Our Summer on the Boat · Ontario/ Thousand Islands Cottagers •Out on the water for the day, or...

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Agenda Original Plan Our Boat Boaters are Different The Heritage Waterways

– Geology – History

Lock Mechanics – Basic Locks – Lift Locks – Marine Railway – Locking Procedures

Experiences – Planning – Typical Travel Day – Typical Non Travel Day – Weather – Navigation – Parks Canada – Gob-smacked – There were other things – Advice – Enjoy!

A Change of Plans

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Original Plan

Starting Out

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Actual Trip – Left June 23rd – 68 days – 117 Locks – 250 Docking/Locking Maneuvers – 664 nm (1230km) – Avg speed 6.4nm/hr / 11 km/hr – 38 travel days - 30 exploring days – 3200 liters gas – Home Aug 28th

Grand ‘Scapes

• 31 ‘ foot Carver Santego - Flybridge

• Twin 5 liter V8 engines (Gasoline)

• Mercury outdrives (Inboard / Outboard)

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9x79x5 9x12

8x6

Layout

Master Stateroom

Fly Bridge (canvas)

Swim Platform

Cockpit (Open)

Main Area

Galley Couch/Bunks

Table

Seating Head

About 230 sq. ft. over 4 areas.

Grand ‘Scapes - Interior

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Flybridge

Lots of Storage!

Space is a premium on a boat, so every nook and cranny is utilized – everything needs to be able to be put away.

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Equipment • VHF Radio • Handheld VHF • Raymarine Chart Plotter • Depth Sounder • 8’ Inflatable Dinghy (9.9hp) • Safety Equipment: PFD’s,

flares, lights, horn, • Raw Water Wash downs

(stern & bow)

• 3x12v Marine batteries • Generator (1500 watt) • Electric Windlass • A/C (on shore power) • 1000 watt Inverter • Spare lines, anchor, props,

fuses, lubes • 2 Bicycles • Fully equipped tool box

BOATERS ARE NOT ALL THE SAME!

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Our Experience • cruisers

(powerboat) • on Georgian

Bay (deep clear water)

• “swing on the hook” (anchor out; swim; dinghy)

We Met • Sailors • Cottagers • Houseboater-ers

– rental – lifestyle

• “D” boaters • “Loopers” • Kawartha Voyageur’s • Intrepid new Boaters

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Sailors Require open water and wind: • virtually none

on the waterways

• Lots on Lake Ontario/ Thousand Islands

Cottagers

• Out on the water for the day, or travel to and from cottage

• Runabouts common

• Occasional kayaker

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Houseboat Renters • Party time • Typically

inexperienced boaters – Ergo, 1st into

the locks

• Everything stowed on the boat – NOT!

Lifestyle Houseboaters • Dow’s Lake • Couple owns houseboat

with dark green rails – they live in a condo on

the Rideau River – he lives there all summer

& bikes to his work; she visits weekends

• 5 of the seasonal boaters bought floating island

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D-Boat-ers • Quebec

Construction shutdown – 2 weeks end of July

• Big effect on the locks!

• Marina cruisers

• Dressed to the 9’s!

America’s Great Loop • traverse of eastern North

America that includes part of the Atlantic, Gulf Intracoastal Waterways, the Great Lakes, Canadian Heritage Canals, and the inland rivers of America's heartland

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Loopers • Larger boats

• Long trips

on the “Loop”

• Some went “all in”

Kawartha Voyageur

• Another way to see the Heritage waterways

• 120’ long, 24 cabins • We met them several

times: – On Trent-Severn – At Picton – they got the

good berth – Again at Burritt’s Rapids on

Rideau

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Intrepid New Boaters • Couple bought their 1st boat in Buckhorn • 45 minutes of training from previous owner • We met them after they’d done 26 locks in 2

days! • They’d encountered a couple of problems that

Dave was able to help them resolve – Toilet and raw water washdown wouldn’t work – They were related problems – disconnected hose

Ontario’s Heritage Waterways The Trent/Severn, Rideau and 1000 Islands

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Geology

Canadian Shield St. Lawrence Lowlands Frontenac Arch – bridges the Shield and the Adirondack Mountains

The Trent Severn Waterway Trent-Severn: 386 km waterway from Georgian Bay to Lake Ontario (Port Severn to Trenton). Began in 1833, completed in 1920. 44 Locks. Lift: +260’ Georgian Bay to Balsam Lake; -590’ Balsam Lake to Lake Ontario.

