With a short distance planned for the day, we left at 9:00 and headed North for the last day on the Hudson River.
We passed though Albany, New York’s state capital. 
We arrived in the little town of Waterford, NY. Located at the East end of the Erie Canal, they are the kick off town. Especially popular because they offer free dockage for boaters, the proprietor of the visitor’s center met us at the dock, helped us with our lines, and promoted the little town as best he could. Tourists like us are the bread and butter of this little community. After a brief discussion with our buddy boat friends, we took a short walk to stretch our legs, opted to skip the 2 restaurants and bar in town, and were back on the boat 30 minutes later.
Locks can be a little intimidating because of their massiveness, close quarters, boats almost bumping yours, and the huge volume of water that comes into a confined space in a very short amount of time. The next few hours gave us our crash course on how to “lock through” the Erie Canal.
The first lock is known as the Federal Lock. It is the only one operated by the Corps of Engineers and located in Troy, NY. After Waterford, the first leg of the Erie Canal (operated by the NY Canal System) consists of 5 more locks, virtually back to back. They call them the flight, like a flight of stairs, because you gain a total elevation of 154 feet in a distance of 1.5 miles.
Holding on for dear life, praying the gates don’t give way. 
Approaching the Federal Lock
We quickly got familiar with the process. Some locks have cables recessed into the concrete walls where you can loop your line and ride the water up or down. Some have ropes that dangle from the top to the bottom, and you and your first mate hang on to those nearest your bow and stern and ride it out. The maneuvering into place without scraping the walls is a challenge. Managing lines while the current sort of takes control of the boat is the next. We got a little more comfortable through each lock, but still focusing on safety and protecting the boat on each entrance and exit. The lock masters are all friendly and cordial, always focused on their jobs, but offering any input to our many questions as we progressed through the learning experience.
By the last lock, we had pretty much run out of gas (personal), though we still had plenty of diesel. We found a little dive of a marina, Blain’s Bay Marina, which had the essentials but none of the extras. Barely enough water to get my boat in (we draft 4′-9″ and the bottom was 5′-0″), we tied up, and called it a day.
The Honey Queen in the distance. 
Lots of lily pads and grass grows in the fresh water.