Ep. 82 - A Tough Day on the Erie

[@colinmcgregor1544]

Madison does some foreshadowing here suggesting something might go wrong... Okay, so I was there and so yes, I know the details, there are challenges ahead, problems but at least they were manageable problems. So, stay tuned... But for this video, basically just enjoy watching some nice scenery...

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

The next video was the hardest part of the whole trip home, but in a way, kinda the part I am most grateful for looking back.

[@CruisingTheCut]

Thanks for the mention! :-)

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Senpai noticed me! ^_^ - That you very much for you amazing videos, I always quite enjoy them. It's like a view into a parallel universe for me. ^_^

[@horstkotte6114]

Two tips for the locks: If you're going up you'll catch wind which was not present between the walls. You can't leave a wall in forward without pushing off (or being pushed off by wind or current) because you steer with the stern. It would literally have to go through the dock to do that. Your propwalk seems to be to the left in reverse, so if you come in fast to dock portside, stopping will pull you into the dock. So if you're worried not to reach the dock, favor docking port bc you can pull in with the propwalk (also repeatedly by fwd,rev,fwd). And vice versa.

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

HOWdy T-D-M, ... I came "in" for LUNCH @ 1:13pm Tuesday I've been installing #3 out of SIX new, to me, "PV" Panels & they are being designated my " WINTER-SUN " ARRAY - totally Vertical above my original Five Arrays I'm discovering that my age does NOT like this much standing on a LADDER work - LOL ... Thank you for taking us along on your LOCKS (LOX) Journey ( when will you hit the "BAGELS" ? Cream Cheese & CAPERS - can you tell that I Hungry ? 🙂 COOP the WiSeNhEiMeR from Richmond, INDIANA ...

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Stay safe on the ladder!

[@sailingarista]

I wish I had known when you were in western New York. At memorial day 2022 I was returning from a winter in North Carolina to Lake Ontario. I did the Erie, Canal and Oswego solo and it was a challenge but a good one. My first lock ever was leaving Oswego in the fall of 2021. Congrats on the whole trip. I kept thinking you’ve got a check the water strainer. It was the one thing that filled up a couple of times even having branches beyond. Congrats on your trip.🎉❤

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks! For future trips, I'll try to share where I am in real time when possible. I always share the real time tracking with patrons, to (that's how a few knew how to find me on this trip :) ).

[@johno186]

I know very little about sailing, but the couple of times I went sailing... I learned that when on the interior of the boat, you will bonk your head.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

And poor, tall Colin whacked his poor head many times in my boat. It's still a point of friendly ribbing he gives me about this boat. haha.

[@charles.neuman18]

11:47 That's just pure art, the way the water causes the visual effects on the underside of the bimini.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Holy crap, I never even noticed that. Even after clicking on the time stamp, I had to watch it twice to see what you meant. Wow, that was pretty!

[@5fxindices933]

The Bernoulli effect was pushing you against the lock wall.

[@hottractor1999]

I thought it was pretty cool hearing you be called captain. A fair amount of responsibility for one to navigate a craft.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

One of the things absolutely drilled into us in class was that you have ultimate responsibility for _anything_ that happens on the vessel, period. Handed the help off to someone else and went below? You're still responsible. So the responsibility is something I try to stay aware of all the time.

[@tastiger91]

Getting closer, will be home soon. ( Remember the fifth wall😉)

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Aye! What's the fifth wall though?

[@tastiger91]

@@TheDigitalMermaid An unknown dimension to be lost in.

[@randylenart9674]

Doing a good job

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks, Randy!

[@segwaytothepicture1109]

Great video Captain..

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Awe, thanks Segway! ^_^

[@johnxrv]

a long bad day at work and then I see a video from you, maybe that and at wee bit of Rum kan save the last bit of the the.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

🍻 cheers mate!

[@johnxrv]

@@TheDigitalMermaid thx. Found out that rum is best saved for mixing. But still, the Combo of that bit of rum and a video may not have been enough too save the day. But it did make my evening a good deal better. Thanks for that. Still looking forward to the rebuild part. But gues there will have too be some taking things apart first, now that i think about it......

