Boat trip from Rochester NY too Florida

[jeeperman]

Re: Boat trip from Rochester NY too Florida

From Lake Ontario he would have to go to Oswego and take the Oswego Canal south to the Erie Canal.
Or if the boat is on a trailer in Rochester then he can drop it into the Erie Canal in Rochester.

Not too clear if that is the case or not.

If his boat can handle Lake Ontario then he can save time and money going thru Oswego via Lake Ontario route.

 

[Aviator5]

Re: Boat trip from Rochester NY too Florida

yes, you are correct.

 

[jay_merrill]

Re: Boat trip from Rochester NY too Florida

The link to the NY waterways is pretty cool. Like anyone else who paid any attention in school (even if it was a zillion years ago, as in my case), I've known about the Erie Canal, but didn't really remember that all the rest of that existed.

One curiosity ... has anyone ever done this and, if so, how long does it take to get to the Hudson? The only locks that I have any experience with, are here in New Orleans and you can sometimes wait for a long time to get through them. Would that be a problem on this route? I count 30 locks over the entire distance.



???

 

[jeeperman]

Re: Boat trip from Rochester NY too Florida

I have not, but if you do a google on "the great loop" you will find sites and blogs where those that have done the great loop post daily trip diaries, etc.
Some great stories.

I noticed too that all of the NY canals close for the winter from Nov. 15th to May 1st. And the locks are not open 24/7 when the canal system is open either.

Check out this link: http://www.eriecanal.org/
or this one: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erie_Canal
Read the construction part.
Can you imagine............Cutting thru virgin forest, pulling the stumps out with a big lever winch thingy. Digging the 40 foot wide x 4 foot canal by hand and mule cart. No power equipment back then. Not even steam power shovels. 360 miles worth with 83 locks to build all for $7 million of 1817 dollars ($117 million today).
And completed in just 8 years.

 

[piper_chuck]

Re: Boat trip from Rochester NY too Florida

I can't comment on the specifics of the trip since I've only done small parts of the ICW in NC and SC, but it sounds like a great trip. If you've got the time and the will, go for it.

Spend the winter doing your research. Learn as much as you can about the route, navigation, and the necessary protocols, and then have fun!

 

[mooregm5]

Re: Boat trip from Rochester NY too Florida

Rochester is both on the Erie Canal and Lake Ontario, but oddly enough there is no local connection between the two, because of a large elevation difference.

Rochester (Lake Ontario side) to Oswego, up the Oswego Canal to the Erie Canal to the Hudson River is about 5-6 days. Then another 3-4 to NYC, all at a easy-going pace.

Its interesting that many people know that the Erie Canal exists, but don't know what it connects, and that there are also the Cayuga-Seneca Canal (Finger Lakes to Erie Canal), the Oswego Canal (Erie Canal to Lake Ontario) and the Champlain Canal (Hudson River to Lake Champlain). All these canals can handle large yachts, from 15' to 21' air draft depending on selected route.

Now from NYC to Florida, well thats a whole other issue.