Before we got to Waterford we went through Troy and the Federal lock. Hurricane Irene cause a lot of flooding and did a lot of damage in this area last year. Many of the waterfront locations have just completed repairs. We would have stayed in Troy instead of Albany but the town docks were lost in the storm. Now they just have some floating dock with no power or water. It also looked difficult to get from the dock up to the top of the sea wall. The marina had floating docks with amenities but they were washed away, but they did save all the boats. The Federal lock is operated by the US government. The rest of the locks before Canada are operated by the New York State Canal System.
Waterford is a great little town where the Erie Canal, Champlain Canal and the Hudson river meet. This is where folks on the loop must make a decision to go the Champlain or the Erie Canal Route. We have decided on the Champlain route. It is over 310 miles further and 33 more locks but we will be able to visit Montreal. There is also a height restriction going the Champlain route so we have lowered our mast and antennas. The restrictions 15.5 feet but they will lower the pool of water between the locks to add more air clearance under a railroad bridge, this of course reduces the amount of draft in the canal. We requested 1.5 extra feet which made the minimum draft 6 feet. We draw 4 feet so no problem. We could have gotten down to 15 feet put we would have to take the dinghy off and tow it behind the boat. This was easier and we did not have to have two boat passes for the canal. We understand that sometimes they are unable to lower the pool.
Right at Waterford is the first lock on the Erie Canal we walked to the top and checked out the 34.6 foot lift with our friend Craig, Barbra, Joey and Baily. We have not done a lock with this large a lift but we will do even larger ones along the way.
The canal authority has built some great facilities for tying up at the locks and the town has improved that with power and water. (10.00 a night)
Amtrak is close by, so this is a great stop for visitors..
A very nice stop.
