Western Erie Canal Map and 2024 Cruise Map

 

Summer of 2024 cruises

Western Erie Canal Trip 
Three Rivers to Tonawanda then back to Brewerton, NY

Our 2024 Cruise - starting from Jacksonville
The Triangle Loop and Western Erie Canal

September 27, 2024 All Good Things Must Come to an End. Done Cruising for 2024

 Thurs/Fri.  Sept. 26-27, 2024   Ess-Kay Marina to Winter Harbor Marina  .7 miles and .25 hours

Less than a mile westward and across the river from Ess-Kay Marina is Winter Harbor Marina.  Opted to put the boat up here as they have indoor heated storage, so no need to winterize any systems. Side benefit is no UV degradation for 6 months. Downside is no use of the boat for 6 months.  That's OK right now as we're ready to spend the holidays/winter season at our home in Savannah away from the cold and snow of up here.   In the spring the boat will be ready for us to start a new adventure - we're contemplating the Down East Loop for 2025. Another reason to keep the boat stored here for the winter - it saves us the trouble of going all the way down the east coast only to return all this way again next spring. Between the cost of that travel and dockage fees down south, the overall cost for storage up here (in "The Boat Spa" as it's affectionately called) is about a wash. 

Boats already hauled and waiting to be placed inside. 
Smaller local boats going in the racks have been slow
to arrive this year due to warmer than usual weather. 

Bldg. 1 is where As You Wish will reside. They have 2 of these buildings.

Interior of Bldg 1.  We're slotted for a space right in the center.

It's always interesting having the boat hauled at a new location.   We need to make sure they understand all the nuances of lifting the boat.  Very specific location for the rear lift sling so as not to damage the stabilizer fins or prop shafts.  We have a beautiful day for it.  Really nice change after a few days of on/off rain showers.  We specified a date to get hauled- Friday Sept 27.  No problem except they can't put us inside yet as all the smaller boats aren't racked up yet.  We're hauled, pressure washed and put on stands outside for a while.  Amazing how clean the bottom stays in fresh water with no barnacle growth. Bottom paint still looks great and inspection of the props showed no damage from that minor strike back in Pittsford.  

Slings properly placed - the lifting begins!

Wearing my "Winter Harbor Marina" T-shirt. 
SWAG from our first AGLCA Rendezvous.

Once the racks are filled, they'll start moving the big boats into the center bays.  We figure sometime early Oct. before we are likely to get moved in. Not as big a concern for that move as they'll be able to see the underside for a proper lift on their own.  Pretty impressive how they wedge all the boats inside.  We're scheduled to have good company with a 55' Fleming next to us based on their diagram.  We should get a pretty decent relaunch time around mid-May based on being in the center of the building.

Schematic to scale showing locations and sizes of boats 

While we can leave everything on the boat short of perishable foods, we opted to remove most all our clothes and a bunch of items we really didn't use/need.  Amazing but we loaded up a minivan to the hilt.  Stow and go seats receded to give us a flat floor and we were packed full. I swear the boat was riding 6" higher in the water. 

We have used those same 2 big green duffle bags since
buying our first boat back in the mid '80's

Packed side to side and top to bottom. 
Just enough space to see out the rear view mirror.

Looking forward to getting home.  Condo will have gotten a new paint job and survived 2 hurricanes without us. Let's hope that's the end of them for this year (or at least the worst of them).  Long ride to get home. Hurricane Helene damage required altering our route through NC and SC a few times which extended an already long drive.  Buying the condo seems to be the right decision for us.  While boating I rarely worried about it. And now that we're here, I'm sure we'll hardly worry about the boat knowing it's secured inside for the winter.  

Check back here next spring for our 2025 plans.   Until then - fair winds and calm seas.

Journey for Sept. 26, 2024