Editing Erie Canal (section)

===Passenger boats===
[[File:Nearing the Bend by Edward Lamson Henry, pencil and watercolor.jpg|thumb|right|''Nearing the Bend'', a nostalgic image of early canal travel by [[Edward Lamson Henry]], {{circa|1900}}]]
[[Packet boat]]s, serving passengers exclusively, reached speeds of up to {{convert|5|mph|spell=in}} and ran at much more frequent intervals than the cramped, bumpy stagecoach wagons.<ref name="Sheriff">{{Cite book|title=The Artificial River: The Erie Canal and the Paradox of Progress 1817–1862|last=Sheriff|first=Carol|publisher=Hill & Wang|year=1996|isbn=978-0-8090-2753-8|url=https://archive.org/details/artificialrivere00sher|url-access=registration}}</ref>{{rp|54}} These boats, measuring up to {{convert|78|ft|m}} long and {{convert|14.5|ft|m}} wide, made ingenious use of space, accommodating up to 40 passengers at night and up to three times as many in the daytime.<ref name="Sheriff" />{{rp|59}} The best examples, furnished with carpeted floors, stuffed chairs, and mahogany tables stocked with books and current newspapers, served as sitting rooms during the days. At mealtimes, crews transformed the cabin into a dining room. Drawing a curtain across the width of the room divided the cabin into ladies' and gentlemen's sleeping quarters at night. Pull-down tiered beds folded from the walls, and additional cots could be hung from hooks in the ceiling. Some captains hired musicians and held dances.<ref name="Sheriff" />{{rp|59}}