The last time I transited the Erie canal (which was a long, long time ago), I had the mast down on deck but it was not secured all that well. No one to blame but our own crew for that one. In the middle of lake Oneida the wind picked up and we had some 5~6 foot waves. The mast started to shift back and forth and I had to use the mast mounted winches to tighten up the lines enough to get it to stop shifting. The waves were quite short and were breaking over the bow while I was doing it, 6 foot waves on a small lake aren't quite the same as 6 footers off shore.