Loop Trip Leg 11: Canal Cruising

This is the last segment of our loop - we did 146 locks this year - don't know about how many the last 4, but we have both completed the loop. We look forward to renewing our travels next year - 2012.

Final Thoughts

This has been an interesting 1.5 years on the boat without living on land. This year alone we have completed 146 locks and tons of miles. We have experiences a variety of waterways, oceans, and land formations. We have met wonderful people some of whom have become very good friends. Hallelujah has been a wonder home, safe and always able to take whatever we could throw at her but still needed loving care. A boat isn’t much different from a land home and car – if you maintain it properly, she will run well and keep you happy.

Sept. 12 - Monday

We moved Hallelujah over to Winter Harbour early this am. Only to find out that they were not hauling it today, but needed it at their facility so they could work it into the quay. We weren’t very happy but there was nothing we could do. We finished up what we could – things we would have done after the boat was in the storage shed, made lists for the marina to do that we couldn’t complete and then went back to the hotel to rest. Some good friends we have known from the 2006 trip north drove into Brewerton and took us out to dinner. Mini and George have a summer home on Lake Ontario and know this area well. We had a wonderful evening with them and hope to catch up with them while in FL as they live in Burnt Store just north of Cape Coral. They had just driven north from FL and told us a good route to take south so we didn’t get caught because of flooding interstate highways.

Sept. 10 / 11 - Saturday / Sunday

Ess-Kay drove Dave down to Syracuse, NY for a one way rental car – the largest SUV they have for rent. We started packing cloths, food, kitchen utensils, computers, printers, etc into the car and then stowing canvas, fenders, deck equipment for winter storage. We moved to a hotel on Saturday night so that the aft berth could be used for storage of canvas.

Sept. 5 / 9 - Monday / Friday

We finalize winter storage, and get serious about moving off the boat. There is a lot of cleaning and packing that needs to be completed. We have a lot of frozen food on board which we gave to various people and the marina. In fact, Ess-Kay had a cookout on Wednesday and much of the meat from my freezer was used along with breads and condiments. Ess-Kay was really great about helping us and everyone with finding storage, or getting info on where and how to travel. Kim is wonderful with maps and information. We said goodbye to David and Kathy and plan to meet up with them in FL over the Winter. We got a rental car and motels lined up, but found that flooding was delaying or detouring people heading south through the states of NY and Penn. But packing continued – remember everything we own is on board so it isn’t easy to just leave the boat and go to a land home. We got the call to bring the boat across to Winter Harbour on Monday a.m. for haul out.

Sept. 4 - Sunday

We started cleaning the boat and doing regular maintenance work, checking on rental cars, etc. David and Kathy are preparing their boat for shipment to Annapolis, MD. We are all trying to eat all the food that we can. More boats are pulling in and making arrangements for storage or shipping. It is a busy time at this marina and everyone wants to courtesy cars for various purposes. But Barb puts together a schedule for packing up and leaving the boat.

Sept. 3 - Saturday

We are exploring a number of options – some more reasonable than others. We could go out the St. Lawrence and down the east coast, but Sept and Oct in Maine isn’t the best time to be on the Atlantic and we don’t have charts for that route. Friends suggested going back up the Saint Lawrence and coming down Lake Champlain, but after reviewing charts and waterway guides, we can’t make the low bridge clearance required for that route. We have the option of returning through the great lakes (which would mean redoing the Trent-Severne) and dropping into Lake Huron and Lake Michigan in Sept and Oct – again not a really great plan either. The last option is to winter the boat in NY and head south to Florida and be land (dirt) people for a few months. We started exploring indoor storage in Brewerton and other NY locations. There isn’t much around but we lucked out at Winter Harbour, Brewerton NY. Because the Erie Canal will be closed for the year and we have no way of moving back to the Hudson and south, boats that usually stored at Winter Harbour were not able to get back. So we were able to find indoor storage right there in Brewerton.

Sept. 2 - Friday

Ok we are back to locks again. We did 7 locks today from Lake Ontario to Brewerton, NY. We had no difficulty with the Oswego canal or the short part of the Erie Canal into Brewerton. We needed a pump out and found that it wasn’t difficult getting to the dock, but when we went to pull into the slip the currents were really running and we had lots of problems lining the boat up (Dave had to turn into the dock before it came up as the boat slid sideways in the canal. But we made it without scraping dock or posts. Our friends David and Kathy Ramsey were there to give us a hand – thank you Canadian friends. I had them over for dinner tonight. The news about the Erie is all everyone is talking about. We are not hearing good reports and have to make a decision about what to do. We go to bed tonight with major decisions. Total locks to date of 146 locks.

