Ran from Buffalo on Lake Erie to Albany 

Cooks were important part of crew.   If the Captain had no familiy to help, he would try to hire a married steersman  so his wife could cook.  Hired at a combined wage and given the after boat cabin as a living quarters.   If no cook, that was the captain’s job.  The steersman or offduty driver washed the dishes and cleaned up the cabin.   A four man crew worked 6 hours on and 6 hours off.  During canning season many canalmen’s wives purchased fruit and vegetables at locks or canalside stores or from farmers along the canal.  These were canned or preserved.   Fresh fruit and vegetables bought by boaters’ and families by the bushel in the fall during last trip and stored in earthen cellars at their home.   On the canal, fresh meat for a day or two out of a port, then salted or smoked meats were used.

Busiest times were Autumn and spring.   Clocks, guns, needles, knives, whalebone corsets, bolts of cloth, and more went west.   Boats from west  

According to Rochester, The Water Power City, by McKelvey, pp 229-230,
Between 1838-1844 about 60% of residents turned over.   1844-1849 showed that 55% departed.