The other day, our friend Kevin Redden flew over my house and snapped this
photo. Thank You Kevin!!!
http://tug44.org/docks.jpg
You see the boat laying tilted in the snow in the cove. Right across the
street you see an old abandoned canal lock (built 1913, abandoned 1940s),
which shows the previous canal went right thru the village. The other end
of that old lock is Canal Street which was the actual route of the canal
back then. They filled in most of the old canal, and renamed it Canal
Street. Farther up Canal Street by the railroad bridge, is a 4 foot high
"curb" which is the original canal wall which dates back to the 1860s.
My house sits on the original foundation (1875) of the old Haxstun pottery
factory. Stick a shovel anywhere in my yard and ya come up with pottery
fragments. The pottery was well-located, allowing them to easily ship via
canal, on mule towed barges.
Lotta history at the corner of Broadway and Argyle in Fort Edward on the
Champlain Canal.
Many folks have asked me about my method of winter storage ... I drive her
into the shoals and the next day they drain the canal, leaving the boat
high and dry. She lays in the mud all winter, tilted about 25 degrees.
This causes no problems at all for me, and allows me to keep the boat at
home, and avoid the cost of winter storage at a marina.
Twin screw boats should avoid this method. A neighbor did this for years
with his props frozen in the mud and one year an unexpected spring flood
lifted the boat and the props stayed down ... and the boat was destroyed.
My boat has a single screw and a straight deep keel, which supports the
boat above the mud. She doesn't sink in, so I don't have this problem. I
have a Boatsafe bilge heater in the engine room for extra peace of mind
during our 28 degrees below zero winters. It has gone as far down as 40
below here.
Before winter, I run out as much fuel as I can because of the tilt and I
close the valves between the tanks to prevent all the fuel from going into
the port side tank.
When spring arrives, they refill the canal and the boat floats up, and
boating season begins. Should be only another 6-8 months or so.
Fred
Tug 44
The other day, our friend Kevin Redden flew over my house and snapped this
photo. Thank You Kevin!!!
http://tug44.org/docks.jpg
You see the boat laying tilted in the snow in the cove. Right across the
street you see an old abandoned canal lock (built 1913, abandoned 1940s),
which shows the previous canal went right thru the village. The other end
of that old lock is Canal Street which was the actual route of the canal
back then. They filled in most of the old canal, and renamed it Canal
Street. Farther up Canal Street by the railroad bridge, is a 4 foot high
"curb" which is the original canal wall which dates back to the 1860s.
My house sits on the original foundation (1875) of the old Haxstun pottery
factory. Stick a shovel anywhere in my yard and ya come up with pottery
fragments. The pottery was well-located, allowing them to easily ship via
canal, on mule towed barges.
Lotta history at the corner of Broadway and Argyle in Fort Edward on the
Champlain Canal.
Many folks have asked me about my method of winter storage ... I drive her
into the shoals and the next day they drain the canal, leaving the boat
high and dry. She lays in the mud all winter, tilted about 25 degrees.
This causes no problems at all for me, and allows me to keep the boat at
home, and avoid the cost of winter storage at a marina.
Twin screw boats should avoid this method. A neighbor did this for years
with his props frozen in the mud and one year an unexpected spring flood
lifted the boat and the props stayed down ... and the boat was destroyed.
My boat has a single screw and a straight deep keel, which supports the
boat above the mud. She doesn't sink in, so I don't have this problem. I
have a Boatsafe bilge heater in the engine room for extra peace of mind
during our 28 degrees below zero winters. It has gone as far down as 40
below here.
Before winter, I run out as much fuel as I can because of the tilt and I
close the valves between the tanks to prevent all the fuel from going into
the port side tank.
When spring arrives, they refill the canal and the boat floats up, and
boating season begins. Should be only another 6-8 months or so.
Fred
Tug 44
