2024 Navigation Season on the NYS Canal System

2024 Navigation Season on the NYS Canal System

The New York State Canal Corporation today announced that, conditions permitting, all portions of the New York State Canal system are scheduled to open on Friday, May 17, 2024.

This year marks the 200th consecutive season of navigation along New York’s Canals. The 200th anniversary of the original Erie Canal’s completion and opening will be commemorated as the Erie Canal’s bicentennial in 2025.

There are no tolls or fees for recreational use of the Canal system this year.

Additional information about this year’s season, including hours of operation and more details on the Canal Corporation’s continued collaboration with the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to mitigate aquatic invasive species, will be issued in subsequent Notices to Mariners.

The Canal system is scheduled to close to navigation on Wednesday, October 16, 2024.

As more information on the hours of operation is made known we will update this article

To report an issue or incident along the Canal system, please call the Canal Corporation’s Emergency Call Center at 833-538-1042.

Electric Houseboats Cruising the Erie Canal

The E-Houseboat is being designed and built to be the first all-electric propelled and powered houseboat commercially available within the US.

The design team at East Coast Houseboats has been actively working on a completely unique way of building houseboats, and the E-Houseboat will be the first to benefit from this method. 

Starting with a fiberglass pontoon platform, the hulls are designed to minimize weight and provide less resistance as it travels down the waterway.  The cabin is built completely with lightweight composite materials but without sacrificing the level of year-round comfort that is common to our standard boat designs

East Coast Houseboats has been fortunate enough to partner with marine industry leaders such as Yanmar Mastry and Glendenning Marine to provide the propulsion and control engineering.

The design includes the necessary infrastructure to not only propel the boats, but re-charge it’s battery bank as she plies the Erie Canal in part due to the large rooftop array of lightweight solar panels.

 Capitalizing on the latest lithium-Ion battery technology, controls, and propulsion from industry leaders, and including features such as 12v led lighting throughout, 12v refrigeration, 12v HVAC.  All of which include products chosen for their ability to be integrated into the overall design and build of the boat.

 

At 30’ LOA, with a beam of 12’ the E-Houseboat will comfortably accommodate a family or 4 as a cruising houseboat or can be configured as the perfect day boat anchored in a cove. 

Looking to design your own version, we can build these boats from 22’ to 30’ and in beams from 10’ to 15’9”.  The engineering can be configured to focus less on daily cruising and more on daily living, as an example these boats could be completely off the grid cabins located in remote locations.

Outdoor spaces include a front deck, as well as a large roof deck space perfect for great views and sunsets.

E-One the first boat of its kind is scheduled to launch on the waters of the Erie Canal System in New York during the 2024 Navigation season.  The boat during its sea trials will be available for lock tours, boat shows and on the water events throughout the year.  E-One will then be available for bareboat charters on the Erie Canal. 

 

Seneca River RV Park

Seneca River RV Park will be officially open to campers starting May 15th, 2022.  This will be a 51-site campsite with full utility hook ups.  These sites sit along the beautiful Cayuga Seneca Canal.  Brand new bathhouse being built for camper convenience.  Each site will be spacious enough for an RV as well as 1 vehicle.  Located on Route 5 & 20 these sites are the perfect location if you plan on visiting the wine and beer trail.  Also minutes from great local restaurants and the Waterloo Outlet shops.   The campground is located at 1036 Waterloo Geneva Rd. Waterloo NY 13165

For more information e-mail [email protected]

