dock lines for New York State canal system

[jen1722terry]

Hey sailors!

Does anyone know what the recommended dock line length is for the various locks in upstate New York? One cruising guide says we need at least 4, 65-foot lines. But we just met a cruiser (trawler) who has done both the Erie canal, the canals into and out of Lake Champlain, as well as some of the St. Lawrence locks. He said there are plenty of lines in the locks, as well as vertical pipes to easy docking with short lines.

I'm about to order a 600' reel of 1/2" 3-strand to make up longer lines, so any experiences and wisdom would be appreciated.

Jenn and Terry

[Oswego John]

Hi Jenn and Terry, I'm no expert to offer you or any other reader fancy tricks to ride the lock systems. The elevation of the terrain changes and where necessary the canal water level must also change with it. This is accomplished by the use of "locks" or water steps. Ten sailors can advise you with eleven ways to properly lock through. Here is another way.

The method that I use is pretty simple and straightforward. I never secure my craft to the lock. The locks that I'm familiar with are equipped with many lengths of wrought iron steel pipe running vertical on either wall of the lock. These pipes stand off the lock walls by 4 to 6 inches. Each pipe is about the same length as the rise or fall of each lock.

We place a roller stand-off or fender at the gunnal at about mid ship.

With the ship's hull parallel to the lock, barrel fender in place, measure the distance from the stern cleat to the back side if the vertical pipe. Triple this length and it will give you a fair idea how long the lock limes should be. Experiment for a length that will work well for you.

When locking through, tie off an end of a lock line, pass the other end of the line behind and around the vertical pipe and loosely secure. As your ship rises and lowers in the lock, it will be held in position by the bow and stern lines as they slide up and down on the pipes.

Good Luck,
O J

[John M]

I have transited the NYS Barge canal many times, It’s not a big deal. I usually pull up to one of the ladders, have one line from the bow to the stern with extra in middle to wrap around the ladder rungs. Stand mid-ship, adjusting as the elevation changes, I just quickly rethread it to a new rung. I have a person on the bow and stern with a boat hook fending off the wall. The lock walls can be kind of nasty so fender boards are a good idea. Most of my transits have been on boats from 30 -35 ft. and this method has worked fine. There is some turbulence but very manageable. From my experience there have not been line handlers, they expect you to use the ladders or vertical pipes.

I also have a book of charts for the canal if you need to borrow.

Good Luck

[Oswego John]

I sure hope that Ed Haley and Mike Ritenour read this and respond to your question about "Lock Lines". Ed lives in Rome, NY and Mike, I believe, is now in Rochester, NY. Mike is a hard guy for me to keep track of. Anyhoo, both of them spent a good portion of their boating life traversing the NYS and other lock systems. I'd like to have a nickel for each lock that they've passed through. It's a part of life when sailing on the Great Lakes, Lake Champlain, Montreal and other sweet waters

BTW, if you plan to go canalling, make sure that you have a GOOD radio for intercom info. You must listen and be aware of what each Lock Master broadcasts.

Think spring,
O J

[Ed Haley]

OJ, you say the nicest things. And it also should be known that you're the "go to guy" of all things nautical.

As you say, transiting the canal system is straightforward after you've passed through your first lock. It's the anxiety level that rises before you actually do it that is the hardest to deal with. No matter how you do it, it's dirty so bring a lot of disposable gloves.

As you say, each lock has vertical pipes spaced maybe 15 ft apart that help hold on to the walls of the lock. But not all locks have pipes, which must be anchored to the wall every 3-4 feet up and down. You should loop a line to at least 2 pipes and have a person on each line. As the boat rises or falls, the line must be re-looped to bypass the attachment points where the vertical pipe is attached to the wall until the top or bottom of the lock.

Some locks have vertical cables instead of pipes. Then just hold on to the cables as the boat goes up or down. Some locks have lines that are in all kinds of conditions. But once you pass thru one or two locks, you'll get the hang of it. (No pun intended.)

Several caveats:
1. The water is more turbulent going up in a lock and water comes pouring into the lock. This is when your boat may move about from the wall. If you have a mast on deck, you definitely need someone to fend off the ends of the mast from hitting the walls of the lock or from hitting a nearby boat. So each person holding the lines will need a boat hook to push away a bit if his end comes closer. If the water is going to leave the lock, the turbulence is minimal.

2. Don't try to be matcho and lock by yourself if you have a large sailboat. It's just not worth the aggravation. It's not fun either.

3. When traveling between locks, watch for speeding powerboats whose wake will rock your boat and if your mast isn't secured, it may shift. Or worse. The speed limit is 6mph in most places.

4. In the spring when water is high, there's a lot of turbulence at the lower ends of the lock as overflow from feeders rushes out passed the end of the lock. If it exceeds state maximums, New York will shut down the canal for a period of time. We were stuck between lock 21 and 22 for a month until waters receded enough to be allowed to pass through. I was fortunate in that it was my home town where we had to tie up and wait.

5. Have a handheld radio and communicate with the lock master 10 minutes before you get there. Transmit and receive on channel 13.

The only long line you will need is for docking at night. Have your normal supply plus a couple extra longer lines for security.

Locking is a fun way of moving your boat once you get used to it. It should be experienced by all boaters.

Good luck.

[jen1722terry]

Thanks so very much for sharing all this experience, Ed. Your post is already in our "Lock Stuff" file.

We've never stored our stick on deck, but we'll have to learn. We're thinking two crossed 2x4s on each end and some straps.

Thanks again, and do enjoy the rest of your winter.

Jenn and Terry

[Paul D.]

Jen & Terry,

I haven't locked through but I have stored Femme's mast on deck for winter. I built a bow and stern frame that transferred the main weight to the stem and the strongest part of the stern deck with horizontal boards that laid on the bow and stern pulpits mostly for stabilization. They looked something like a t with a long horizontal cross piece. At the mast partners and forward end of the cockpit I added a post to keep the mast straight. If I remember right I made everything out of 2x6's. Unfortunately I don't have photos.

The idea was to have these posts to use for at lease several seasons but I ended up using them for different parts of my shrink wrap frame with the mast up. They seemed to work well and were solid enough to support a cover. I could see that being a way to set up your boat for transiting a canal system without harming the deck. On the 33, the mast is longer than the full length of the boat.

Good luck, sounds like what you're doing will be fun!

[jen1722terry]

Thanks, Paul, but it just occurred to us that we have a major problem with deck storage. We have davits (yeah, we know a 31 is a bit small for davits, but we love them). The davits have a large solar panel mounted on top, and it can not be shaded by a mast mounted over it. So, it may be our best option to pay to have the mast trucked. This is purportedly about $1000 if we use the Erie Canal, but it may be less to truck it from Troy, NY up to Champlain, then again from Champlain up to the St. Lawrence.

So, We'll contact the other very helpful folks who have a lot of experience with the NY state canals for advise on where/how to pull the mast and, if possible, truck it.

Nothing's simple.

Anyhow, enjoy the coming season up there. I lived in Milwaukee for a few years and sailed a bit on Michigan. Nice wind!

Thanks again,
Terry

[tjr818]

Terry,
i would think that for much less than $1000 the solar panels could be temporarily moved to be above the mast, or off toward the sunny side.

[jen1722terry]

Thanks, Tim, and sorry for the late response (illness).

Our solar panel is an older, heavier model. Moving it temporarily would be a big job and, as it is the type that will not work at all if shaded, there is just not a good alternative location. Such is the case with older equipment.

Anyhow, we just purchased two cruising guides for the canals and we'll start contacting local marinas to see about shipping the mast.

Thanks again for the advice.

Jenn and Terry