Peterborough to Buckhorn

On Monday, 7/28/14 the generator parts and Jan's medications arrived and all was good.  Wait!  Murphy's Law, kicks in and the belt for the generator is the wrong size and after battling the boat with the blood of my thin skin arms I give up and decide to call the Cummins people to find out what part I need.  The part number in my manual is what I ordered, but the real part is two inches larger in diameter.  I call ahead to Buckhorn Marina and had the new part ordered so when we get there, in a couple of days, it will be there.  We left Peterborough around 9:00 am and had to wait at the first lock for about an hour.  We finally arrived in Lakefield around 2:00 pm Tuesday after going thru seven locks including the world famous Peterborough Lift Lock.  The Peterborough lift lock was completed in 1904 and was the first lock utilizing concrete, not to mention the concept of rising and lower boats in a tub of water.  Continuing through to Buckhorn we went by these really cool rock droppings with houses on them.  We also passed a church where you have to have a boat to get there.  It was really cool.  We arrived at the Buckhorn Marina around 3:00 pm on Wednesday and were assigned a shed to stay under.  My belt did arrive today and after more bleeding I finally had it installed.  We also had some minor canvass work done and are now ready to continue our adventure on the Great Loop.  Next stop is Fenelon Falls, Ontario.

World famous Peterborough lift lock, the highest one in the world at 65 fee

Built in 1904

Here we are with Limelight coming in

That's Next Dance in the Krogen on the right

We reached the top

These are the top of trees when we look out

Stuff Store in Lakefield

Lakefield Marina

Panacea in Lakefield

Stone Lake with houses built on these granite outcroppings 

This is a church on one of the islands only accessible by boat

They say these granite outcroppings are bright pink when wet

Just another once of a life time on the loop

Leaving Kingston and on to the Trent Severn

I guess I should mention while in Kingston I decided to get a hair cut, just couldn't stand it anymore.  We left Kingston early at 7:00 for a 60 mile trip to Trent where the Trent Severn Locks and river begin.  We pulled into the Fraser Park Marina and were greeted by the owner Craig.  Next day our new starboard prop was delivered and we called diver Dave to come and install the new one and the spare port prop.  Diver Dave had a hard time getting the old ones off but finally by 6:30 pm the new ones where on and the old ones were off to the prop shop for repair.  We left next day, July 24th, for our first stop after going thru eleven locks, Campbellford, ON.  Only thing we did was eat dinner, relax and go to bed.  Left the next morning for another long day of 60 miles and seven locks to Peterborough.  Peterborough has the worlds highest hydraulic lift lock, rising 65 feet.  Now that we have been on the Trent Severn waterway I can say the beauty of the Rideau is still number one.  We arrived here in Peterborough around 6:00 pm and expected our packages, one with Jan's meds and one with the belt for the generator, to be waiting for us to pick up.  Here goes Murphy's Law again, no packages.  Apparently this marina gave me the wrong zip code and they won't be here till Monday.  So while we wait I changed the oil and filters on the engines and did all my checks on battery and engine fluids.  We should be good to go, with oil changes, until Alabama.

My annual haircut

New props ready to be installed

Only 45 locks to go on the Trent Severn

Welcome to Campbellford our fist stop where we spent the night

Peterborough Marina our second stop

Bout time we got here, aye!

Ottawa and the Rideau Canal Locks

We left the marina across from Ottawa on the 8th of July and arrived at the bottom of the first of eight step locks of the Rideau that take you up some 85 feet to the city of Ottawa.  The locks go right through the middle of the city and lots of tourists come over to watch as you go from one lock to the other.  It takes a total of about two hours to complete.  Once we got to the top we tied up to the wall for a couple of days to tour the town.  We also are now in Ontario where the language goes back to English.  If you read our past blogs you'll remember we have a couple banged up props.  I called a boat repair facility in Manotick a week earlier and had them order the props I need replaced so when we get there we wouldn't have to wait.  We left Ottawa on the 10th and headed to Hurst Marina for our new props.  On the way I noticed the upper helm steering was not working.  The good news was the steering in the pilothouse was working.  We arrived at Hurst and checked in to find that the props had not arrived but would be there that day.  Next day I went up to the office and there they were still in the box.  They opened the box and of coarse they sent the wrong size.  Murphy's Law!  After they were on the phone trying to find the correct size it turns out no one in Canada has our size.  They did send over a person on Saturday who found the hydraulic system had no pressure so they added air and also pointed out that the upper helm had a small leak, but the steering was restored.  We left Sunday morning for Merrickville and planned to stay on the lock wall for the night.  When we reached the first lock of the day I went up to the upper helm and hydraulic fluid was everywhere.  The seals on the steering shaft had flailed.  So instead of the wall at Merrickville we went to Alings Marina and boat yard for repairs.  I also ordered a new prop from Virginia where we had our last props fixed and will have it sent to Trent after we visit Kingston.  The seal kit came in to Aling's U.S. mailing address and they loaned us their truck for Jan and I to go on a little road trip across the border to pick it up.  It was good for us to get off the boat and return to the U.S. even if it was for a short time.  They got our pump repaired and we were off on Friday to get as far as possible each day.  The goal was to get to Kingston on Saturday.  Friday night we spent at the lower lock in Newboro that had no power, but we didn't care because we have a generator, an inverter, and batteries.  Murphy's Law took over and the generator belt on the water pump failed and now we can't use the generator.  We made it through the night and left in the morning and pulled into the Confederate Basin Marina at 6:30pm.  I wish we could have spent more time in the Rideau because it was absolutely beautiful.  We ended up staying in two marinas for ten days waiting for repairs when we could of been at any of the several lock walls that all have park like settings.  It's nice here in Kingston which was once the capital of Canada.  The marina is located directly downtown.  I did get a belt ordered for the generator and hopefully it will be in Trent when we get there.  We are leaving tomorrow the 22nd and will be at the Fraser Park Marina until everything is fixed.

Here we go on the Rideau

Waiting to go thru lock one to eight

Eight step locks through Ottawa

Check this off the bucket list

East Parliament Building

The Parliament Building

Changing of the guard

I mean this is the changing of the guard

They do this every day at 10:00am

You got the old guard and the new guard

You would think you're in England

Just after exiting the last dock

Spent the next two nights at the Ottawa wall

Leaving Ottawa on the Rideau Canal

Beginning of the canal

Had to wait for this bridge to open

More things we saw on the way 

Here they open the lock gate manually

The Merrickville lock wall

Merrickville lock was a four step lock

The bridge also opens manually with the lock

Simply beautiful

Here's the guy opening the bridge with a turn wheel 

Beautiful

Here is the green marker with an arrow on the rock for direction

Thought we were on a jungle cruise at Disneyland

What can I say?

Cheap real estate

Here we are waiting for the lock to open

This is what we waited for, a mini cruise boat from Peterbough to Ottawa

Anyone who does the Loop, go to the Rideau

Kingston 

The old capital building of Canada in Kingston before they moved to Ottawa