Locktoberfest Seneca Falls 2018

Join in on the fun as Seneca Falls celebrates their second annual Locktoberfest. It’s an awesome autumn celebration of our local heritage, farms, craft-beverages, food and cuisine, Artisans, crafters, boaters, families and community all along the Seneca Falls Canal Harbor along the “wall”
The party kicks off first thing Sat. morning Oct. 6th. as the Seneca Falls Rotary Club sponsors a Pancake Breakfast. Pancakes will be flipping at the Seneca Falls Community Center.
Proceeds will help the club support many local projects which include the United Way backpack programs, literacy volunteers, reading in the schools, the House of Concern Thanksgiving Dinners, Camp Onseyawa, educational scholarships, Project Graduation, National Women’s Hall of Fame, Seneca Falls Children’s Committee and many others.
The pancake breakfast goes from 7am. – 11am. $8.00 for adults, $4.00 for children 12 and under.
Take a Hayride down the Ludovico Sculpture Trail.
Hayrides will take you from the Locktoberfest location on the North Side of the Canal to the South side and down the beautiful Ludovico Trail. The Ludovico Sculpture Trails is a trail that parallels the south shore of the Cayuga-Seneca Canal in Seneca Falls. It will eventually be part of the Erie Canalway Trail that reaches across New York State.
This trail is special in that it is a sculpture garden as well as a trail. The first sculpture that was installed along the trail is called, “The Status of Women” and commemorates six important points in women’s history. You will also find statues of Amelia Bloomer and Mary Baker Eddy, two prominent women in women’s suffrage.
After a day of family fun, live music and food, help us create an unforgettable night by lighting up the Canal Harbor with your personalized Floating Lantern. Floating Lanterns will be available for decorating and personalization throughout the day during Locktoberfest. Once the sun has set, the lanterns will be launched.
Music starts at 12:00 and runs all day through 10:00 when the festival concludes. For more information visit the Locktoberfest  website 

Locktoberfest Seneca Falls is sponsored by the Seneca Falls Business Association  

1.5 Billion Dollars Generated Annually Through Events Along The Erie Canal

Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor just released a study which shows that an estimated 1.5 billion dollars is generated annually by events such as boat tours, bicycle and paddle-sport rentals and historic site and museum tours along the Erie, Champlain, Oswego and Cayuga-Seneca Canals. Events and tours drew more than 3.3 million visitors in 2017
Erie Canalway commissioned this study in part to determine the impacts of tourism throughout the Canal Corridor. The analysis was conducted by Level 7 Market Research  and supported by a grant from Market New York through I Love NY.
Over the last 10 years, the number of events along the Canal system has increased dramatically to include concerts, art festivals, cycling and paddling events as well as celebrations of local foods and beverages and events that focus on history and heritage. The NYS Canal Corporation website calendar listed more than 470 events.
The Erie Canal from Waterford to Brewerton is scheduled to open on May 15th. weather permitting with the entire canal system scheduled to open on May 18th.
In 2018 events include the 20th. Anniversary of Cycle The Erie Canal Bike Tour organized by Parks & Trails New York and the cross-canal journey of the Corning Museum of Glass GlassBarge, traveling with the Lake Champlain Maritime Museum’s Canal Schooner Lois McClure
For the full Canal Event Analysis and Visitor Research Study, click here.
The Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor spans 524 miles across the full expanse of upstate New York, encompassing the Erie, Cayuga-Seneca, Oswego, and Champlain canals and their historic alignments, as well as more than 230 canal communities.  Read the entire report

Canal Clean Sweep 2018

Each year to correspond with Earth Day, communities and organizations up and down the Canal organize to clean the banks of the Canal  This year 38 separate events are scheduled.   This event now in it’s 8th. year continues to grow in size.

To learn more about all the events along the Canal visit the https://www.ptny.org/events/canal-clean-sweep

Canal Clean Sweep Lyons NY 2017

Barge Canal Centennial Celebrations Planned For Rochester

We currently travel on the third generation of the Erie Canal, commonly referred to as the “Barge Canal” 2018 celebrates the centennial of the opening of this version of the Canal system. The fact that we travel today on infrastructure designed and built 100 years ago is a great testament to the engineers and builders of the Barge Canal and the foresight of NYS to embark of its construction

The Canal Society of New York State in conjunction with the New York State Canal Corp and in partnership with the Centennial Celebration Committee are hosting two events to mark the centennial opening of the Erie Barge Canal in 2018.

When: Saturday May 5th. Canal Conversation & Symposium

Theatre at Stong Museum of Play Rochester

Join the conversation at this daylong public forum in which presenters discuss canal history and its continued value today and for the future. Registration $40, includes breakfast, coffee breaks and lunch.

Thursday May 10th. Centennial Celebration: Watering of the Erie Barge Canal

East Guard Lock just west of Kendrick Rd.