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

@@johnxrv The rip out and the build will happen somewhat in parallel. The new motor and controller are here finally (got the motor last week). So the plan over winter is to work on the boat when the weather allows, and work on the motor, controller and controls when it's not nice out. :)

[@andrewmuir7938]

The suspense of something not being right, contrasted by the chill boating music (or is it travelling music)

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

I wish I was skilled enough to say that was intentional. haha

[@normanrubenis7283]

Great episode. Yes, as a UK previous narrowboat owner I can confirm they looked like typical UK narrowboats.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Oh nice!

[@LouisBackover]

You're not being pushed against the wall, you're being sucked into the wall. It's a phenomenon known as 'bank suction' I learned about it while studying for my Master Operator 50 ton Certificate... "a force that tends to force a ship bodily in a transverse direction (sway force) when running close to a channel bank." Re: Deisel... sometimes I think it's best to go on Google maps and find a traditional nearby gas station to walk to or take an Uber back and forth from. Many marine fuel stations that don't have a lot of business at a certain time of year have water or algae contaminated fuel plus marine diesel prices at the dock are really inflated.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

I'd heard about that when Evergiven grounded, but I thought it was an effect that required a fair bit more speed, doesn't it? if it is the cause, why would it only happen at a couple locks? Someone else suggested it could be whirling from when the lock was filling

[@LouisBackover]

@TheDigitalMermaid I suppose it could be. I suppose that at other times conditions had the current setup going with you to counter it. Or maybe it was aliens using a force beam of sorts (Ancient aliens theorists say, yes!) 🤣🤣🤣

[@denislamadeleine1181]

Another fun entry in your log Madison. I was so happy to see another video posted today. I am really enjoying your journey and a bit envious as I would like to make this journey myself. From what i get in your videos you are super smart and have great analytical skills so I have no worries for you on this journey. Any problems shall be nothing more than set backs as you continue to journey towards home. Cheers Captain!

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

That's very kind of you to say, though I balance it out with some truly stupid mistakes. lol! If you ever get the chance, absolutely run the canal... It was so pretty!

[@KevIsOffGrid]

Giving it a like before watching - sure I'll like it, don't want to forget!

[@KevIsOffGrid]

Loving the @CruisingTheCut references and appreciation, spend a bit of time on canals, and detailed and helped to install my mates solar on his canal boat which has been flawless these past couple of years.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

@@KevIsOffGrid I really hope to get over there and see if I can find someone to take me out on their canal boat for a few days! I had never even heard of them before CTC, but now they quite fascinate me.

[@KevIsOffGrid]

@TheDigitalMermaid my mates isn't a narrow boat. Its a river boat mainly. 3M widebeam capable of Norfolk to Amsterdam cross channel on a calm day. However it is on the Leeds to Liverpool Canal in North UK but too wide for the canals round Birmingham or North Wales.

[@bbrown_sc]

20:00 My home town of Fairport NY.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

It was very pretty!

[@davidross976]

Thanks to you and without ever having been there I can now say I've seen the Erie Canal.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

That makes me really happy to hear ^_^

[@charles.neuman18]

Ominous is right... something feels a bit off in this part of the journey. Most other channels don't show it when the people are tired or frustrated, unless it's big drama that gets resolved right away. The scenery is always beautiful, but the journey has its ups and downs. Thanks for keeping it real.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Thanks for enjoying it, I'm trying to do something a little different with these videos, kinda the travel version of "learn with me". I wasn't sure if folks would enjoy it, but showing the trip for all it is, good, bad and droning on included, seemed like something I'd not seen others do. :)

[@redrockroger]

Thanks for mentioning waypoints. It gives me the ability to trace you on my master copy of the map and see where you are at each mention.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

It's fun having your map to show, I've had a couple comments from folks who were happy to see the map for reference, too.

