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Our day began early , setting ourselves an easy goal of reaching Lake Onida before nightfall. By 07:30 hrs we slid into Lock 8 you being reminded that adequate fenders still fall short of more durable buffering methods. We had rigged two fender boards approximately 3 feet long, backed by large 9" diameter fenders which were to prove woefully inadequate to take the any truly rough punishment. Lock 8 Located in the middle of Oswego with a lift of 11'1' is an easy transidown transit. Exiting Lock 8 we passed under three bridges, over a constrained channel on the eastern shore. On the western shore of the canel the Niagara Mohawk Power company and dams dominate this introduction of our trip. 
Lock 7 with a lift of 14' is a half mile south, followed quickly, only .65 mile downstream by Lock 6 with a lift of 20'. Once clear of lock 6 the landscape begins to take on the rural aspects of Oswego county. Settling into the canal buoys of red to port and white to starboard the next 3.5 approximate miles passed quickly. Lock 5 is located beside an older brick housed generating station at Minetto where the buildings close in on the canal and we lift another 18 feet. The land rises on either side of the river at this point until you reach Battle Island and Battle Island State Park on the western shore approximately 2.9 miles further south. Just a half mile downstream on the eastern shore, across from marker W 103 is Vacation Harbour Inc which is only suitable for smaller pleasure craft because of it's limited depth. Two and a half miles downstream on the eastern bank, marked by R 96, W95 and R94 lies Pathfinder Island. As we rounded the bend past Pathfinder Island we found that the channel tended to lie along the eastern shore where we caught our first views of Fulton. Lock 3 with a lift of 27' lies just south of the Gansvort Street Bridge on the eastern shore. Between Lock 3 and Lock 2 one should pay attention to remaining in the channel, as foul ground lies to the west. Lock 2 with a lift of 17.8' is very much in the centre of Fulton and is in close proximity to both the Post Office, located above the bridge on the eastern shore, and the hospital located 3 blocks east then 3 blocks Southeast. Leaving lock 2 one must remain vigilant of the channel which still lies along the eastern shore. Approximately 2 miles downstream marked by W73 it was necessary to avoid the western shore with marshy ground with hidden obstacles, lying upstream of Big Island. 2 miles further downstream at marker R56 on the western shore lies shallow Ox Creek where there were many local's fishing. The next town we encountered was Hinminville on the eastern shore just after passing W41 and a fixed bridge with a vertical clearance of 24'. Perhaps 0.6 of a mile further downstream on the eastern shore lies Walter Island with a navigable channel of an average depth of 10', extending northward from its southern most entry at R34. Caution should be exercised if attempting any entry from the northern direction off R36. 3 miles further in the Town of Phoenix we encountered Lock 1 on the eastern shore with a lift of 10.2". It was 20:00 hrs on the 19th when we arrived at Phoenix Phoenix, not creating an all inspiring first day run, but it had been years since using locks and canals. We found a downstream tie up below the lock and called it a day. 
Morning came with the mist drifting past and a quiet settled over the canal. Casting off next morning at 08:00 hrs we were determined to pick up our speed and proficiency today. Exiting lock 1 we said good bye to the Oswego Canal and arrived at the junction of the Erie Canal 2.6 miles downstream at Three River Point, which was preceded by markers R24 then R2 and W1 and with no intermediate numbered marker,s we merge with the Senica River and Erie Canal in a fairly wide delt, where. a few cottages dotted the northern shore as we made the turn NE. 
Important Note : At this point the numbering of the aids to navigation westward on the Senica River reverse . However this has little effect on oursouthern passage with the red remaining on our port side. Turning sharply Northeast Northeast under a fixed bridge we pass the Exxon asphalt Terminal lying on the southern shore with it's loading dock for barges. Our first marker in the Erie Canal buoy system is R214. Bonsted Island with it,s shallow channel lies on our N side as we approach the Hwy 481 fixed bridge having an overhead clearance of 23'. 
The Oneida river meanders northward from the main channel downstream of the bridge, and offers a limited draft of 5' should you wish to investigate or drop the hook for lunch. From here we steered eastward into Big Bend Cut at W205 for approximately 1 mile and it here that we rejoined the Oneida River at R200, opposite Pirates Cove Marine which has fuel and convenience supplies, careful though, there is only 5' of draft Running almost due east from this point for 1.8 miles we pass under the Morgan Rd. bridge with 23' of vertical clearance, directly east of which is a small island and shoal ground that should be avoided because of hidden obstacles on the bottom. Another mile further downstream lies Morgan Cut , another limited draft water byway on the starboard side soon after passing W175A, note that depth is very limited around Glosky Island. Running northerly now we travel a mile then turn starboard as once again we depart the Oneida River at R166 into Lock 23, adjoining whichis a park lying on the southern shore. Now the canal runs east for 2 miles to rejoin the Oneida at R158, It was at W159 that we turned southward toward Lake Oneida and Brewerton. 
It was getting late on the 20th so we decided to call it a day. choosing Brewerton Marina on the south bank just above of the rail bridge crossing the stream . We broke out the BBQ and Boat Cat was quickly off to investigate the shore sights, while we were cooking our supper. |