Witness the re-creation of the first inflow of water into the 20th century Erie Canal as “Teddy Roosevelt” sponsors, and other dignitaries greet the public and ceremoniously commemorate the event using the authentic shovel used 100 years ago on May 10th. 1918. Dignitaries will also unveil a bronze plaque to celebrate the designation of the NYS Canal System as a National Historic Landmark. FREE

Canal by Coach Tour: Following the festivities join Canal Society of New York State President Emeritus Tom Grasso and other experts for a guided tour by motor coach of the remarkable canal sites in eastern Monroe County Registration: $60. Includes lunch, bus, printed guide and more.

History:

On the morning of May 10th. 1918 a group of engineers, contractors, workers and a few prominent citizens gathered on the east side of the Genesee River in Genesee Valley Park to inaugurate a monumental, audacious and revolutionary accomplishment in New York State’s long and storied canal history. Water for the first time was let into the newly completed expansion of the Erie Canal or “Teddy Roosevelts Ditch”. Five days later the new Erie-Barge Canal was opened for through traffic from the Great Lakes to the Hudson River. A new era had begun.

Sponsors: New York State Canal Corporation, Canal Society of New York State, Create a Brand, City of Rochester, Erie Canalway National Heritage Corridor, Bergman Associates, and John & Eve Graham.

To register for either of the events, click here

http://www.newyorkcanals.org             http://www.bargecanal100.com

2018 Navigation Season On The Erie Canal

Dates & Hours of Operation during the 2018 Navigation Season on the Erie Canal

The New York State Canal Corporation announced once again that the navigation season on the Erie Canal will be shortened to a schedule similar to the 2017 season.

Boaters are advised that, conditions permitting, the Eastern Erie Canal (locks E-2 Waterford through E-23 Brewerton will be opened on Tuesday May 15th. at 10:00 

The balance of the New York State Canal System, including the Champlain Canal, Western Erie Canal, Oswego Canal and the Cayuga/Seneca Canal will be opened on  Friday May 18th. at 7:00 a.m. conditions permitting.

The entire Erie Canal System will close for the season on Wed October 10th. at 5 p.m.

The standard hours of operation for the 2018 season are 7 a.m. to 5 pm. with the following locks and lift bridges having extended hours until 10 p.m. from May 18th. to Sept. 12th.

  • Lock C-1, Halfmoon
  • Lock E-7, Niskayuna
  • Lock E-23, Brewerton
  • Lock O-1, Phoenix
  • Lock O-2, Fulton
  • Lock O-3, Fulton
  • Lock E-24, Baldwinsville
  • Main Street Lift Bridge, Fairport
  • Lock E-32, Pittsford
  • Lock E-33, Henrietta
  • Spencerport Lift Bridge
  • Adams Basin Lift Bridge
  • Park Avenue Lift Bridge, Brockport
  • Main Street Lift Bridge, Brockport
  • Holley Lift Bridge
  • Hulberton Lift Bridge
  • Ingersoll Street Lift Bridge, Albion
  • Main Street Lift Bridge, Albion
  • Eagle Harbor Lift Bridge
  • Knowlesville Lift Bridge
  • Medina Lift Bridge
  • Middleport Lift Bridge
  • Gasport Lift Bridge
  • Exchange Street Lift Bridge, Lockport
  • Lock E-34/35, Lockport
  • Lock CS-1, Cayuga
  • Lock CS-2/3, Seneca Falls
  • Lock CS-4, Waterloo

In addition to the structures listed above, Locks E-2 through E-6 and Guard Gate #2 in the Waterford Flight will operate on demand from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. from Thursday through Monday from May 18th to September 12th.  During the same period, the hours of operation for the Waterford Flight will be 7:00 am to 6:00 p.m. on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.  Due to roving operations, some delays may be experienced during certain periods in the Waterford Flight.

Vessels are required to arrive at a lock at least 15 minutes prior to closing to ensure being locked through, and at a lift bridge at least 5 minutes prior to ensure an opening. 

If there is any positive information out of the Canal Corporations continued reduction in the length of the navigational season it’s the fact that they have once again suspended the fees associated with recreational boating.

We welcome your comments on this years schedule.  All comments will be forwarded to the Canal Corporation.