Sept. 1 - Thursday

We are up and off the dock early today as we have to cross Lake Ontario to Oswego NY and the winds are supposed to pick up. The weather isn’t the best – cloudy but the seas were not bad. We arrived in Oswego about 1:00 and had time to walk to the Oswego lock to see what was going on. The Lock master couldn’t give us much information about the Erie Canal except what we could find on the internet. He did say we would be able to get to Brewerton, NY with no problems. So that is our plan at this point.

Aug. 31 - Wednesday

We headed out early morning for Cape Vincent, NY We crossed the US boundary at 9:30 a.m. and were on the dock in Cape Vincent at 11:30. We had to walk to the coast guard station (about 2 blocks) to check in. There were no problems at check-in so we then walked around town. We did hear our first report that the Erie Canal is closed due to flooding but the Coast Guard personnel couldn’t tell us more than that. So we start to worry about what we will do. We did enjoy this very quant village and there were nice sailors on the dock. They all had opinions about what we should do about getting south. We were the biggest boat there and had to tie off at the end of the dock in the deepest water. We had a very nice dinner at a local restaurant in the evening. There was no electric or water on the dock, nor bathrooms but very nice local people.

Aug. 30 - Tuesday

The anchorage that we stayed in - note it wasn't very sunny.

We stayed in this anchorage for another day. We didn’t want to head to US side of the St. Lawrence until September. We relaxed, did some log work and checked charts and timing for heading south for the winter.

Aug. 29 - Monday

We moved the boat twice today. First we had hoped to dock at a state park dock on Beaurivage Island, got there and got docked only to find it very flimsy and two other good sized boats already docked. Having three large boats didn’t seem good to us, so we moved to an anchorage for the night. We were not as well protected but the anchor held well. We did relax, grilled on deck and watched a number of other boats (mostly sailboats) come into the anchorage.

Aug. 28 - Sunday

We layover while Hurricane Irene winds grew to 32 knots – not as high as was called for, but high enough that we continued to check lines and add a few. The clouds were great to watch, but the pictures didn't turn out. There was rain off and on all day. We did laundry and basically laid around and cooked.

Aug. 27 - Saturday

We took the dinghy out in the morning to explore surrounding islands and to see what other places there are to anchor or dock. There are many small islands and lots of anchorages suggested, but not much protection from east west winds. As most winds are east west and there is a current on the Saint Lawrence, most anchorages didn’t excite us and many of the docks were for smaller boats. We moved Hallelujah to Gananoque CA in the afternoon. The marina was well protected and we wanted to be secured before winds and weather from Hurricane Irene came in. I rode my bike to grocery store and got a backpack full of fresh fruits and vegetables, and checked out restaurants. We ate out but didn’t have a good dinner. During the night the Hurricane winds started so sleeping was more snoozing.

Aug. 26 - Friday

We were through the first lock at 9:00 – lock 43. We said goodbye to this lock and move back south through Kingston and then turned east into the Saint Lawrence Seaway and the Canadian 1000 Islands. We found a park dock wall at Aubrey Island. This was an interesting experience. We were able to maneuver around a sailboat and a rock to get the bow and then the stern to the wall. We were protected from winds but not from boat wake in the channel. We had no electricity and couldn’t turn on the gen because of the sail boat behind us. We walked around this island in the afternoon to see other docks that are here. Total locks to date: 136 locks

Hallelujah at Aubrey Island Canadian Park Dock - the rock is on the port side of bow.

Double masted catch we saw in St..Lawrence Seaway

rock off our bow - don't ask how we squeezed in - we went very slowly!

Aug. 25 - Thursday

Still bad weather so we again stayed put. Unfortunately, we can’t stay any longer than today as there is a three day limit for each lock. So we are praying that the winds will decrease tonight. We did walk around the lock area, but there isn’t much here.

Aug. 24 - Wednesday

The winds are up again today so we decided to stay and do some kayaking. We explored some of the lake just north of Lock 43 and even had to pull kayaks over to the bank as a boat came through the narrow pass. The winds did whip up the lake so we stayed towards shore most of the time. The afternoon was spent resting. We did have an interesting experience. A power boat pulled and a gentleman came over and asked to take pictures of our Thule carrier that holds our kayaks and 1 bike - he is a Canadian distributor for Thule and very interested in what we had done. We may find pictures on their website someday.