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The Rideau Canal

Rideau: 202 km waterway from Kingston to Ottawa: Started in 1826, opened in 1832; 47 locks. Lift: Kingston to Upper Rideau=+166’; Upper Rideau Ottawa -275’

Built to provide alternate route from Montreal to Kingston in case the US were to blockade the St. Lawrence.

The 1000 Islands Consists of 26 Islands + smaller Islets.

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1000 Islands

• 80 km from Kingston to Brockville

• 1149 Islands, 900 million year old rock Frontenac Arch

• National Park – 26 Islands + 90 Islets – The Canadian government held custody to most of these islands

having been given title by the Mississauga Indians, but in the 1880's and 90's the larger islands had been purchased privately and local residents found they were no longer welcome to hunt and picnic there. In 1904, the local citizens urged the federal government to reserve for the public nine islands that were for sale. These formed the nucleus of the park, which was formally established in 1914.

LOCK TYPES AND MECHANICS

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Locks on the Trent-Severn / Rideau

• Trent – Severn: three different types: – 41 Pound Locks: chamber with gates at both ends

• (most are electrically operated today)

– 2 Lift Locks: Two chambers, connected with hydraulic pistons

– 1 Marine Railway

• Rideau: – 47 Pound Locks

– (All but 2 are as originally built i.e., manually operated).

HIGH Low

Pound Lock

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Approaching Lock Upstream Doors open

Doors Closing

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At the Top

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Flighted Locks • Particularly on the Rideau, if

the lift is more than the limit (15’ or so) of a manual lock, Flighted locks are used – a sequence of locks one after the other.

• Ottawa & Jones Falls and Kingston Mills, Merrickville, and Long Island (+ doubles)

Lift locks Upper River Level

Lower River Level

Lift Locks

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Kirkfield Lift Lock

Built 1907 Lift 49’

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Peterborough Lift Lock

Built 1904 Lift 65’ Highest Lift Lock in the World

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Marine Railway (Big Chute)

Upper River Level

Lower River Level

Cradle: 80’ x 26’ (24m x 8m) Lift: 60’ (18m) Capacity 90 tons

Marine Railway (Big Chute)

Original Built in 1917 (replaced twice by larger versions in 1923& 1976 (lamprey eel) Lift: 60’

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EXPERIENCES

From the sublime to the ordinary to gob-smacked!

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Planning • Nautical charts + Ports books • Excel spreadsheet

– Trip Day, Date – Starting From – Going To – Locks (name & number) – Services at locks? – Distance – Notes (visits, provisioning, cautions on route)

Typical Travel Day (38 days) • Usually up at 7:30

• Breakfast, stow everything.

• Review plan – where do we hope to end day

• Head out 10:00 (earlier if we want and we’ve traversed the lock the night before)

• Cruise / Lock/ Cruise/Lock etc etc.; lunch while travelling

• Arrive for the night ~ 4:00 (Lock wall, Town Docks, Marina, Anchor)

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Typical Travel Day – cont’d

• Happy Hour(s)

• Dinner – generally on boat.

– occasional dinner out • special occasion or rotten travel day

• Plan the next day

• Bed by 9:00, watch movie.

Not all marinas are equal

• Top: Picton – 0/10!

• Bottom: Trenton – 10/10!

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Typical Non-Travel Day (30 days) • Write & post trip “blog”; catch up on email • Provision: grocery store, LCBO, Beer Store,

Canadian Tire etc. • Laundry: (in town or on site at marina) • Hair appointments – interesting! • Bikes were very helpful

– Dave put on 150 km on his bike in provisioning and shore excursions; me, less!

