How long from Albany to Lake Ontario

[Scot_sji]

I'm looking at bringing up a 60 foot power cruiser to lake Ontario, and I am able to gauge how long the Hudson will take, but wasn't sure how long it would take to get through the locks to Lake Ontario, in a perfect world - not stopping to smell any roses at all.

Bridge clearance is about 11ft if it makes a difference. I've never gone through that canal system.

Best and worst case scenarios would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[GordMay]

As a general guide to transit times, allow a minimum of:
5 to 6 days to Transit from Albany, NY to Buffalo, NY
or
3 days for Albany, NY to Oswego, NY

[Scot_sji]

Originally Posted by GordMay

As a general guide to transit times, allow a minimum of:
5 to 6 days to Transit from Albany, NY to Buffalo, NY
or
3 days for Albany, NY to Oswego, NY

Wow! That is way quicker than I was thinking. Final destination is Toronto, coming from the bottom of the Hudson.

So I should be able to manage it in about 7 days all in? The boat has about 2000hp for the Lake Ontario and Hudson section so I should be doing around 28 knots in those sections when possible. No night driving though.

[AiniA]

Three days would be an optimum time to get to Oswego which is what you want for Lake Ontario. You are limited by the opening hours of locks. Best to tie up on the upstream side of a lock. You can get an earlier start in the morning and arrive at the next lock at opening time.

[marlinmike]

Not sure what you mean the bottom of the Hudson and you state in the title from Albany which is near the top.

Say from NYC to Albany is a full long day, remember further up you go more open marina's and those are 5 mph zones.

Going from Albany to Oswego is a couple of days.

This is a full delivery mode type schedule, hit any floating logs floating down and all that changes (at 28 knots happens more often). Any issues with a lock and then all bets are off. But you get the idea, safe trip.

[wayne.b]

Originally Posted by Scot_sji

I'm looking at bringing up a 60 foot power cruiser to lake Ontario, and I am able to gauge how long the Hudson will take, but wasn't sure how long it would take to get through the locks to Lake Ontario, in a perfect world - not stopping to smell any roses at all.

Bridge clearance is about 11ft if it makes a difference. I've never gone through that canal system.

Best and worst case scenarios would be appreciated!

Thanks!

===

Albany (actually Troy) to Oswego is 3 to 4 days in my experience. For planning purposes I use 20 to 30 minutes per lock. Speed is controlled at 8.5 knots. If you try to exceed that, the lock keepers will get on your case in a big way. They record arrival times, talk to each other, and know the distances by heart.

[Vasco]

There is a speed limit in the canal system and if you exceed it the lockmasters will know. They know the time between locks at the speed limit. And usually they talk to the next lock. I'd say at least four days from Federal Lock to Oswego.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Cruisers Sailing Forum mobile app

[S/V Alchemy]

Originally Posted by AiniA

Three days would be an optimum time to get to Oswego which is what you want for Lake Ontario. You are limited by the opening hours of locks. Best to tie up on the upstream side of a lock. You can get an earlier start in the morning and arrive at the next lock at opening time.

Hello, you two. Nice to see you back.

[Dave Lochner]

According to the NY State Canal Guide mileage chart, it is 186 miles from the Troy Lock to Oswego. A good portion of that trip is limited to 10 miles an hour, some slower.

There are about 30 locks.

Assuming 10 mph that's 19 hours of motoring and at 30 minutes a lock that is 15 hours in the locks for a theoretical travel time of 34 hours At 10 hour days with no delays that is close to 4 days. Figure at least an extra day to deal with lock deals, weather delays, and so forth.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by wayne.b

===

Albany (actually Troy) to Oswego is 3 to 4 days in my experience. For planning purposes I use 20 to 30 minutes per lock. Speed is controlled at 8.5 knots. If you try to exceed that, the lock keepers will get on your case in a big way. They record arrival times, talk to each other, and know the distances by heart.

My experience is they just will not open the lock if the speed is exceeded. They know what is coming and what time it should arrive. Speak nicely to them, they can make fending off easy or a bitch on the rise or fall. If you need information about something along the way they can be goldmines.

[marlinmike]

Not sure when the last time you did the Erie area, but that has changed a few years back, you can see that on the NYS Canal website the speed limit changes, I even followed up because I couldn't believe it. Not sure of the reasoning behind the change, maybe lure more express cruisers from Canada, not sure.

Originally Posted by Cadence

My experience is they just will not open the lock if the speed is exceeded. They know what is coming and what time it should arrive. Speak nicely to them, they can make fending off easy or a bitch on the rise or fall. If you need information about something along the way they can be goldmines.

[Dave Lochner]

The lock masters are managing traffic in 2 directions, they aim for the most efficient use of the locks and won't unnecessarily raise or lower the locks. If the lock happens to be down and waiting for a boat 10 minutes away and you're on the upstream side, expect to wait for the other boat to come through.

In sections where the locks are fairly close together the effective speed limit is the speed of the slowest boat in the group. So if there is a sailboat in your group, you might just as well slow down, enjoy the ride, and save fuel.

Throughout the canal you will find small boats, canoes, kayaks, small aluminum fishing boats, and boats moored behind houses. While it may be legal to exceed 10 knots, a prudent and courteous boater will slow down to reduce his wake. Some sections are only 100 to 200 yards wide, A 3 foot wake will make for turbulent water. Been on the receiving end of some large careless boats in the canal.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by marlinmike

Not sure when the last time you did the Erie area, but that has changed a few years back, you can see that on the NYS Canal website the speed limit changes, I even followed up because I couldn't believe it. Not sure of the reasoning behind the change, maybe lure more express cruisers from Canada, not sure.

It has been more years than I would like to admit, asses were pulling barges. I have no idea what they have today. Surely they hadn't remove some sort of limit? Eroding the canal would seem to be what the states major concern should be. Let's introduce manatee that is sure to set a low limit.

[LooseGoose]

I concur, 4 days minimum at controlled speeds. The lock walls are very dirty...consider buying a set of black fenders, or bring lots of garbage bags to use as covers. It's a great trip.....enjoy.

[zstine]

in spring of 2013 we purchased a sailboat in Erie, PA and moved her to RI. It took us 7 days to go from Erie to Albany. That's cruising at 6 - 7 knts. That was not stopping, waking up at 7am to get the first opening and going until the locks closed.

have fun