Articles
In the Trent Severn Canal
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Lock 1 - Trenton We traveled thru the Bay of Quinte from Kerr Pt. It is a beautiful area with different markers than we are used to, but we managed fairly well. We turned the boat up into Belleview, but the marinas could not accommodate a boat of our size and restricted maneuverability. We had planned to stop early because we had so much work to do on fenders putting on new lines and covers as well as finishing the installation of the bimini. It took at least 3 - 4 hours to get the jobs done. We kept going finally to Trenton and the lock was open and there were no cleats on the lower side of the lock, so we went thru the lock and tied at the wall on the upper side. Three families of Chinese people were celebrating Canada Day. They had picnics and a quiet celebration. We had trains and a road by us – not recommended for tie up. One thing you
can say for the trains in this area is that they are large, very fast and are
quite regular.
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We tied the boat to locks at the end |
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Lock 7 – Glen Rose We started from above Lock 1 and traveled thru Lock 6 one
right after another. The lock tenders are friendly and helpful all the way so
far. We followed a houseboat much of the way. They rent houseboats and go up and
down the canal system. The lockmasters have to turn the lock gates open or
closed by hand in most cases. You sort of hate to ask them to open just for
you. The lock was stuck in the open position because something
was wrong with the mechanism. We will not be able to go on until they fix it,
which should be tomorrow. It is very hot on the down side of the lock with no
breeze to speak of. Don caught his first fish – a walleye. It was not really big enough to keep.
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Quite often it seemed that the boat |
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The trees were this close on each side of the boat and the rocks were closer under the water. |
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Lock 15 – Healey Falls Lesson learned - dock on the top of the lock.
There is no breeze below. We
left Lock 7 at 9:30 after they got the repairs done.
It was another very hot day.
We hope for a shady tie up on a west wall for tonight. We saw lots of herons, but not as many Canada Geese as in
the Erie. At Lock 10, we lost our forward gear.
We were just entering the lock.
When Don attempted to put the engine in forward it stayed in reverse, but gave
it gas. We hit the wall outside the
lock with the stern and hit our cargo boom.
The lock tender was there immediately.
He helped us pull it by rope into the lock and out the other side.
It was very scary. Don had
to be on the boat alone going thru the lock, and it was a hand full for him.
Fortunately it was just the linkage and we were underway again in just
about 20 minutes. The lock tender told us the best thing was that he didn’t
see us yelling at each other. I
told him that the boat was bigger than both of us and that if we don’t stay
united it will take over. I took
the lock tender some herbs and he gave me a lupine plant for my deck garden.
The herbs are thriving except for the basil.
The mint is champion.
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We nearly touched the top |
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We went thru 8 locks on an extremely hot day.
That was probably a few too many locks, but it is hard to know where to
stop or find places to stop. Often
they are full when you get there if it is after 2:00.
We did find a beautiful place to tie up between locks 15 and the flight
locks of 16 and 17. We went swimming in the canal then went to visit with two
couples from the local area. They
were very nice, and very curious about what we are doing and where we are going.
They showed us some things to watch out for on the charts.
Local knowledge is always valuable, but you should really check and cross
check. We are always happy
for the locals to give us tips.
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