America's great Loop

A few of our favorite things on the Hudson, Erie and Oswego canals.

Westchester, Lyndhurst Manor and the Hudson River Museum

Croton on Hudson, Half Moon Bay Marina. Phillipsburg Manor , Van Cortlandt Manor and Kykuit. Dinner at Ocean House.

Hyde Park, Culinary Institute of America, Vanderbilt Mansion

Beautiful parks along the way, Saugerties Lighthouse.

Connelly, Rondout Yacht Basin. Hudson River Maritime Museum. Rondout Lighthouse.

Troy, Iron Museum and Historical Society

Waterford, Waterford Harbor Visitor Center. Peebles Island State Park, Explored all around in RIB (several islands), Boho Chic Boutique (It was actually very interesting and local artists work).

Rexford, Schenectady Yacht Club. Dined and played tennis at the club.

St. Johnsville, St. Johnsville Municipal Marina. We went from there to Cooperstown and the Baseball Hall of Fame, to the Farmers Museum, to Howe Caverns (including boat tour) and had dinner at Beardslee Castle.

Utica, Utica Marina. Adirondack Railroad, Arts Institute, Dinner at Aqua Vino.

Sylvan Beach, Mariners Landing. Boating and Fishing on Lake Oneida. The amusement park wasn't open yet. Dinner at Cinderella's. Also Dinner at Canal View. Plus fresh fish on the boat.

Brewerton, Ess-Kay Boat Yard. Drove to the Erie Canal Museum in Syracuse.

Oswego, Oswego International Marina (sounds like it should be an airport). Maritime Museum. Fort Ontario. Safe Haven Museum. Railroad Museum. Richardson Bates House Museum. Lakeside Artisans Cooperative. Also got a car and just drove down the canal road and back. Lunch at Red Brick Pub in Fulton.

Now, it would be easy to do the same route and make all different stops and see different things. More than we could possibly fit in. Also, a bit cold. We had one below freezing night along the way and 40 degrees in Oswego plus Lake Ontario was 6-10' one day and then 5-8', but we waited for 2'.

I don't have plans of ever doing the GL, but I enjoyed reading this thread.

Older Boater, did you run up into Thousand Islands (Bolt Castle), Trent Severn?
I have been on most of Lake Ontario / Lake Erie so thinking about doing Trent Severn then into Georgian Bay / North Channel.

No, did not do Trent Severn. Wasn't in a boat conducive to so doing plus wanted to go down the Welland and to boat on Lake Erie plus go see Niagara Falls.

We did do Georgian Bay and the North Channel.

Olderboat what an awesome read. I hope to be able to do the GL soon. Thank you for sharing.

My 49' Elling E4 was purchased just for this trip, and I'm looking forward to it. ETD sometime in 2018. Still gathering info. Just retired, will take my time. Heck, just assimilating the data and experiences of everyone is exhilerating. The only thing I'm sure of is to not be North in the Winter. (But the current summer thunderstorms make the lakes look rough, too.LOL)

Well, if they flip you over, you are self righting. lol

For Lake Michigan winds from the North will not be a fun ride can get waves to 20 feet. Have seen 22 ft waves in the winter time and freeze over Lake shore Dr from the waves crashing over the sidewalks and running on to the street. Winds from the South and a smooth lake. Much different then the Atlantic. A must see is Mackinac Island Michigan (no cars on island), Door County Wisconsin.

We try to keep it interesting! It is apparently hard to predict the weather in the Great Lakes, but we have a good system of real-time info from weather buoys, webcams, etc, and cell service carries far out on the lakes. Right now the waves just north of me are 3 feet and 2 seconds, with winds from the north. Out in the middle of Lake Michigan west of me, the winds are stronger from the west, and waves are 2 feet 4 seconds. Should be another nice afternoon and evening out on the lake.

We had good conditions most of our trip on the Great Lakes. Did have rough seas that delayed us leaving Oswego when we first arrived. Some 8'to 10' on short periods. Then less than ideal a couple of times but mainly days we didn't plan on moving and nothing really bad.

He's right that it's very easy to get current conditions and forecasts throughout the lakes.

8-10' here keeps the Coast Guard in, generally close and confused with occasional much higher waves. If that was before less than ideal, you must have been in something sturdy and had something to hold onto.

The good thing is our waves change fast with the weather, waves die down pretty quick when it stops blowing. Thunderstorms have passed, and Holland pier is looking pretty calm, sun should be coming out soon...it takes a second to load... http://www.spyglasshill.com/Webcam/LiveStream.htm

8 to 10' kept us in. That was one situation at Oswego. The less than ideal was other times during the trip and probably the worse there would have been 4-6' but that was unusual. Mostly no more than 3-4' and most of the time was 1-2'.

Ah. I spent two days from Mackinac home in 3-5' last Labor Day, my wife and son were troopers putting up with it. I wouldn't have continued in much bigger, for their and my sake. According to NOAA, every 1000th wave can be twice the size of the top of their estimate range, something to watch for.

I bet that E4 will be a great boat for that trip. There was one in the slip next to me a couple years ago. Built like tank. Do you have the D6? Kicker?

I don't know if this was the one next to you. It's a Florida boat and I see your location is Callie.

Yes to the D6, 435 HP and no to the kicker. I spotted this vessel at the Palm Beach boat show last January, and when I want to board, I said "this is the biggest 50 footer I've ever seen". I agree-built like an M1 Abrams!

As a matter fact, It is the. boat that was in Judy's review of the Elling. It was naned Neptune.

After watching many of the videos here about boat launching "heading south", I think it's a good thing to get as far away from the "angle of loll" as possible. LOL

I just have to remember to keep the sunroof closed !!