[@AmyMrsR]

The SUSPENSE! I love the videos and watching the progression of your videos as you do get more cinematic! The scenery is beautiful (I love upstate NY) and if you were keeping that engine, I would be scrubbing that sea strainer when I get up there to visit so you could see it better :)Looking forward to the next video!!

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

If I was keeping the engine, there's a lot of things I would be cleaning up and reworking. As it is, I'm certain whoever buys her will give her a good once over before installing it, and it'll serve the new owner for years to come. She's a good engine.

[@gregcope5565]

Re the Walls/Locks Is this not the Bernoulli theorem? I notice in both case there was quite good boat speed combined with being close to the wall, that could have over come rudder authority. Speed/proximity would have then enacted a stronger Bernoullis effect. In other instances speed and or proximity to the wall may have been less than the rudder authority.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Hrm, I didn't think I was going off faster than other times, but it's possible. Another commenter suggested there could still have been swirling currents in the lock from the fill (comes up from the bottom), and that I might have gotten into on of those rotating currents that pushed me over. I think, when I get a chance, it might be informative to find a solid wall and test different ways and speeds of leaving the wall, see if I can find a way to get pulled over like I did.

[@airgead5391]

By the way: you are the skipper, not the captain. That is for large commercial vessels. (if this is the same as in Europe)

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Right, which is why it felt weird to be called "captain". I asked my ASA instructor about it, and he was the one who made the distinction between "being the captain of a vessel" versus "being a Captain".

[@WiSeNhEiMeR-1369]

- on your SEA STRAINER Gasket = on gaskets that I had to Remove & Inspect often = I slathered on some "COPPER-KOTE" brand anti-seize compound - which released the GASKET more often than NOT & formed a bit of Liquid-tight seal to boot ! COOP ...

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Good to know. Thankfully, I _think_ I'm going to be able to go with air-cooling in the future, so with luck, my days of worrying about sea strainers will be behind me now. :)

[@rickeemeee3252]

Yay for android

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

I'm glad I had it, to be sure, but still I'd expect Navionics to at least be usable on Apple...

[@loucinci3922]

Ok that seemed to be a more restful segment. Yeah

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Restful but stressful, it was a really weird feeling day. I'd been told that a boat will tell you when she's not feeling right, and now looking back I can see that's what it was, but I didn't know enough to understand what was going wrong. All part of learning. :)

[@zoe..d]

The start of the video kicks off with a heart stopper. The start of your underway refuelling demonstration- i thought that fuel cap was going to go straight overboard. I guess you dont really care these days about it being tethered, operation YANMAR YEET soon to commence i suppose. Neat lock system in the canals :)

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

haha! You'll notice a brief pause when I was talking, I realized how close I came to losing it, and it would have been a pain. I'm keeping the diesel for heating fuel. :)

[@zoe..d]

@TheDigitalMermaid I was too busy pausing myself then immediately contemplating battling water contamination in the tank / lines while underway.

[@OffGridGarageAustralia]

Someone will find this Gopro 20 years later...

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Being fresh water, there's a small chance the card might still be readable, too! I dropped it just coming off the Spencerport Lock, so if anyone goes looking there, and if they dredge there, it's quite possible it could be found. :)

[@jamesallen712]

Why didnt you just roll the mast over so the dome was to the deck than up? Just a thought.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

The spreaders were too long to be able to flip it over, and I was worried I'd drop the mast over the side if I tried.

[@rickeemeee3252]

What date are you going through the welland canal?

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

We locked through June 3rd. Thankfully, it was mostly without issue, save for a significant delay at one lock. :)

[@rickeemeee3252]

Aw man I missed you 🥺

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

@@rickeemeee3252 Sorry! It's been a trial to work through the backlog of videos, hopefully soon the videos will be caught up much closer to real time

[@airgead5391]

O.K. here is the deal: you have a big fender at the stern, your shipmate pushes the bow of and you set of to the middle.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

I had an aft fender, if you notice the locks I didn't struggle at, I'd start slow, wheel to starboard, and the aft would indeed kick towards the side but the center would shift off the wall. In these cases, even with the bow to stbd, the center drifted over to the wall. I was straight when I hit the wall, but that's because I knew I was going to hit so I straightened out... It was like water was still coming up from below, pushing on the keel, but obviously that wasn't the case.

