Slow Boat

First, the useful links:

• Read the original SlowBoat Cruise blog, from the beginning (Great Loop, 2010-11)
• Check the route map for the current cruise (Little Loop, summer 2018)
• New readers: catch up! Read the Little Loop blog from the beginning

Redundant is Beautiful

Bye Bye, Radiator, Hello PERCO Switches

Goodbye, radiator. Hello PERCO switches Questions? Comments?  We'd love to hear from you!

No longer taking up space in the guest cabin.

We are still at the dock at Lyons, but we hope to move on tomorrow. (I have MANY technology updates in store for you!)  Today I biked the canal towpath back to Newark, to check out the farmer's market.

The sign in background marks the trail

This was more than a practical trip for me. It was an homage. My dad, Jay Berger, who passed away this past January at the age of 91, was a history buff and, late in life, a cycling enthusiast who dreamed of biking along the Erie. We tried to make it happen, back in May 2010.

Dad, Mom, and their friends George and Edie came for a three-day cruise and bike tour. Dad and George biked along the canal path from Macedon to Palmyra and, next day, from Palmyra to Newark.

From left, George, Edie, Dad, Mom

But then weather intervened: sleet and freezing rain, gale force winds.

So the bikers boarded the boat, and had a cozy cruise, with the propane cabin heater blasting and the Scotch flowing. We all had fun. But Dad didn't get to do all the biking he had planned.

Today I biked the section he missed, thinking of him along the way. The path was a cool, green tunnel formed by walnut and sumac trees. The canal was always in view, crossed here and there by antiquated single-lane bridges, like tinker-toy constructions.

And at each end of the segment was a lock, with bright-yellow-painted railings and cobalt-blue-painted machinery, a four-square white 1920's-era locktender's house, flags snapping in the breeze. Dad, you would have loved it.

(BONUS: Read Dad's guest post on the SlowBoat Great Loop Blog.)

Speaking of Biking Along the Erie Canal

The map below shows our route over the next week or so.  Come visit! All of these destinations are less than five hours from State College, friends! You could birdwatch while cruising through the Montezuma Wildlife Refuge, near the town of Clyde. There's a nice bike path from Weedsport to Baldwinsville. Oswego is a fun college town with a historic fort and a few funky little museums. If you're tempted, let me know and we can figure out a visit!

Map courtesy of Ben Carlsen

Canal boaters used the steps at right when they wanted to leave their boats and shop at the lock.

We interrupt the boat technology reports for some sightseeing. Not far from Lyons, NY (where we are still docked, working on the propulsion system) is an  old Erie Canal lock. It was constructed when the canal was widened in the 1840s and abandoned in 1911, when the canal was rerouted and widened some more.

 I walked the two miles out of town to check it out.

Officially, this is "Enlarged Erie Canal Lock 56." But back in the day it was called the Poorhouse Lock, because not far away was the county "poorhouse," a place of refuge for people who today might go homeless.

Guillotine Gates

This lock had an unusual feature:  "guillotine" lock gates in each of its twin chambers. They raised and lowered vertically. (Most lock gates swing out, like doors on a hinge.) 

The guillotine gates were hydro-powered. Water falling over a dam at the upper end of the lock turned a wheel that powered the gate.`

The indentation in the wall at right is where the gate would have fitted.

To the left of this lock is a second lock. One boat could be "locking down" while another was "locking up."

Get Your Groceries While You Lock Through

For me, it was a bit melancholy to wander along the edge of the lock, taking in the weeds and decay.

The neatly cut  dark stone is still sharp-edged, the convenient staircase sturdy and strong. It would be fun to time-travel and see the place in its heyday, bustling with boats locking through.

The brick building pictured at left was the general store. (Today it's a private residence.) Back in the day, there was also a large shed, for the mules that pulled the canal boats. There was also a locktender's cottage, and probably some other outbuildings.

Ramping It Up on the Erie

Later in the day I visited the local historical museum. One highlight was seeing a "horse bridge," a structure that, previously, I'd only seen in pictures.  It's a curved wooden ramp that mules or horses could use to board or disembark from the canal boat. 

During a "shift change," the bridge was deployed while the boat was moving (so as not to waste time).

It dragged along the towpath while the fresh mules walked down, and then the tired mules walked up to take a rest in their floating stable.

Today, the Wayne County Poorhouse no longer stands.  But in homage, the local biker bar in Lyons is called "The Pour House."

Notice the hoggee (mule driver) holding the tail. Apparently mules and horses appreciated having someone apply the brakes on an incline.

The Pour House in Lyons. $2 drafts on Tuesdays!

Yup! We started this trip with many systems still undone. Some are no big deal. Some are, well, mission critical.
In the "no big deal" department: Before we left, we replaced the trademark red canvas stern canopy (shown at left and right) with solar panels, but we DIDN'T fill in the gaps left open when we placed those rectangular panels on a half-round frame. The gaps let in the rain!

Cap installed white plastic panels to fill those gaps yesterday morning, literally while we were underway. (Don't worry, the crew was at the helm while he was up on the roof drilling holes in the support bars.)

Fifty Percent More Solar from the Roof!

The new stern canopy doesn't have the charm of the old one. It decreases the likelihood that bystanders who see us approaching will exclaim, "That boat looks like a giant floating box of Animal Crackers!"

But the new panels boosted our solar capacity from 1400 watts to 2000 watts (a nearly 50% increase!)

Bigger Better Motor Controller!

Now for the slightly more mission-critical stuff that's getting bolted onto the plane while we cruise at altitude.

• Cap has a new motor controller yet to install. This is a device that shuttles 48-volt DC power from the battery to the motor. Once it's in, we'll be better able to control the speed of the motor, which is super useful for fine control of the boat when approaching a dock.
• Bill will also install a 48-volt inverter-charger. This not-so-little device ca n not only 1) charge our propulsion batteries and  2) move power from the generator directly to the motor, it can 3) produce a 120-volt current. 

Item  #3 is a particularly big advance. On our Great Loop trip, we used our solar power only to move the boat through the water. Once the inverter-charger is in place, we'll ALSO be able to run the "house systems" on solar power--our LED lights, the water pump, the fridge, etc. That means we can anchor out--the boater equivalent of wilderness camping--a lot longer.)

Busted Battery

Did you try Boat Finder today? Did you notice we are still in Lyons? That's because one of our propulsion batteries had a meltdown.

It's a long story why; Cap has a bead on the problem and a new battery on order. Let me know if you want more gearhead details, or if you're just waiting for the "What IS It" quiz to start back up.

What do you think of our sleek new look?

Useful links:

• Read the original SlowBoat Cruise blog, from the beginning (Great Loop, 2010-11)
• Check the route map for the current cruise (Little Loop, summer 2018)

Captain's Log, Stardate . . . um, what day is it?

Twilight on the wall in Lyons

We're docked tonight in Lyons, NY, the Peppermint Capital of the World. (Really!)  Now, I will always share our location on the blog, but thanks to a special technology loaned to the expedition by ham radio operator (and good friend) Rick Gilmore, you can see where we are . . . even if I don't tell you!

This little beacon is sending a signal to you!

The technology is called an APRS transmitter. (The acronym stands for "automatic packet reporting system.") The system can do different things, but for our purposes, it's broadcasting our GPS coordinates, which receivers can pick up and display on a map.

How Do I Use BoatFinder?

Bookmark/go to this URL: http://aprs.fi.