I took off on my first extended singlehanded cruise 25 years ago. I have since watched as isolated has become crowded, wilderness has become resort, small-town has become tourist trap, free has become fee, and unrestricted has become regulated. I was therefore pleasantly surprised to discover that cruising the Erie Canal was, in many ways, a return to the past.

The commercial use of the Erie Canal (i.e., to transport cargo) has diminished to almost nothing. There are a few tour boats, most of which just take passengers for a short ride through a couple of locks. In the spring and fall boaters use the canal as a highway to travel between the Great Lakes and points south. Locals and vacationers make heavy use of some sections of the canal on holidays, weekends, and evenings -- fishing, kayaking, and just zooming around in their boats and PWCs for fun. But the Erie Canal has not really caught on as a cruising destination. On an average summer day, I encountered only half-a-dozen boats cruising the canal. At night, more than three boats at a "tie-up" was unusual.

The State of New York is trying to change this. Over the past several years it has made millions of dollars in grant money available to towns along the canal for the purpose of developing facilities to accommodate cruisers. The response has varied. Some towns have done little or nothing -- they provide a concrete wall topped with bollards or cleats and nothing else. Other communities have constructed (or are currently constructing) new docks and buildings which offer most or all of the following amenities -- water, electricity, bathrooms, showers, a pumpout, a laundromat, fuel, a book exchange, a playground, and tourist information. Most are currently somewhere in between with good docks or walls, at least 20 amp electrical service, and a source of potable water.

Now here's the bargain -- a boater can stay at most of these town tie-ups for up to 48 hours for free. Free water. Free shore power. Free use of the bathrooms and showers. There was even a free washer and dryer at one. The do-it-yourself pumpouts cost $1.

A season permit for unlimited travel on the canal cost me $75. (The cost depends on boat length. $75 is the fee for boats 26 - 39 feet in length -- my boat is 26 feet.) During the three weeks I spent cruising the canal, I tied up to shore each night and never paid a dockage fee. Most nights I had shore power and access to water. Every second or third night I enjoyed all the facilities one would find at a typical marina. And, usually, there were only one or two boats besides mine at the tie-up.

Given the push by the state to promote recreational boating on the Erie Canal, I suspect the cruising experience will be very different in 10 years. But right now, there are no crowds (except on weekends and holidays at certain urban or resort oriented locales), only a few of the towns are "touristy," both banks of the canal are largely undeveloped, and the state and local governments are trying to attract, rather than discourage, transient boaters by offering free dockage and facilities. Where else can you get such a deal for $75?