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GWA is “going west again,” and here we start at about 130′ above sea level. We’ve just passed the road sign included in a post here in 2006. Ahead of us is lock E-2, the beginning of the flight of five, located in the town of Waterford.
Above E-3, my former vessel waits, along with Chancellor. Those two boats alone have a combined total life of 196 years between them. In the foreground is the business end of a cutter suction dredge.
Recreation boats come from everywhere.
Beyond the guard gate atop E-6 is Grand Erie, who also came from away, the Ohio River in her case.
Locals know how to enjoy the 200-year-old waterway.
Below E-11, we get a green light in the early morning drizzle.
Squeezing a 183′ x 39′ vessel through the locks involves a skilled crew and vigilant lock master.
Drivers on the Thruway at this point are 42 miles from Albany, 190 from NYC.
At E-15, still in the drizzle, a Florida boat —Sharon Ann–waits as we lock through.
Above E-16, the 90-year-old Governor Cleveland attends dredge pipes, maintenance dredging being ongoing. Yes, the canal needs maintenance, and so does the Thruway, any street, RR tracks and infrastructure, my car, my body . . . .
A boxer takes its human for a run . . .
More guard gates–width is 55′–to squeeze through.
Lords of the air watch all along the waterway.
At E-17 we share a lock with Tender #5.
Since we tie off above E-18, Lil Diamond II has to maneuver around.
An SPS lands a crew on the bank for preventative maintenance … keeping dead trees from falling into the water and jamming lock gates.
More recreational boats from far-off ports.
More maintenance above E-19, this time with dragon dredge and the electric tender . . . #4.
Reinforcement of the canal walls is a canal priority this year.
I always imagine the mythical Utica lies beyond the berm marked by the open tower. Central NY was once included in the “military tract,” land distributed to Revolutionary War veterans.
Above lock E-20, we are at the high point of this portion of the Erie Canal,
and Rome was the original high point/ portage in the Mohawk portion of the waterways that pre-date Europeans settlement of North america.
We are now 456′ above sea level, where we’ll pick up the journey tomorrow.
All photos by and any errors attributable to Will Van Dorp.
Unlike the sixth boro waters, freshwater New York changes state. As illustration, here is a color photo I took yesterday, and
below is roughly the same view (looking down from E-5 in the Flight) taken in late September 2016, almost five months ago. What’s departing lock 4 was reported here.
But I digress. Here’s what tenders look like in February.
And the long-suffering Chancellor, after the pool level has been lowered.
Floating and working, it’s the art deco tug Syracuse. She has been working since December 1933!
And can you identify the vessel in the foreground?
Indeed, it’s the 1912-launched Grouper sustaining yet another season in Niflheim.
All photos taken by Will Van Dorp this week except the first one.
From George Conk . . . it’s Ahoskie, taken in Rockland, Maine.
from Jonathan Steinman, it’s Franklin Reinauer at sunrise on the East River, passing under–I guess-the Manhattan Bridge.
From Allen Baker, earlier this week, it’s Eagle, once again in the sixth boro.
From Bjoern Kils . . . it’s Kalmar Nyckle . . . taken by his mom in Lewes, DE.
From Zwaan Casasnuevas, it’s Half Moon in her current berth in Hoorn, NL, one stormy day last week.
From eBay and identified only by date, a view from 1946 featuring Chancellor and an unknown tug, probably NYC. Anyone help with identification?
And finally from the same ethereal realms, it’s an unidentified Dalzell tug,
Thanks to George, Jonathan, Allen, Zwaan, Bjoern, and the webworldlings .. .
Chancellor . . . built pre-World War 2 in Brooklyn. This post is timed to satisfy a request from Bob Price . . . as follows: “as part of a group working to restore the tug boat Chancellor, I am trying to find any extant engineering documentation regarding her construction details. Built by Bushey & Sons in 1938, it is currently in the keeping of the Waterford Maritime Historical Society and my group of volunteers recently arranged to have it moved into dry dock at Lock 3 of the Erie Canal where we laboriously winterized it, pumped its bilges dry and a making plans to create a very thorough hit list of things to do. If you would be so kind as to point me in the direction of any person or entity that might have access to drawings or any engineering related stuff pertaining to the Chancellor I would be most appreciative. Thanks for your time. Bob Price Knox, NY 518.895.8954 The first three fotos below come from Bob.
The next three I took in 2010. Here she’s cruises north on the Hudson headed for Troy.
Here’s she’s downbound following W. O. Decker into the Federal Lock.
Housedown, she prepares to depart the bulkhead in Waterford.
And in my foto from either 2006 or 2007 she goes nose-to-nose with Gowanus Bay.
If anyone knows the whereabouts of construction drawings or other plans for Chancellor, you can also email me and I’ll pass the info on to Bob and his group. Click here to see Fred tug44’s video of Chancellor being pushed upstream by the tagteam of Ben Elliot and National.
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