South to Troy, NY -- and last locks this trip

 Friday, September 1 -- Schuylerville to Troy -- 31 miles and 5 locks

We left the Schuyler Basin Marina a bit after ten under clear and sunny skies with temps in the low 60s that rose into the high 70s by late afternoon. It was a beautiful day on the Hudson River -- dead calm, with hardly any boat traffic. We saw one other cruising boat underway all day until we reached Troy.

The other cruising boat that we saw was a couple from New Zealand (you can see that on their transom if you zoom in) who spend up to ninety days (the US visa limit) every summer (their winter) cruising northern waters out of their base on the Erie Canal in Brewerton. We had a chance to visit a bit while locking through Locks 3 and 4 together. They pulled off for the town dock in Mechanicville while we kept going. 

Lock 2 was interesting because they emptied and filled the lock twice before letting us pass through. This is an attempt to try and keep invasive Goby fish out of the upper reaches of the Hudson. The long, low building next to the lock is a Niagara Mohawk Power Corp hydroelectric plant. The lockmaster said it was built in 1897 and is one of the oldest operating power plants in the country.

 

We took a brief turn off the Hudson when we reached Waterford, NY to see the eastern terminus of the Erie Canal. John passed through here back in 2010 on the momentous trip taking his dad's old cruiser from Marblehead, OH to Beverly, MA with his son-in-law Damon and Janet's cousins Larry and Richard as crew. 

Here are a couple of old canal-style tugs just outside Troy, NY (the Nathan G, Frances, and Edna A. built in 1977, 1957, and 1980, respectively) owned by New York State Marine Highway Transportation Company (how's that for a corporate name!).

And here is our destination dock in downtown Troy. The tall structure on the right is one end of a highway lift bridge. The bridge was built in 1981 and must not get raised very often, as the sign on the bridge pier says it only opens with 24-hour advance notice. 

A lot of cruising boats had joined us at the Troy Downtown Marina by the time we walked into town to find a dinner spot. We found a nice bar & grill (Bootlegger's) with outdoor seating on a quiet tree-lined street with live music. A very hip area. We had a great pizza (upstate New York seems to have its own style, thin crust but chewy and loaded with toppings) and then went to the bar on the corner to watch their combo after the piano player at Bootlegger's packed up his kit. They played really good blues, with an acoustic and an electric guitar and a harmonica player. Kid with the acoustic guitar had a great gravelly voice for singing blues tunes. 

Overall, we had quite the night on the town in Troy. A real happening place, man!