Waterford, NY

Thursday August 29, 2013
42 47.204 N
73 40.731 W

(My apologies for this delayed entry. We have been very busy working on the boat. And eating, drinking and socializing.)

Coming down, 5 locks in a mile

This morning the idiot son approached the boat and said that if we turned the boat he would try the pump out. I saw this as a bit of a olive branch so agreed. We turned the boat and connected the pump out. It worked, not well, but I think we emptied the tank. As I was removing the hose the "connection piece" fell off. The idiot son then did another of his tantrum, throwing the loose part off the dock. What an unhappy person. We were glad to get out of there.

We had about 8 locks ahead of us, the last in a tier of five. The Mohawk valley was very attractive, winding thru hills and cliffs. The last of the locks were slow and tiring (although amazing and interesting civil engineering) and the captain and crew were pleased to arrive in Waterford. The dock was basically full, but a couple of boats moved and made a 60' space. We shoe-horned Tide Hiker in with plenty of help.

I was very happy to be in Waterford, its one of my favorite places. Deidre made sweet and sour chicken for dinner.


Friday August 30, 2013

There is a cafe in Waterford where you can get 2 eggs and toast for $2.00. We always get a bit more than that, and that is where we headed this morning. Then the work began.

I walked over to the post office and picked up mail and parcels (including a replacement toilet seat!) Lyn, Tony and I then walked 1 1/2 miles each way to a hardware store to pick up supplies. Back at the boat we headed a mile or so in the other direction to do a big shop.

Tony working on the mast

Back at the boat the ladies re-provisioned the boat (4 people seem to eat and drink a lot), Tony started on the mast repairs (re-installing the stainless cap and adding the new anchor light). I worked in the head, changing the toilet seat and replacing the sink drain. Later in the afternoon we were ready to lift the mast back into place, which we managed accompanied by plenty shouts and grunts. It was great to see Tide Hiker with her mast back up.

We celebrated with a couple of beers. That is when Deidre took me aside and said "Isn't there one last 20' bridge just in front of the Troy lock??" Sure enough, that is what the chart said and so I had to explain to Tony (who had done most of the work) that the mast had to come down. Not my happiest memory. We lowered it down (We are getting pretty good at it!)

Dinner was steak on the barbeque, and salad. Very nice.

Some videos: