Slow Boat

The locks ahead of us on Erie Canal are still closed, and SlowBoat is still sitting in Scotia. Who knows when we can move forward; we're hoping the rainbow at sunset on Saturday was a sign the flood is nearly over.

Release the doves!  There's a rainbow over  Lock 8 in Scotia

We spent Friday anchored off the town park. The crew needed a leg-stretch, but the current was too strong to risk passage in the dinghy, so (the advantages of a steel hull) Cap gently eased the nose of the boat right over to the bank. (Crew didn't have to make TOO much of a mighty leap to shore.)

Saturday morning, we motored two miles up to Lock 8, so we could tie to the wall and disembark in a more conventional way.  The cruise was the ultimate in SlowBoating; normally, our electric motor moves the boat at about 4 mph. But against the current we were making 0.8 to 1.6 mph.

So you're wondering, isn't it boring to be stalled? You're asking, what do we do all day? For one thing, we took advantage of the canal-side bike trails--though we had to take turns. (The current was so strong at the lock wall, it didn't seem safe to leave the boat unattended.)

Our friends Ken and Joanne Strike joined us for dinner Saturday. Cap and Ken have a friendly rivalry: Ken owns MORE boats, but Cap has him beat in sheer tonnage

We also keep busy with all kinds of writing and research projects. Our boat may look old-fashioned, but inside it's the ultimate electronic cottage. Three computers, no waiting.

Throughout the trip, Cap's been saying his next dinghy will be an amphibious car, to give us wheels when in port. Now he's started the feasibility studies. This morning he's busily consuming You-Tube videos posted by a local guy who, just this month, turned his Subaru into a SuBOATaru . . .  and went for a shakedown cruise right here on the Erie Canal.

For a few more photos, check our Facebook page