 

 

Trinity Church Seneca Falls NY

Trinity Church Seneca Falls

Trinity Church on Van Cleef Lake by Jwilluhn

No matter how you visit Seneca Falls, the iconic Trinity Church is a landmark you can’t miss. With it’s history dating back to the mid 1800’s we pick it’s history at the time of the creation of Van Cleef Lake and the current day Erie Canal, The content below was taken from the history page of the Church’s website

The rebuilding of the Seneca-Cayuga Canal by New York State in the 1910s impacted the Trinity Episcopal Church. The State’s choice to construct two consecutive locks within the village of Seneca Falls necessitated the creation of an artificial water body—that would later be named Van Cleef Lake.  This lake would raise the  water  level  approximately  49  feet. Interestingly, numerous newspapers throughout the state in mid-May 1915 printed an article like what appeared in the Lowville Journal and Republican on May 18, 1915: “Trinity Episcopal church at Seneca Falls is to be razed to make room for barge canal work.” The Seneca Falls Reveille reported that the State of New York had taken possession of the property “by the reason of the construction of the barge canal. This arbitrary action on the part of the State leaves the parish without a church in which to worship, and there seems to be no immediate remedy. It might have been otherwise had wise councils prevailed.

The church itself is a model structure and its loss will be keenly felt. It was built with great care and is regarded as one of the most attractive houses of worship in the diocese, with its elaborate and expensive memorial windows, its fine altar equipment and its general architectural appearance. It seems like sacrilege and profanation to destroy such a structure with all of its tender and sacred associations.”

 

Fortunately, these articles were wrong. The congregation fought the state takeover of this property.   It   took   a   while, but   the beautiful church was spared to the extent possible.   The   Church   basement   was filled with dredged rock. The State paid the Church $25,000 (plus $800 interest) to help compensate for the impact. This money was used to build a new heating plant, and Sunday school rooms on the west side of the church.

The new parish hall proved to be a timely addition as a base of operations of area churches providing food for many sick families in the great Influenza Epidemic of 1918.

According to Liza Merriam, this interchurch effort was the basis of the formation of the Seneca

County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

The lawn of the Trinity Church was the location for an elaborate pageant that was part of the village’s 1923 75th anniversary celebration of the 1848 woman’s rights convention. A cast of

500—including Elizabeth Delavan and her sister Gertrude Garnsey—performed in this pageant that was directed by Clare Booth. (This 20-year-old woman later married Henry R. Luce and became a playwright and still later the American ambassador to Italy during the Eisenhower administration.) The village hosted a reception for 500 visitors on the church lawn. This was perhaps the largest anniversary celebration of the 1848 convention that has ever been held. 49

The present organ was installed in 1924.50 It was made by the M.P. Moller Company. It has two manuals, 35 registers and 9 ranks.

In 1954-55, the parish house was renovated. The stage was removed, Sunday school rooms were enclosed, and a second floor was put in.

A few years ago, a new concern arose about the erosion of the bank by the Seneca- Cayuga Canal. Where there had been as much as 30 feet of lawn separating the church from the water, the continued erosion had reduced the distance to about 5 feet. Because of the pledge that the State had made at the time the canal was rebuilt (see earlier paragraph), the church was successful in getting state and federal funding to build a new retaining wall along the canal bank to prevent any further loss of church land to the flowing water.53

On June 14, 1981, the Trinity Episcopal Church celebrated its 150th anniversary at a festival service of the Holy Eucharist. Three former rectors of the parish—the Rev. Frederick W. Kates, the Rev. Charles Sykes, and the Rev. Robert Shackles—were present. Also attending were the Rev. Leo Dyson and the Rev. Jeffrey Knox, both of whom were “raised” in the Trinity Church.54

In 1993, the present rectory was purchased. It is located at 45 E. Bayard Street. This is the 15th different location at which rectors of this church have lived. The first rectory was at 70

Cayuga Street and was built in 1863.

The church is currently making use of a grant funded through the Environmental Protection Agency 1996 Clean Water/Clean Air program. It is a program with a cost of over one million dollars. It has included repairs to the tower and some of the stained-glass windows.