[@airgead5391]

@@TheDigitalMermaid It can be difficult to steer of the wall, as the boat turns around it's keel. (or wait, it is long keel?) I think pointing the bow even more to the center would have helped. But we have a saying in the Netherlands: the best skippers are standing on the wall.. (so NOT haha!)

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

@@airgead5391Hahaha! Ya, I did over 35 locks by the time I got home, and what worked most of the time just didn't work on these few locks. It was weird. The boat has a modified fin keel, so longer that most keels, but far from a full keel.

[@airgead5391]

@@TheDigitalMermaid Do you have a right turning propeller or a left turning? left turning makes the stern go a tad to port and having to be compensated to steer to port in order to keep a straight course, total effect you get 'pushed" to port. Anyway: I always think as long as necessary in order to know what went wrong and how it went wrong, and what to change the next time (if possible)

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

@@airgead5391right turning, and the prop walk is to port, ya. It's something I take advantage of fairly often, particularly when locking through. I'm generally pretty good at accounting for that when coming off the wall though. I've been pondering what happened at these three locks but I just can't put my finger on what the problem was... I can't think, even now, what I might have done differently from all the other lock walls I pulled off from just fine. It's weird.

[@beershortage]

is such a 50 mile trip on batteries possible?

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

I believe so, yes! With the motor I have, I believe I can get 4 knots at 2.5kw, and 5 knots (the speed I did on the diesel) at 4.8kw. I've got an ~86kwh bank going in, so that gives me 35 hours per charge at 4kts, or 18h at 5 knots. I can recharge at about 4kw into the batteries, so at 4 knots, I can recharge faster than I can discharge, meaning I'd need to stop every other night at a marina to recharge over night and then I could run indefinitely.

[@beershortage]

@@TheDigitalMermaid very interested in your setup. I just ball parked the numbers, i believe you mentioned you burned 0.7 gallons of diesel per hour, thats approx 90kBtu or 26kw of energy per hour. The Diesel has about 60% efficiency that translates to about 15.6Kw on the prop shaft. Which seems reasonable to me. Did you try something like an 3Hp outboard on your boat to benchmark the min propulsion required?

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Keep in mind that the diesel outputs peak torque and peak hp at different points in their output curve. Also, the diesel is 43 years old and coupled to a 13" maxiprop and I'll be switching to a 17" (430mm) Brunton Eco-star prop. I can carry 45 us gallons of diesel (30 in the tank, 15 in three jerry cans), so that would be 45/0.7 or 64 hours at 5 knots (flat/calm), or 321 nautical miles. With my 86kwh battery, at 4 knots / 2450w input power, that's 35 hours or 140 miles on one charge, or 43% of the range of the diesel (slower is more range, but I think 4kts is a reasonable speed to range balance when I want to maximize range). If I can recharge once on passage (as slow as the recharge would be), I will be close to matching the maximum diesel range (1.3x to match). If I can put >1.3x charge in, I've not got more effective range than diesel. On passages, I should have a constant input from the regen (what that is, I don't know yet, I can't find anyone whose tested a similar setup), and I'm aiming for 1200~1500w of solar. In practice though, I think it's important to note, I don't plan on going full -> empty -> full, I expect to float somewhere in the middle of the state of charge most of the time. The goal of such a large bank is to be able to have the range when I need it, and the capacity to collect as much power as I can get when available (with a water maker being a dump load if I do manage to get near full charge).

