Communicating with the Lockmaster

Lockmasters are the people who make your trip through the canal as safe and enjoyable as possible.  They have many duties:

Therefore the first thing I think of going into a lock is - treat the lockmaster with due respect. These folks are skilled professionals doing a sometimes tedious job so you and I can travel this awesome waterway.  Be friendly!  If they aren't busy, most lockmasters are great to talk to and have a great store of knowledge regarding the NYS Canal System.

What do I say on the VHF radio when I'm approaching a lock?

If you don't have a VHF radio for canal cruising, I recommend you purchase one from a boating or electronics store.  You can use them for emergencies, communication between boats and to marinas (to request slip availability for example), and to talk to the lock attendant.

When you are about 1/2 mile out from the lock, use Channel 13 to talk to the lockmaster. A typical exchange might be like this:

That's the ideal exchange (since the lock would be ready for your arrival) and typically there's a pause before you get an answer (these folks can be busy); if you don't hear back within a minute or so, politely call back with the exact same query, perhaps adding a "do you copy" to confirm that the lockmaster did indeed hear you.  Most times the lock masters have smaller hand-held VHF radios that may not be as powerful as a built in unit on a boat, so listen carefully.

Eventually lockmasters get to know the boat names that are frequent travelers on the canal and you may get to know the names of the lockmasters.  That's all there is to it - for more on locking procedures, visit our Locking Through pages.

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