Aug. 23 - Tuesday

This is a one boat channel!

We returned to Lock 43 today (Upper Brewers Lock). Didn’t go through any locks but there is a very narrow channel just north of this lock. We had to signal with horn to make sure there was no one coming from the lock – I also called the lock master to make sure we were ok. In the afternoon, Dave dove to check props and stabilizers for weeds. He took off quite a bit of weeds.

Aug. 22 - Monday

We were able to get out and move to lock 42 – Jones Falls Lock. We crossed a couple of small lakes, had to have one road bridge opened and were tied up by 11:30. The lakes were shallow again today even though we had a lot of rain in the past two days. We didn’t go through any locks today but we did walk around Jones Falls Locks (all four of them). There is a great history about this lock and the Park Canada has done a wonderful job of presenting the building of this set of locks – very interesting to read and see. We even watched a blacksmith talk about and demonstrate ironwork creation. The top of Jones falls is a highly recommended stop for cruisers but we stayed on the lower side at the Hotel Kinney resort. This hotel is 134 years old and has a great history. We had dinner at the restaurant and it was great. Unfortunately we could go no further north towards Ottawa as the lake levels above Jones Falls are to low for us. The lock masters wouldn’t let us through. They said we should do this trip in June when water levels are up.

Blacksmith at Jones Falls historical park

Hallelujah at Kinney Hotel dock - Jones Falls

Jones Fall locks - first three of four locks here.

Aug. 21 - Sunday

This was a layover day. We watched it rain all day. There was more than 2 inches which was a record for this area. Not many boats moved nor came through the lock so it was very quiet. We found a leak in the main cabin starboard window today – Dave will have to seal this somehow when it stops raining. We did grill today as we don’t have power to run the stove or house electricity. We can’t turn on gen because there is a boat so close to our exhaust hose.

Aug. 20 - Saturday

Rideau Canal

We were up and off the dock at 6:30 to make a 7:00 bridge opening and move to a marina that had pump out services. We are starting up the Rideau Canal today. This Canal connects Lake Ontario with Ottawa. We will get as far as Brewers Upper Falls lock. We did 7 locks today with the first 5 all in a row. Great lock people. Sorry no pictures of locks but these were very scary for us. Going up bound there are lock walls I can grab but going down bound the wall is literally inches off the water. Dave had to be very careful not to drive right over the lock wall. And again there were some flights so once you start up a flight you can’t stop. In a flight you move from one lock directly into the next lock so we would move about 50 feet and then secure the lines to the next lock wall. We got to the top of lock 43 (Brewers Upper Falls Lock) by noon and tied up at the end of a very long floating pier. We helped a number of boats tie up in the afternoon. We had 30 amp power here so this was a big stop for power boats and we squeezed 10 boats onto this pier. We did have rain in the afternoon. Locks completed to date: 129 locks total

Aug. 19 - Friday

We did some site seeing in the morning. Did laundry in the afternoon and tried to stay quietly aboard as the temperature was very hot and humid. It was also very windy today so good thing we didn’t have to move. We did watch other boats trying to dock – some small accidents. We felt sorry for boat damage as they hit docks and pilings.

Aug. 18 - Thursday

We were off the dock early today so that we could get to Kingston, ON. This is a larger city and there are lots of things to do. The winds picked up as the morning ticked away to the point of 20 knot winds out of the Southwest – we were thankful that they were mostly behind us so we didn’t crash into the waves that were building. But as we neared Kingston we found we were in the middle of an international sail race for small scows. Couldn’t take pictures because I had to watch as we weaved through these small boats. But we didn’t hit any of the kids (yes this was a class of under 18 trying for Olympic trials) and made it to the marina about 1:00. Because of the winds it took Dave three tries before we got the boat to the dock – we need some sort of bow thruster as winds hitting the side of the boat don’t work well and the dock hands couldn’t hold the boat against the winds. We took a bus tour in the afternoon to see the city and then know of some specific sites we wanted to go to. We went out for Chinese tonight – it has been a while since we had good Chinese.

Aug. 17 - Wednesday

We wanted to anchor east of Trenton but didn’t find any place that looked deep enough and protected from the South East winds, so we headed East from Trenton to Pickton and got a slip in a city marina. This is another interesting stop. Barb walked up into town even though it was in the 80’s and the walk was mostly uphill. The town is a very large resort town with lots of little shops. It was a good thing Barb didn’t have money or we

would have had a number of little items on the boat. The run from Trenton to Pickton was pretty – more hills and lots of woods. There were no locks today – YEAH!

