ROCHESTER, N.Y. — A replica of the historic Seneca Chief boat docked at Corn Hill Landing on Monday and will stay through Tuesday for public viewing.
More than 200 volunteers built the replica of the Seneca Chief, the first-ever boat voyage from Buffalo to New York City when the Erie Canal opened in 1825. Last year, the boat traveled about 500 miles to celebrate the canal’s bicentennial season. Now, the boat is on its way back to Buffalo. The boat is making the journey without a motor.
“The canal boat doesn’t have a motor. It gets operated,” said Chelsea Moore, education director of the Buffalo Maritime Center. “The machine that propels it is the CL Churchill or tugboat, and so that operation takes a good amount of people, like 10 people to crew three vessels. It’s very awkward and weird. This 73-foot-long boat doesn’t want to turn or slow down.”…