GL: Champlain Canal

[fred]

Craig,

I run the New York Canals single-handed all the time, in a 34 foot
American Tug, which is a bit bulkier han your boat..

The main factor in
this is WIND.  Tying up in a lock with a tail wind can be misery.  My boat has
a square back end on the main cabin, and the location of the main cleat I use
for tying up is a bit too far forward to guarantee the boat will lay parallel
alongside the lock walls, it tends to allow the stern to swing out and the bow
to press against the wall.

I have figured out an arrangement of extra large
ball fenders on the front end so I have been OK on each trip but I think there
may eventually be a problem where I might need to go into a lock backwards, or
rotate the boat after I am inside and tie up that way.  Once the water level
in the lock has dropped a bit, then I am home free and can relax again.

I
assume your boat has a bit less high cabin in the back than mine does, so
it'll be easier for you.  And if you have a cleat near the middle of the
straight-sided section of your boat and have room for a large ball fender
about 10 feet forward of that cleat, then it'll be a piece of cake for you.
In a few weeks, I will publish photos of a gadget I made to enable passing a
line around a stationary pipe locaated at water level which is some 4 feet
below my deck.  I would consider this gadget an absolute necessity on the New
York Canals as well as many others, especially for single-handers.

If you
need more info, feel free to ask me off-list.

Fred
Tug 44
----------------------------------------
From: Craig Marshall
<craighmarshall@yahoo.com>
Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2007 4:16 AM
To:
great-loop@lists.samurai.com
Subject: GL: Champlain Canal 

I have never
been thru the canal system and was
wondering if I could do it without crew.
I have a
31ft Hatteras cruiser with wide passageways on both
sides.
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