The view from Waterford N.Y.

I'm looking out over the Mohawk River on a warm and sunny Thursday afternoon; it is a quiet and idyllic scene - calm waters, a state park across the river, a houseboat anchored in the shallows in a bay. My provisioning for the next few days is done, and we have a slip reserved for tomorrow night at the Hop-on-Nose Marina in the Catskill area. The staff there will put up my mast on Saturday and the sails and lines will go on the following day. The visitor centre here at Waterford is impressive - about 1000 feet of dockage, washrooms, showers, TV and Wi-Fi. And, the first 2 nights of a stay cost $0. Subsequent nights cost $10.00. A great deal!!!.
The stop in Ilion was sort of productive. Because of bad weather, I had decided to stay an extra day there. Some of the time was spent replacing a leaking water pump. The job, while straight forward had its complications because the pump was located in a relatively inaccessible spot. It took a bit of the contortionist in me to get the bolts off the old pump. In fact it took 2 hours to remove 4 bolts. It was also suprising to me that the footprint of the new pump did not match that of the old, so, I had to compromise and use 2 screws along with 2 bolts to hold the new pump in place. But, it sure is nice not to wake up in the morning to wet carpets. Just ask Caja. He'll tell you.
The trip down here from Ilion was quite pleasant, although we ended up with another lay day because of severe thunderstorms that ran through the area. We tied up above lock 8 on the system and used this time to repair the copper tubing that delivers fuel to the cabin heater. It was chilly so I gave it a test. Works just fine. The guitar got used for the first time on this trip and I managed to read about 15 pages of a book that I have had on the go for several months.
We arrived fairly early in the day (2:20 p.m.), but already, all of the available dock space was taken up. The harbourmaster allowed me to tie up to the pumpout dock but warned me that if anyone came in for a PO, I would have to move. Fortunately, noone did and I stayed there overnight. Early this morning, the boat just behind me let me know they were moving and we swapped places. So I have a place to stay tonight without the fear of being asked to move. Staying in 1 spot for more than a few hours has great advantages, not the least of which is that there is timed to talk to the other boaters. I rapaciously pick their brains for information about what lies ahead because for the most part, the others are experienced.
Now, 3 major sections of the trip are behind us: The Trent-Severn, Bay of Quinte and Lake Ontario, and the Oswego-Erie Canal. We are looking forward to the new experiences of dealing with tidal conditions once I get into the Hudson River tomorrow morning. I'll let you know how it went.
Chow for now.

Mike