Aug. 16 - Tuesday

Last 7 locks of the Trent-Severne completed this a.m. We arrived in Trenton just after noon to find that old friends Dan and Susan from Potest Fieri were docked near us. Dave and Kathy were also here so we all went out to dinner after having cocktails aboard Hallelujah. Nice way to end the Trent canal system. Completed locks to date: 122

Aug. 15 - Monday

We were up early and walked to the bakery – got lots of goodies! Then started the trek back to Trenton but we didn’t make it. We ended up stopping at the top of lock 7. We had a lot of difficulty getting the boat into lock 8. Good thing we stopped, the synchronizer wasn’t working correctly – wasn’t keeping the two engines running at the same speed. We spent the afternoon reading the manual and making needed adjustments. Also had to clean water strainers. Lock 7 was a quiet lock and nice lock masters. Not many people stop here. Completed locks to date: 115

Aug. 14 - Sunday

Today was a good day and we wanted to stop in Campbelford because of literature that talked about this town. There was a bakery and chocolate factory that are really recommended. So we only moved 20 miles, but it took 5 hours. We did 6 locks today and tied up at the city marina docks. Barb walked around – found the bakery but it was closed. We passed on the Chocolate factory. Completed locks to date: 110

This is a double lock. We moved straight from one into the second. There were some places when we did triple locks. Takes a lot of time going through this sorts of locks.

Aug. 13 - Saturday

We are constantly checking water strainers as they are clogging every couple of hours, so if it isn’t a lock that we stop for, it is water strainers. We crossed Rice Lake today – it was again quiet so we made it to Hastings without any difficulty – only 1 lock todayJ The real excitement was the fishing tournament being held in Rice Lake. Hastings was a check-in place. After arriving, Dave took his nap only to wake up to men talking right outside our boat – not on the dock but on the water side. There were about 100 (no lie) bass boats trying to get checked in. The town was really crowded today. But we did walk around and get to the grocery store. Completed locks to date: 104

Aug. 12 - Friday

We decided to make up time today – going 31 miles all the way to Peterborough. This means we are doing 12 locks! I insisted on dinner out! But wait, we ran into Dave and Kathy on their sail boat. We had a great party at dinner. It was a very long day – over 9 hours of travel with all the locks we did including the Peterborough lock again. Completed locks to date: 103

The golf course bench Barb used when we had to anchor to clean engine water filters on way west. Just west of Peterborough lock.

Aug. 11 - Thursday

We ended up staying here another day as the winds were strong and we didn’t want to struggle in the locks. No big excitement today. But it was nice to have a day of rest.

Aug. 10 - Wednesday

We are traveling through shallow weedy lakes so we are moving slower. We only managed one lock today as the winds decided to pick up and we had difficulty with the first lock we went through. Good thing we stopped as there were heavy rainstorms in the afternoon. The big event of the day was that a cruise ship came through lock 31 (Buckhorn) as we were tied up at the wall. This lock is in the middle of nowhere so there was no place to walk to or to go out for dinner. Completed locks to date: 91

Aug. 9 - Tuesday

Hallelujah on Bob Caygeon lock wall

We only moved 15 miles today to Bob Caygeon, ON. An interesting little town. There are many small shops with a variety of items on sale this week. I went shopping to walk around and we went out to dinner tonight. We had rain in the afternoon so it was good we didn’t try to go further. We are enjoying these small Canadian towns as each has something different to explore. Completed locks to date: 90

Aug. 8 - Monday

We stayed at Fenelon Falls again today – a larger town. We did some boat work and I got my hair cut – finding smaller shops are more receptive to walk-ins and the hair cut was really nice. We also took a bike ride today on the Victoria Trail. The bike trails in Canada do vary so we didn’t go as far as we had hoped – north to the next town because the trail turned into a rutted path and not asphalt. But it was a very nice ride.

Aug. 7 - Sunday

We were really surprised to see this truck -

We left Kirkfield lift lock early so that we could get to Fenelon Falls before all the wall space was taken. We also wanted to get away from the skunk smell. We arrived in Fenelon Falls at a very good time as a boat was leaving and we got space on the wall that had electricity (we didn’t know this going in, but found out quickly). We paid the hydro fee and enjoyed having electricity. The day passed quickly with some grocery shopping and going out to dinner. It did rain in the afternoon. The Trent Severne Canal system is beautiful but we have had to go slow due to weeds. Completed locks to date: 88

especially being from Grand Rapids - no we couldn't get any cookie dough.

