Slow Boat

We've cleared the lock in Oswego, headed out of the harbor!

Will We Make It Across Lake Ontario?

Good-bye Oswego, wish us luck!

Cross Lake Ontario? No Problemo

A perfect day, and all systems go!

The SlowBoat Solar Technology Report

What About Those Hitchhikers?

This good-looking lighthouse welcomes you to Cape Saint Vincent.

 All in all a perfect day—and more of the same weather expected tomorrow when we make the second leg of the crossing.

Mysterious hitchhikers.  Hundreds of 'em.

Artistic snowplowing in  Oswego

We're on the Oswego Canal--actually, the Oswego River, with locks to get around the rocky bits. Some stretches are green and wild, others packed with cottages on the shores.

Rising from the  Ashes

We were wind-bound yesterday at Lock 1 in Phoenix, NY, a town whose emblem is the firebird, reborn from the ashes--it's the high school mascot, and even enlivens a snowplow at the town maintenance building.

You might think the name comes from a key event in town history: 100 years ago, a fire destroyed 80 buildings in the downtown district, along the canal.  You would be wrong. Phoenix is named for an early settler, Daniel Phoenix

Traces of Trolleys

One curious thing we've noticed as we've cruised the Erie and Oswego Canals is the many bridges )or abandoned bridge abutments) labeled "trolley bridges." Really? Trolleys in lightly settled, rural upstate New York? I thought you only found trolleys in cities!  I wanted to find out more, so I did some research in the (very nice) Phoenix Public Library on our windy dockside day.

Notice all the places we've been on our cruise: Newark, Lyons, Clyde, Baldwinsville, Phoenix, Oswego.

Turns out that, as early as the 1850s, there was a horse trolley system in upstate New York. With electrification at the turn of the 20th century, this became an electric trolley system--or as it was called at the time,  the "Auburn and Syracuse Electric Railroad."

This was a private, not public, enterprise, a syndicate headed by one Clifford D Beebe. Just check out this map of the terrain they covered!

The entire route we have just traversed over the past two weeks under electric power could also have been covered thanks to electricity in the early 1900s!  (And much, much faster.)

Electric Transport Ruled--for a While

Remember, this was the era when cars were only just starting to be seen on the roads.  The electric trolley gave mobility to rural residents far beyond horse and buggy transport.

 People in tiny rural towns could hop a convenient trolley to almost anywhere they might wish to go. One man who lived in the rural town of Victor and worked as a clerk in the big city, Rochester told of a 20 minute commute via trolley, faster than  you an drive it today.

Sadly, this and other "Intraurban Electric Railroads" faltered and failed around and after the Great Depression. Why?  Historians aren't clear.  One possibility: Model T's were cheap and available, and individual transport fits with the American ethos of rugged individuality. 

Why didn't the government, or the states, or the municipalities subsidize electric railroads in the way that roads for cars are subsidized? Who knows.

It's fun to fantasize what might have been, if electric transport still ruled in upstate New York.

Where in the World is SlowBoat?

Today we ran from Phoenix 22 miles up to Oswego on the shores of Lake Ontario.  If weather permits we'll "go outside" tomorrow, leaving the placid confines of the canal for the truly big waters of Lake Ontario.

Follow the yellow brick road . . .

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On June 12 we cruised from Lock 24 in Baldwinsville to Phoenix, NY. That means we have left the Erie Canal and are starting north on the Oswego Canal, toward Lake Ontario.
Masterful Lockage

Approaching the lock: the lock tender opened the lock doors for us.

Compare this image to the one above. Notice the watermark on the walls. The lock tender opened a big drain at the bottom of the lock. Water flows out, and down we go!

These military-style buildings are typical canal architecture from about 1910 or so.

Gates are opening.  They make quite a screech. At some locks, herons have learned to fly in at the sound, to look for fish that may have gotten crunched--easy pickings!

And we're on our way.  Wave to the lock tender and say, "Thanks for the smooth ride!"

30 miles to go! Will we make it?

We spent Saturday night at the Lock 25 wall, in the middle of Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge. On Sunday we traveled east 31 miles to dock in Baldwinsville, at Lock 24.

Thirty-one miles in a single day on nuthin' but electric power is a new world record for SlowBoat. And we weren't even that slow . . . total run time about 6 hours. Give that Captain a round of applause!

First, The Travel Highlights

A few notes from our trip on Sunday and then (in case you haven't been aboard yet) a quick tour du boat.

Thought bubble over heron's head: "This boat appears to have a river on its roof. Where are the fish?"

Montezuma is known as great place to bird watch. But we had no idea the birds would be so friendly. As soon as we docked, a great blue heron walked up to say hello.

Next morning we opened the stern doors to see a ruby-throated hummingbird hovering there, as if waiting for us.

Big Water on Cross Lake

One highlight of our cruise yesterday was crossing aptly named Cross Lake. (The lake runs north-south and the canal cuts east-west across its midsection.)

"Big Water": Cross Lake

The first time we made the crossing, 8 years ago, I was terrified--it was the first time we'd been on "big water," or at least anything wider than a canal.  How my view has changed!

Another highlight was cruising past the ruins of the Richmond Aqueduct. It was completed in 1859 as part of a canal expansion and relocation, to carry the canal OVER the Seneca River.

Those arches supported the bottom of the canal as it passed over the river.

 Just imagine what it would have been like as a passenger on a canal boat, moving along at that smooth, 4-mph mule-drawn pace, to glance out the window, and see, not forests or fields beyond, as you expected, but a river 40 feet below you!

Come Aboard for a Tour du Boat

And what would it be like to be a passenger on a canal boat today? Come aboard and we'll show you?

Let's start from the bow--the front of the boat.  Under that red canvas canopy we have a space that's like a little screened-in front porch.

Two wide seats meet in a vee, with a little table. Nice for reading, or dining al fresco. Lockers under the seats are for storing gear. The screened windows have clear plastic covers (AND canvas covers) that can roll up and attach w velcro to keep out the rain and/or morning sunlight.

Boaters Call This "The Salon"

From the bow, it's a small step up into the main cabin--a combination kitchen/dining room/sitting room.

Bill built the dinette at left, elevating it on a platform so that when you are seated, you can still see out the window. (The platform hides two drawers, used to stow canned goods).



The kitchen is miniature but comprehensive: Double stainless steel sinks. Three-burner gas stove. Dorm-sized fridge . Shelves for dishes and glassware.

It would be hard to roast a turkey or make homemade apple strudel here. But pretty much anything else is fair game.

Are You Tired After Reading This? Me Too

Here's our cozy bunk. Because after all that birding, and boating, and baking, sometimes you really need a nap!

Thinking of visiting SlowBoat?  We have a guest cabin too.  You get your own bunk, wash-up sink, and head.

Two heads and two wash-up sinks . . . we hear that these amenities qualify our boat as a yacht.

And here we thought it was a canal boat.

This bunk could be yours!

Put Everyone in a Small Space and See What Happens

Working on wiring diagrams

Regenerative Braking? If Only!

See those twin black cables with yellow at the top? They connect to  the motor controller

The temporary throttel. Notice the label at right: BRK. That's the control for regenerative braking. Not gonna happen on a boat.

You asked for boat gourmet recipes . . . we provide!