Waterford -> Lock C11 -> Lock C12

The locks only run from 7 am to 5 pm. We're not in a big rush to get anywhere, but our buddy boat had the day off, so we tried to get as far as we could on Monday.

Finally, after days of dreary and rainy and cool weather, we had sunny skies all day long. 

The day started early; we left Waterford to give us time to spare. Of course "Locks open at 7 am" doesn't mean that's when you'll go through. That means that's when the lockmaster steps out of his truck to get ready for work. Apparently there's some invasive species they are trying to keep out of Lake Champlain, so C1 and C2 fill and empty twice before you get in. Needless to say we all could have slept in another 30 minutes. But hey, that's boat life.

Get we through C1 and C2 with no real issues. Now, onto C3.

Waiting for another lock

Besides the many locks we'd do today we also knew vessel height would be a thing. All the documentation warn that you need to clear 17 feet, and that the bridge right after lock C3 was going to be the lowest encountered. The docs also mention that the pool can be modified a bit, so let the lockmaster know if you need more. While at C1 Highwind did just that, saying it really, really needs to be 17 feet. While in C3 the lockmaster told us the clearance will be 17.2 feet. Woo hoo!

Lots of lovely vistas on this part of the canal.

Highwind went first and we followed behind at a distance just in case they had to stop. We were confident inQuest was about 4 inches or so shorter, so if they made it, we should. They slowed as they approached. We watched through binoculars. Hannah stood on the back, watching as they came closer to the bridge. Nope, not gonna make it! But it was close. 

They, like us, have a tilt down radar mount. At some point they added longer cellular antennae, which meant the tilt couldn't be as much as originally planned, otherwise the antennae hit the balcony. As a result the radar was in the way. The solution? David got out a power drill and took off his radar. They moved forward again and cleared the bridge by an inch. Count 'em: ONE.

Beautiful day to travel.
Looks like no bridges. That is just not true.
Tons of them!

We slowly came up ourselves, with Russ out back, watching. As we crawled under it he reported we cleared by 6 inches. Driving the boat it was really weird watching the underside of the bridge from that close!

That done we all felt like, "Okay, no more low, low bridges" because the docs seem to indication that was the hitch. HA! Bridge after bridge had clearances of right around 17 feet. None as low as that one, but all very, very low. Like 20 of those puppies. None of them had water boards (that would have been useful), and pools can be higher or lower, so we took each one with caution and low speed.

inQuest tied up at Lock C11

Locks aren't speedy, so we didn't quite get as far as we wanted, which was White Hall. But the lock was at C11 had a lovely park. We tied up, had some dinner, and enjoyed the cool evening.

Tuesday was a work day for Hannah and David, so we locked through C11 first thing, and took the small 45 minute cruise to White Hall. Both vessels were tied up by 9 am.