Aug. 6 - Saturday

Can you believe we fit through here?

We were up and on our way early today. We didn’t know how far we would get but wanted to get off Lake Simcoe before winds picked up. We ended up stopping at Kirkfield Lock as it started to mist in the late morning and I really don’t want to try and lock through in rain and winds. Stayed aboard today. Had a visit from a skunk in the early evening so had to close up the boat for the night – something nearby really scared that skunk! I thought he was aboard our boat. Our aha for today was learning not to put coke in the freezer and forget about it. About 7:00 p.m., we heard a large popping sound from the back deck – we weren’t sure if someone was shooting at the boat, but it turned out to be coke exploding in the back deck freezer. We now have a mess to clean up! Not the best excuse for defrosting the freezer. Completed locks to date: 86

Aug. 5 - Friday

We pulled anchor and returned to Big Chute so we could go up and over instead of over and down early and not have to wait. Unfortunately a number of other large boats had the same idea. We didn’t get out of Big Chute until after 9:00 a.m. We watched boats going both ways. I even ran up and down the stairs once for exercise – good to be on land after anchoring out. The lock people remembered us from yesterday so they knew how to maneuver the boat on the rail car. We wanted to get across Lake Simcoe to a marina for tonight. The weather cooperated and we arrived by 5:00 – so this was a long day of running. We did 50+ miles in 9.5 hours. Got a pump out and Dave took me to the small marina restaurant for dinner (of course we did our laundry while we were at dinner). Completed locks to date: 80

Looking back at the rail line with part of road in foreground.

Big Chute looking east - Barb ran the stairs for exercise.

Picture of rail car coming down with boats.

Aug. 4 - Thursday

We got up to 54° temperatures today. We again experienced very narrow channels and even had to pass another large yacht in one of them. This was the day I’ve been waiting for. We did Big Chute Lock which is a most interesting lock. I have tons of pictures of this lock – so look at them for info on this lock. The crew at this lock is extremely knowledgeable and they ask many questions before you drive onto the rail car. They go very slowly at loading and unloading as they don’t want your boat to tip over. Basically Hallelujah was held in a set of slings like a travel lift – but they had to be careful so they didn’t break off the stabilizers, or bend a prop shaft. We were out of Big Chute by early afternoon and the motored on to an anchorage we had selected. We had a great afternoon at anchor, and took the dinghy out for a short ride to look at a couple of other anchorages. The loons were out in force today giving us a concert – great way to enjoy cocktails on the back deck. Completed locks to date: 77 locks

Narrow Chanel approaching Big Chute Lock

The end of the loop for Barb - We have now both completed the circle - YEAH!

Big Chute Lock is a rail car especially made for this lock. It transports boats over a road on top of a hill. You drive onto the rail car and then off at the other end.

Hallelujah loaded on the rail car - look at how the boats tip because they are held by straps.

the train car is level as it travels downhill. The car goes underwater and we drive away.

Aug. 3 - Wednesday

Hallelujah at lock 42

We remained at lock 42 due to rain. It rained most of the day and the air temperature was only 63° for a high. We bundled up and read our kindles.

Aug. 2 - Tuesday

What an interesting day. We crossed many small shallow lakes full of weeds. The bridge picture is of “hole in the wall” bridge built on 1905. Yes, we went through this bridge. Crossed Canal Lake which was only 6 feet deep so had to go very slowly. We did bump a couple of times – we don’t like the thump when this happens and it scares us as we have no idea what is on the bottom that we hit. We’ve been told that many of the lakes have old cars, refrigerators, left over buildings, etc. Basically, the Trent Severne was built without cleaning the land before flooding it with the Dam system. Even staying in the channel doesn’t always work. Because sections are channels, some channels don’t have much wall above the water line so you have to be careful not to get too close to the side of the channel This is also farm country so we say varies farm animals right next to the waterway. We met a looper couple on Erika Lin today at Lock 42. Always nice to see loopers. Completed locks to date: 75

Can't get away from the Geese!

