Richelieu River/Lake Champlain/Chambly Canal Shortcut to Hudson River

[rognvald]

Do you have to drop your mast if you take this route to the Hudson River? It states that minimum bridge clearances are 26 feet but does not say if they are opening bridges. Minimum depths are listed as 6.8 feet. Does this sound accurate? Thanks, Rognvald

[mrohr]

yes ,boats going N. from H. rib. usually drop mast at Catskill Yards,But going south I would not drop mast until thru Lake champlain if possible...some lovely sailing and anchorages there.
.............................luv you all......mike.....................

[rognvald]

Originally Posted by mrohr

yes ,boats going N. from H. rib. usually drop mast at Catskill Yards,But going south I would not drop mast until thru Lake champlain if possible...some lovely sailing and anchorages there.
.............................luv you all......mike.....................

Mike,
Thanks for the reply. I thought you had to drop the mast to transit the Richelieu River going south but from Lake Champlain south to the Hudson --bridges were not a problem.
Is that correct? Thanks, Rognvald

[AiniA]

You have to drop your mast at Sorel on the St Lawrence. When we went through there a number of years ago it was a DIY thing. If you are into doing your own mast you can put it up on the Hudson at Castleton. They have an excellent, large mast crane and it is much cheaper than getting it done in a marina. Avoid weekends since the dock you use is right on the river and wakes can be a big issue, particularly from the powerboats that think they are doing you a favour when they drop back from planing to the speed just below planing where the wake is biggest.

[CaptTom]

You'll find fixed bridges on the Champlain Canal as low as 15-17 feet, depending on pool level. You can watch the videos of the trip (Northbound) here.

Funny thing, I left the GoPro running a while after we secured at Gain's Marina, just South of the US-CA border, and you can see masts being stepped in the background on the last video on the page I linked, above.