Don’t we look cute!

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Side adventure – see a play

• Could we park any closer!

Weather

• Fantastic Summer

– few wind days

– very few rainy days.

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Navigation: use all available aids

1. Paper Charts – Route planning & big

picture

2. GPS (chart plotter) 3. Depth sounder 4. Visual – Markers (red/green)

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Parks Canada • Most staff were very helpful and pleasant. • Only one guy ran a poor operation:

– brand-new untrained summer student – his orders were very confusing

• Best service: – fender got looped around a cable as we were

departing and we had to leave it behind – they delivered it to us 2 locks later!

Delivery service!

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Water, water, everywhere…

But rarely good swimming…. just 5 spots

1. Georgian Bay

2. Deep Bay on Sparrow Lake just before Orillia

3. Pigeon Lake

4. 1000 Islands

5. Big Rideau Lake

Gob-smacked (or High & Dry at Hastings)

• ½ km from Hastings marina, over-taken by Parks Canada boat

• We dropped after crossing wake, CLUNK, followed by vibration.

• Limped into the marina on one engine. • Could feel the broken prop. • Chad arrived in ½ hour and pulled the prop. Drove it to

Buckhorn, pick up new one – back next morning to install. Yeah!

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Not so fast…. • Started engine – alarm – no gear lube. • Chad back. Strips to do “big lean” over swim

platform; reports big hole in the stern drive. • Orders replacement drive – delays in sending • Wrong drive arrives. Chad drives to Mississauga;

gets back by 7:30pm. • Chad’s father arrives with the hydraulic trailer –

haul out – replace – back in the water.

Insurance Claim!

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There were other things… • Forgetfulness! Pulled out of the marina without:

– Laptop (day 1!) – Bikes (day 45)

• Things needed to be addressed on both boats – Ongoing issues: problems filling fuel tanks, trim tabs, – Battery system, radio, fuel gauge failed, generator,

dinghy (Boats were in unfamiliar waters, and it was a long trip – several seasons worth of travel)

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More happenings

• Gremlins

– air lock in water pump; loss of power to 4 instruments; raw water pump “failure” at bow

• Challenges

– Engine got fouled with weeds & over-heated

– Anchoring challenges - weeds (Cranberry “Lake”) & rocks (near Kingston)

Advice

• Have redundancy (2 boats helps)

• Take help from other boaters

• Find good marinas for service

• Keep calm and figure it out!

• And of course… make that a double!

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Enjoy the scenery

• Enjoy the scenery

– Gorgeous cottages to real “fixer-uppers”

– Small town Ontario along Trent-Severn

– Shield versus the lowlands

Enjoy the wildlife • Ospreys – everywhere • Great Blue Herons • Bald Eagles • Loons • Mergansers • Ducks / Geese • Bullfrog • Needlefish

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Enjoy the company!

1. Rafting in Georgian Bay

2. Boating friends at their Lake Simcoe marina

3. Loopers & cottagers at lock in Fenlon Falls

4. Friend joined us Hastings to Frankford

5. Friends at Kingston for outing to Thousand Islands

6. Dinner with Dave’s cousins in Smiths Falls

7. Week in Ottawa with our sons and daughters-in-law

Change of plans #1 (July 23)

Thousand Islands – wow!

– Okay, let’s NOT sell the boat

– Let’s find a marina in 1000 Islands

– Lets us visit our kids in Ottawa

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Change of plans #2

• Week in Ottawa

– Visit with Andrew & Niamh & friends

– Craig & Anna bought car & house

– New granddaughter expected in December

• Aug 10: Should we???

We did!

• While in Ottawa, scouted small communities

• Advice from friends to look at Almonte

• Appointments set for Labour Day weekend

• Closed deal Sept 15

• Little move Dec 16 (baby arrived Dec 23)

• Big move February 8

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Settled in

WHAT A TRIP!