Hole in the Wall Bridge

Farm country - low channel walls

Aug 1 - Monday

We left Buckhorn early as we wanted to get some miles in today. Sweetgrass is traveling behind us – they like following someone who has done the canal system before. Today was interesting as we passed through lakes in which the boat houses were more like floating homes (see picture). They were gorgeous! We also passed through some very narrow channels between lakes. Not sure if two of us could actually pass each other in these channels. We prayed that we wouldn't meet another big boat. We arrived at Kirkfield Lock in the early afternoon and were able to find room on the lower side for two 44 foot boats. Please note that this is the second lift lock (Peterborough being the other lift lock). Jerry and Jenni came aboard for cocktails as we will be leaving them tomorrow. They will be traveling slower than we want to go. We ended up going out to dinner with them to a little dinner down the road from this lock (which is in the middle of no where). We had a good evening and met another looper couple who completed the loop in 2009. They just bought a bigger boat and were moving it east on the Canal system. Completed locks to date: 69 locks

Kirkfield Lock looking at wall we tied to.

Canadian boat house

Sweetgrass in narrow chanal

July 31 - Sunday

We were up and moving early with Sweetgrass behind us. We wanted to get through Hell’s gate before the winds picked up – this is a shallow area that is narrow – we were through by 10:00 and on to other interesting sights. We passed a small Canadian homemade boat (see picture), we also passed a church on an island (can only get to church via boat), and found locks to be very busy (see picture – can’t remember how many were packed into this lock). We had to wait at the bottom of lock 31 till after 6:00 in order to move to the top of the lock and tie up for the night. The lock master at lock 31 was really great about letting us sit on the blue line and also on clearing space at the top of the lock so that both Sweetgrass and Hallelujah has space to tie up. We tried to go out to dinner but no luck – the first restaurant ran out of food and closed early and the second had a two hour wait, so dinner aboard was very quickly made. Lock total: 64 locks

Lock full of boats - yes they are three across. These lock masters are good at filling the locks and not wasting space.

Small handcrafted boat.

Island Church

July 30 - Saturday

After all the rain yesterday, we found a lot of debris around the boat – we never want to stay at the end of pier 2 again. The current in the basin was strong – it took three people on the dock to help us get off as the current was pushing us up against the dock and there was a boat directly behind us – so we couldn’t back out. But with help, Dave did a great job and we didn’t scrape the boat at all. We had a longer wait at locks today as there are a lot of boats traveling in the canal system – it is a weekend. We only went 10.5 miles today but it took us 6 hours. We did 7 locks. But today was an interesting day. We got through the Peterborough lock 21 – see the picture of this bathtub lock. We went into the tub and then it went straight up into the air – then we exited. About 10 minutes after we exited, the engines overheated. So we had to drop anchor right in the channel so that Dave could clean the water strainers. We had sucked up so much debris from the marina that it clogged the water strainers on both engines. Barb found a great tool – an extra-long crochet hook so Dave could work faster, and then kept watch for boats and made sure we weren’t drifting – very weedy bottom. We made it through lock 26 before we were both tired. The second and third pictures are the Peterborough Lock and what a tub looks like. It was kind of scary to go straight up in the air but this was a very easy lock as we didn’t have to hold lines to keep the boat against the wall. The first picture is of a smaller lock closer to Lock 26. This picture shows the blue line – a Canada concept of who wants to lock through. If you want to lock through you have to pull up to the blue line, tie off and wait. We quickly found a variety of ways to tie off at blue lines and then get back off the wall. As it is a weekend, there were some blue lines that we couldn’t get to, so we had to wait in idle speed with currents pushing us around. Not the most fun. We did meet up with another looper – Sweetgrass. We had heard about J and J from the looper blog as they managed to put a hole in their bow when hitting a lock on the Rideau Canal. We took time in the afternoon to walk around Lakefield – nice little town and a good grocery store. Lock total: 59 locks

Blue Line - read how you lock through.

Peterborough Lock - one of the two bathdubs that go up and down. The lock is hydrolic. As one tub goes up the other comes down. They fill the tub at the top with more water so it is heavier. You can see the piston in this picture.

Looking back towards Peterborough while in the bathtub lock.

July 29 - Friday

We layed over in Peterborough as it was raining when we got up. So we did laundry, boat maintenance and vegged out (Barb is getting less sore from locks). We did do some exploring in the afternoon – Barb found a quilting shop and came back with more material. Dave found a liquor store so came back with Beer. We went back to the same restaurant as last night for another great dinner.

July 28 - Thursday

Lock 19 east of Peterborough, ON.

