We took a 90-minute river Erie Canal cruise today on the Sam Patch. We got to go to Lock 32 and experience that and then went back the other way to see where the canal is actaully 70’ higher than the houses in the area.

Some fun stats:

  • There is a 568 foot elevation change as the canal goes from Lake Erie to New York Harbor.
  • The original canal was 4’ deep, 40’ wide and 363 miles long. The canal has been lengthened and widened three times.
  • Doors to the locks weigh 40 tons!

Enjoy some photos.

Green-and-cream canal boat named Sam Patch moored at a dock on the Erie Canal, with other boats and a brick building visible behind. *Sam Patch at dock before we take off.* Family of four smiling at a wooden table inside a canal tour boat, green trees and water visible through windows behind them. *Family selfie inside the Sam Patch.* Erie Canal Lock 32 viewed from water level, concrete walls on both sides, open lock gates ahead with water spraying through, green traffic light visible on left wall *Approaching Lock 32 in preparation to go up.* Boat passing through open Erie Canal lock gates with a green steel bridge visible beyond and tree-lined canal ahead *Lock doors closing behind us.* Closed Erie Canal Lock 32 gate doors viewed from water level inside the lock chamber, with yellow safety railing above *Lock doors closed and the water going up. It takes 9 minutes for the lock to fill on the way up.* Erie Canal Lock 32 with open lock gates ahead, concrete walls flanking calm brown water, trees and lamp posts lining both banks. *Lock is at height and we are released.* Lock 32 on the Erie Canal with concrete walls on each side, blue and yellow lock gates numbered 32, and green trees under a blue sky. *Coming back the other way with the lock doors open.* Sailboat moored against the stone wall of Erie Canal Lock 32, with open lock gates revealing the canal stretching into the distance. *Preparing for the lock to go down. Watch [my time-lapse video of the lock lowering](https://www.thingelstad.com/2021/08/11/timelapse-video-going.html).* American flag flying off the stern of a boat cruising a tree-lined Erie Canal waterway with another vessel ahead *Cruising along the Erie Canal and this sailboat wants to pass.* Rusty Erie Canal gantry crane over a maintenance yard with yellow work trucks parked beside a brick building along the canal bank. *One of many maintenance stations along the canal. Each section is maintaied from a station like this.* Several boats moored along a tree-lined Erie Canal bank, with a large white and red houseboat in the foreground. *Boats docked in the canal in Pittsford.* Village of Pittsford Erie Canal Park waterfront with a red cylindrical silo, low commercial buildings, and a tall concrete grain elevator with a crane on top. *Canal shoreline in Pittsford. I also got this [same view from shore](https://www.thingelstad.com/2021/08/11/erie-canal-at.html).* Calm Erie Canal waterway lined with dense green trees leading toward a vertical lift railroad bridge in the distance. *Canal approaching an emergency damn location where the canal is higher than the neighborhoods around it.* Family of four smiling in a selfie aboard a canal cruise boat with a lift bridge and calm waterway visible behind them. *Family selfie on the canal.* Green steel truss bridge spanning the Erie Canal on a sunny day, with lush trees lining both banks and a calm reflection in the water below. *Bridge over the Erie Canal.*