The Submerged Log
17 September 2010 | LittleFalls, NY
Left the Canal Park and entered lock 20 with a barge and tug. Wow! It was our first lock going down and with a barge and tug! We continued on our way and about a mile before lock 19, thud and bump again. We hit a submerged log! Greg quickly put it into neutral and I was at the helm while he checked for any water coming in. No water, good. We went through lock 19 and saw the tug returning. We went through lock 18 everything seemed to be running smoothly, when all of a sudden we lost forward and reverse! Greg checks everything, no water coming in, just no gears and the drive shift came out about two inches. We are drifting on the Mohawk! We called lock 18 on the handheld and he said he'd see what he could do. Meanwhile I am on the phone trying to find a tow in Little Falls, there is none. Well, it worked out that the crew from the tug came to our rescue in a tender from lock 18 and towed us to Little Falls Canall Harbor. They were so helpful! The next day Greg and Tom (a knowledgable old timer) worked on the coupling and key way. We should be all set to go, they did a test at the dock and it seems ok.