Today was another weather watch day as we needed to cross Rice Lake (another shallow lake that can be dangerous with winds). We had no problems as we crossed early in the day. We had only 1 lock today after crossing Rice Lake just before Peterborough ON. We arrived in Peterborough at noon so were able to take a bike ride around this area. We went about 10 miles on great bike paths that crossed the Trent and took us through town and into the suburbs. We went out to dinner to celebrate getting about half way across the Trent-Severne Canal. Dave found a Canadian beer that he liked so we had to buy some. The picture today shows a lock turn stile – yes, this metal post is what is turned for the gates to open and close. The lock masters do a lot of walking in circles all day. The biker is on the road that we also road over. When the lock is opened, the bridge has to go up for boats to go under. Lock total: 51 locks

July 27 - Wednesday

Trent Canal system

Today was a long day of many locks. We didn’t leave lock 8 until 9:00 as it was late in opening. The picture is of Lock 8 as we were getting ready to enter it. We traveled through Campbellford in the a.m and kept going as it was too early to stop here – this was our original destination for yesterday. We’ll have to stop on the way back. We did 10 locks in all today – and stopped at the top of lock 17 in Hastings, ON. We did get an ice cream cone and walk around this small town. No special events today – just lots of beautiful country to look at. Lock total: 50 locks

July 26 - Tuesday

Lock 8 - east side - lower side of lock.

We left Trenton early (Canadian early as locks don’t open until 8:00) but we were hoping to make a few miles today. We are both getting used to locking, but the Trent-Severne is different from US locks. We don’t pick our side, we are told when entering the lock which side to go to – making locking a little more challenging. But Barb got the idea quickly and was prepared with lines & fenders on both sides of the boat. We do need about two more fenders so no switching would be needed at all. We did well until about two o’clock when we arrived at lock 8. The winds have increased and Barb was really tired, so we stopped for the day. The picture is of Hallelujah on the lower wall of lock 8 – notice all the fenders hanging off the boat. There were about 100 geese here so walking off the boat required a lot of care. There were also snakes – Barb almost stepped on one while climbing stairs to the lock master house and bathroom. We also watched a snake swim by the boat. We found the lock masters to be wonderful people all day. They really were there to assist with lines and gave lots of great information about the area. Lock total: 40 locks

July 24 / 25 - Sun / Mon

We stayed for two more days. Met more loopers and boaters, took our bikes and completed paperwork for the Trent-Severn canal system (and the Canadian Park System), got a Rogers internet card, and explored Trent, ON. Dave found a liquor store so we could stock up as bringing liquor into Canada is costly. All in all this was a nice stop, great people and we were out of traffic next to a quiet park.

Welcome sign for the Trent-Severn Canal System.

Park next to boat

July 23 - Saturday

Trenton Town Marina - squeezed into corner.

We are up and out of the marina at 6:00 a.m. for the 84 mile run across Lake Ontario. The a.m started out a little rough and we had some engine problems but all in all the day was good. The waves and wind subsided as we reached the halfway mark. Lunch was good, the heat was down. We entered the Murray Canal and Barb experienced how Canadians pay tolls on the canal. The toll master uses a pole with a tin cup at the end. Dave drove by slowly and Barb dropped the $5 into the cup, said thank you and kept going. We arrived at the dock at 5:00, Dave did Customs so we were legal and then we went out to dinner. Unfortunately it was hot on land (one of Canada’s warmest days) and we didn’t have 50 amp power, so we didn’t have a good night. The picture doesn’t do justice to how we managed to squeeze into our dockage area. There was actually one more boat – a dinner barge that was parked were I stood to take the picture when we came in – so it was even tighter than this picture represents. But with three hands on the dock, Dave finally got the boat turned enough so I could throw lines and they pulled us in. We didn’t hit anything! No locks today J

July 22 - Friday

Close bridge at turn onto Oswego Canal

We only had 32 miles to go today so we didn’t start early. We also needed a pump out, so we didn’t leave the marina until 9:30. At the intersection of the Erie Canal with the Oswego Canal we had our first height challenge. The bridges are supposed to be 19 feet, but due to construction the bridge height was less. We squeaked under with about 3 inches to spare (see picture). We did 8 locks today and stopped in Oswego, NY. Unfortunately the winds picked up during the day. Docking the boat was really difficult. It took Dave 3 tries before he could get into the dock. But we were next to Spirit Dancer (DeFever 49). We know Bob and Kimba DeGrout – great people. We met them in Joe Wheeler in 2007 when we drove through Alabama. This is another town that would be interesting to spend time in. But we only had tonight. We looked again at the weather and our travel plans and changed everything. We met a couple from Canada - they followed us yesterday (see picture of them behind us going under the bridge) - who wanted to cross Lake Ontario to Trenton, ON. The weather for the next few days didn’t look good for going into the St. Lawrence river, so we decided to travel with them and get to the Trent-Severne Canal system. We went to bed early so we could get an early start. Total locks: 32 to date this year.

