit noticed a small leak in the coolant in the turbo after we just had it fixed in Sandusky. The mechanic, Will, was on our boat within 30 minutes of our arrival. We pumped out and fueled out while Will diagnosed the problem.

Winter Harbor at Brewerton

Good Karma at Winter Harbor

I took the marina loaner car to visit Wegman’s grocery store. We didn’t need anything. I just like to go to Wegmans! They have the best chocolate!!

At the grocery store I took a call from a client who needed to see me if possible on Tuesday. We decided to stay at Winter Harbor another night while I rented a car, went to Cleveland on Monday night, did my business on Tuesday and drove back to Brewerton! A whirlwind trip!!

Little Falls NY -the marina
We left Brewerton on Wednesday October 5. We made it as far as Little Falls NY. We are going slow until we see what happens with Hurricane Matthew. Our friends Joe and Edie in Charleston have evacuated. Our friends in Virginia Beach Michael and Judy put their boat in blocks out of the water and double checked the sump pumps. Our friends Jim and Joy in Savannah are praying. Dave and Nancy on Miss NanSea are at Shady Harbor in New Baltimore NY about 30 miles south of Albany on the Hudson.



Good Karma on the wall




Leaves are just turning
And we are waiting here in Little Falls NY on the Erie Canal. We think we will be safe for a few days in this beautiful town. We are close to the town, near bike paths and things to do. I have to go back to Cleveland on Monday October 10 so we might has well wait here, at least one hour closer to Cleveland than we would be if we went ahead to the Hudson River.
We plan to return from Cleveland on Wednesday October 12, 2016. We are one and one half days to Waterford NY. Then we are another day or so away from Poughkeepsie / Kingston NY where we want to stop to visit the Culinary Institute and a few museums. We do not intend to rush this time.


Until next time!!

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