Locking Through
In just over 2 weeks we locked through a total of 45 locks (12 in the Champlain canal, 32 in the Erie canal and 1 in Buffalo).  During that time we came to the conclusion that going down was considerably easier than going up.  Unfortunately the climb heading westward from the Hudson River to Lake Erie's altitude at Tonawanda is 540 feet - that's a lot of "up" locks!

For the most part we did very well.  We did however have a slight problem in lock 5 on the Erie canal.  It was raining heavily as we locked through.  We wouldn't have entered in the rain but lock 5 is part of the "Waterford flight" of 5 locks where one lock feeds you into the next.  Once started, you have no choice but to carry on.
Lock 5 is a 33 foot lift with ropes and cables.  The cable which runs the height of the wall is housed in a 3 foot square well indentation in the wall.
When the water flooded the locks it tended to throw Sea Star against the wall, the force of which depended on the speed of filling.  Perhaps since it was raining, the lock master chose to fill quickly.  Whatever the reason, our fenders were sucked into the cable well and Sea Star's starboard side slid unceremoniously up the slimy wall.  Our radio call of distress was answered by the lock master when we got to the top of the lock....not much help at that point.  Fortunately damage was minimal.
The canals and locks suffered extensive damage from hurricane Irene in 2011, hurricane Sandy in 2012 as well as from the severe flooding in the area in 2006.  Construction was underway on most of the locks in the eastern half of the canal as the hurricane relief funding from the Government had finally been approved.
Our last 2 locks in the Erie canal, #33 and #34 were recently constructed to replace the western end "flight of five" that were originally there.  The two locks seem to virtually be stacked one on top of the other.  As we sat in lock 33 and looked up to the top of 34 the height was absolutely staggering!!