[@patchmack4469]

well i have to say i find your companion quite amusing when you cast off and again when you are docking in the locks, like myself not so nimble, he could be standing slightly further aft, watching the wall at all times and be ready to push away with a foot and again in case you get close instead of ignoring what's going on, but 10 out of 10 for being with you all this time this is not A complaint, purely observation, its not what you do, its how you do it if it were me i would stand leg either side of the stanchion, or stand upright inboard, holding on to the nearby spreader (as you have mast down) and be ready for a first or second push off, if like me not so steady on ya feet, sit or squat down, back against the house, and give a firm steady push off and stay there until under way, (not with legs over side because that would be silly and no bending overboard, you can easily end up in the drink) its pretty easy, no struggle, but better than just getting up as he does and look forward, be aware of the surroundings and what is going on around you, be very aware of what each other is doing as i say when i am shopping in the supermarket and the little old ladies stand in front of me blocking the aisle, special awareness dear, i know i am terribly rude, but singing all the time so they know i am happy really, i even help them get stuff off the top shelf haha you have two phone (yeah don't trust the iphone) use the app to locate a fuel garage, must be at least one within walking distance, go get a gallon, no to much of an issue ps great progress, are you nearly there yet?

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

Oh, I don't fault Colin at all for not watching. By that lock, we had departed many previous locks without issue, and there was no reason to think this lock was going to be difficult, until it was. I'd actually be reluctant to have anyone outside of the lifeline, particularly at a lock wall, because I'd much rather hit the wall with the hull than risk someone falling between the hull and the wall. The trip is getting close to being done by this point, ya.

[@patchmack4469]

@@TheDigitalMermaid yep that is exactly my point, if he stands inboard and holding the spreader, his weight is inside and a leg can be pushed away, might pay to push off slowly, but its really horses for courses, you have to react accordingly and not be leaning out for sure - when i saw him leaning over the side and hand walking the wall, that's where the issue can be, tiz a bit scary and really quite ineffective when a boat that size a couple or three tons wants to go with the flow, i know it weighs more, what 12 tons, maybe less, might go with 8 hehe - be safe travellers, cannot weight for the tear down, going to be epic - but i reckon you deserve a small break - are you still maintaining a full time job as well??

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

@@patchmack4469 Aye, she's a touch under 7.6 tonnes dry, so probably 8 tonnes under way. ya, still working (more than) a full time job, it's partly why it's taken me a while to get these videos out... When I'm making videos in the house, they're fairly simple cut-and-splice videos and don't take much time. These traveling videos are fun, but they take a LOT more time to edit up. I've got the new motor and controller in hand, got the motor last week. So hopefully fairly soon the videos will jump up to near real-time and I'll be figuring out how to make the new motor work. :)

[@holdenman8850]

What you're doing wrong Madi, is it's an iphone lol. Android for the win :)

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

I don't disagree, but also, I always heard that navionics on Apple/iPad is supposed to be fantastic, which is why I bought the darn thing.

[@holdenman8850]

You don't really know about things until you try them for yourself. Those narrowboats i think are called wide beams in the narrowboat world and used to carry materials over the canal network. Pre engines they were horse drawn,@@TheDigitalMermaid

[@davidmurn772]

With regards to the iphone vs Android question, why would you spend such a high amount for an iphone to run navionics when Androids are cheaper, faster, easier and actually work? Honestly, I've only ever had an iphone once (which was a work phone), and as soon as it died I spent my own money to buy an Android replacement. I wouldn't go back to iphone again, even if it was free. With regards to the GPS issue, I believe that iphones use cell towers whereas Android uses actual GPS satellites. While the iphone method works better in built up areas like concrete buildings and underground, the Android will give more accurate results in the real world, in my experience.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

I've been android/linux that majority of my adult life. I heard so many good things about navionics on iPads, and I needed a backup phone anyway, so I thought I could get a 2-in-1 with an iPhone. Clearly not though, lesson learned. Do you know if there's a way to switch the iPhone to use actual GPS?

[@davidmurn772]

@@TheDigitalMermaid Personally I'm not very familiar with iphones, but someone more familiar with apple may know how, I'm sure it's possible. I believe the problem is the geolocation using cell towers in preference to GPS.

[@TheDigitalMermaid]

@@davidmurn772 That you very much for this lead!