July 18 / 19 / 20 / 21 - Mon through Thursday

We laid over so that we could try and trace some of the continuing issues with the starboard engine and the transfer pump. Unfortunately, the mechanic couldn’t help at all on any of the continuing problems. We did some engine work ourselves and took time to clean the outside of the boat. It seems that we are always having to do laundry, run to the grocery store or do other errands. We did have the carpeting cleaned which really needed it, but because of the humidity it took forever to dry. We ended up staying over one extra day due to winds. It is hard enough locking a boat with no winds, but when the winds blow it is extra difficult. This was a real R & R day so we both vegged out. Barb did work on travel plans for the next two months and located places she would like to go in Canada.

July 17 - Sunday

More Erie Canal - really there were other types of typography.

We want to make Brewerton,NY today which means a 68 mile run. There are only 5 locks and two are down bound locks which are much easier to lock through. But we have to cross Lake Oneida. Dave is watching the weather closely to make sure the lake is calm. This can be a difficult crossing as the lake is shallow and you have to stay within a specific channel. We had some problems at the first a.m. lock in that there was no one there – literally. We waited 45 minutes before a lock master arrived, thus slowing our travels. But we arrived at Ess-Kay marina in Brewerton and were tied up before the winds picked up and the current became too strong. Locks = total 24 to date.

July 16 - Saturday

We are up and moving by 7:00 so that we could make the first opening of lock 11. The Erie is an interesting waterway – the scenery changes almost every couple of miles. There are many small towns along the canal, but also a lot of open spaces. There are not many homes and boats tied up so we didn’t have to worry too much about speed limits, but even those were well marked. We did 8 locks today. So now my count is 19 locks to date this year. We stopped in Ilion, NY at the city docks. Interestingly, the boat is in the exact same spot as 2006 when Dave, Joe and John came through. This is a nice little marina along the canal. I would love to come back and bike in this area. We have seen a bike path along the Erie that looks good – maybe someday we could bike across the state. But tonight I’m getting a little more used to locking up bound but the body isn’t. So I retire early. Total locks completed: 19 to date.

Erie Canal - great scenery

Illion Marina - looking back from top of boat.

July 15 - Friday

We are ready for the first opening of the morning – 7:30 we are in Erie Canal lock 2 and starting the “flight of locks”. There are 5 locks in the flight. Dave is doing well with getting to the walls today. And I did well on catching lines, poles, or bollards. After the flight there were a number of locks before we reached Amsterdam, NY and the wall along the Erie. In all we completed 9 locks today. I’m bushed and the back is sore. Grabbing lines and tying off to a lock wall takes physical ability as I usually end up pulling the boat over to the wall the last couple of feet or having to stretch out to get a line and loop my rope around it. Dave took pity on me and we went out to dinner at the restaurant next to the town dock. We also met other travelers docking here over night. Can’t say that the night was quiet as there were trains every 30 minutes all night. Locks completed: 11 total for this year.

Amsterdam Dock along Erie Canal

Erie Canal - Lock 2

Erie Canal north of Albany

July 14 - Thursday

Waterford Dock, the East end of the Erie Canal.

WE traveled the last 66 miles north on the Hudson and turned onto the Erie canal today. In 2006 this is where I left the boat and returned to MI and work. This summer I would get my opportunity to experience the Erie. We stayed on the wall in Waterford, but didn’t get a 50 amp plug so we didn’t have air tonight – muggy in the boat. We were able to get the paperwork completed for the Erie so we wouldn’t hold up first set of locks in the am. Due to heat and muggy air, we vegged out and talked to other boaters on the dock. In 2006 we were here 3 nights due to flooding, so I have walked around town before. We did 1 lock today – the international lock in Albany NY. I’m going to try and keep a count of how many locks we have done. Since leaving FL in May, we had 1 lock in VA. So we are at 2 locks completed.