Twenty-First Century History

In winter 2006-07, the Seneca Museum of Waterways and Industry used the Trinity Episcopal Church as the subject of its 2nd Annual Winter Painting Contest. Kate Hathaway was winner of the 1st Prize. Reflecting on her award, she said, “Painting makes me happy and gives me peace

 

Floating Homes Along The Erie Canal

The Erie Canal, the eighth wonder of the world is currently celebrating the bi-centennial of its creation. It is one of the greatest tourist destinations in the world and it might be the most underutilized recreational resource within New York State. Organizations such as Canal NY actively work to promote the system as well as the businesses within the Erie Canal Corridor.

Erie Canal Floating homes is a program designed to

                1)Promote increased use of the Canal

                2)Enhance economic impact throughout the communities within the Erie Canal Corridor.

It’s all about the water right, and getting out on the water is the number one way to experience the canal.

People utilize the canal in three ways.

  • Boaters travel the Canal on their own boats, they visit communities along the Canal, on vacations and long weekends,
  •  They spend time on their boats at their home port marinas, or they use their boats as day boats for being out on the lakes, for activities such as fishing, tubing, raft ups at swim areas, or visiting dock & dines
  • People looking to visit the Canal can take advantage of day trips provided by tour operators, or even rent a boat for a week or more and chart their own course on the Canal.

The biggest challenge to boating the canal is time, the time necessary to experience the Canal.

The idea of encouraging the use of floating homes along the Canal system to allow for more tourists to travel to and experience the Canal is exciting.

There are basically two different types of docking opportunities available to transient boaters, the first are from the communities along the Canal System that offer boaters the opportunities to spend the night, visit the community and avail themselves of the resources within these communities.  The second docking opportunity comes from the marinas that are in close proximity to the communities, this dynamic sometimes puts these two entities in direct competition with each other and in some communities has forced the elimination of the amenities normally available to the boater

“House Boat” from Destination Yachts

What if these marinas had the ability to fill their slips, maybe even utilize areas of these facilities that have proved difficult in the past, such as those areas that have access issues or low water depth.

What about marinas located in areas where transient boaters typically have passed them by? What about areas of the Canal that have been totally ignored by companies investing in similar businesses. Are there portions of the Canal that the State would like to see economic impact improvements within? Are there locations which once housed marinas that could be re-opened. These marinas could be much simpler to construct. They wouldn’t need fueling infrastructure, they wouldn’t even need to be constructed with travel lifts, the floating homes could be easily lifted out of the water after the season by the use of a crane hired for a day to lift out all the boats and place them on shore, same process could be done in the spring. Boats could be built with lift points built in place to simplify the process.

These boats could also be placed in areas that have been identified as flood plains and other areas where construction has proved to be challenging!

Sanitation for these boats could be built using a site wide pump out system connected to either a municipal sewer system or onsite treatment plant. The technology even exists to install a system that incinerates all liquid and solid waste and the results are a small amount of sterile ash that can be removed once a week or so for those areas that are truly remote.

Aqua-Lodges available from Catamarine Cruisers

These boats could be purchased by individuals for docking in existing marinas or waterfront campgrounds, or by the marinas themselves to be placed in rental fleets  

The Canal systems could easily accommodate 100 boats or more throughout the 524 miles of waterway. Each of these boats could generate thousands of dollars annually to a marina from docking and storage revenues. Organizations which wanted to own and operate rental units could be placed in systems such as Airbnb or VRBO.  Boats placed in marinas could generate additional revenue such as pontoon or fishing boat rentals, or create opportunities for marinas to update their facilities like adding a workout room or maybe even a pool.

Another version of a floating community is located in Clinton Ohio at a marina just off of Lake Erie, these floating homes are set up a little different and allow each owner the ability to park a boat adjacent to their floating homes as part of their monthly slip fees.

Lakeside Marina in Port Clinton Ohio

Ranch from Eco Sea Cottages

Floating Homes originated on the west coast in cities like Seattle, and a company call eco-sea cottages has created a product that can be delivered to any city or town in the country and will even locate a slip for your boat should you wish to purchase from them.  They too offer outboard engine and steering packages which would allow you to move a boat in limited situations.  For more info visit their web site www.eco-seacottages.com