Tuesday August 29: Lovesick Lock

Oops – forgot to give credit to Rebecca for the great wild rice and edamame salad recipe! It was one the dishes served by a member of her 'Top Chef' group – it was even better cold the next day :-) Sorry ….

It was a pretty nasty day Monday with rain predicted most of the day and thunderstorms later in the afternoon and evening. Good time to just sit a day. The rain came but the storms moved around us - never really went right through where we were. At least we are no longer working on the engine and doing the guessing game of getting it to run the way it should.

Steve did manage a trip to the grocery store across the bridge in between the rain showers. This is where the huge boulder is that the kids would climb on when we went through Buckhorn. He was looking for a movie to rent for the night but we must really be out of it. Of all of the movies, there wasn't more than a handful that we even recognized! What happened to all of the good movies of the world? Oh well, we ended up watching the first part of Bronco Billy. Seems we never make it through a whole movie anymore :-)

The weather front clearly passed by overnight as today was again clear blue skies. Steve was sort of surprised to see the leaves changing colors though. Must be a sign that it's time to head on south. Soon. Meanwhile off we headed toward Lovesick lock.

It's only 6 miles across Lower Buckhorn Lake so less than an hour to travel. We passed by “our” island in Deer Bay. I don't think we came up here with a houseboat without tying up for a night. It's perfect for a boat with pontoons but not as great for a cruiser. The plan today was to arrive early as the lock walls fill up quickly. This is one of two locks on the system that have a one night limit for docking.

Steve of course was off fishing almost before the boat was tied up. He was in his favorite spot: last pillar on the dam. And finally – he was successful! Not a bad size small-mouth bass. Unfortunately for the fish, it swallowed the hook and would not have survived so what were we to do but have the guy for supper? Quite good on the grill ...

Nice place to kayak as well. Steve headed off for parts unknown while I volunteered to stay back and guard the boat in case any of the racoons came out a bit early :-)

There was the cutest little snapping turtle at the marina where we stopped for a pumpout. I was sort of concerned that it would bit me but decided it's mouth wouldn't in any way be able to take a bite out of my finger!

The plan is to leave for NC a week from Friday. We heard from Peter and Cheryl today (on Surona/Deja Vu). We have been following them on their blog (www.surona.blogspot.com) as they made their way north ever since we saw them in South Carolina in June. They were anticipating crossing Lake Ontario tomorrow – weather permitting of course. Our hope is that we can meet them for a few days at they travel the Trent north toward their home port of Midland.

Not sure where we are headed from here – perhaps somewhere on Stony Lake.

Monday August 27: Buckhorn !!!!

It was up and off to the Full Cup for breakfast yesterday and then time to head out. We weren't sure if we were going on to Buckhorn or turning around and going to Birch Point Marina which is on the other side of the lock. It just depended on whether or not the boat would run correctly. The old points were reinstalled and all fingers and toes were crossed :-)

Finally at the end of the channel out of Bobcaygeon and on Pigeon Lake …. Yea!! Up and cruising. Very strange but we are learning that not all points are created equal! Next year no problem as we already have plans on installing electronic ignition which will totally eliminate this issue.

Sitting tied to the lock wall above the lock and watching the in and out of boats was an enjoyable way to spend the day after our again short day of 17 miles. There was an almost constant in and out of small boats and medium size cruisers. It seems all of the large boats are in hiding somewhere! And the loopers are already way north of here as they make their way to Chicago (best to be there by early September).

We're spoiled by the shortness of travel everyday. I'm not sure how we will handle being back on the trawler and moving 50 or more miles per day – everything is so close here on the Trent.

Part of the lock wall here was blocked off with cones as the Kawartha Voyager was due in last night to tie up for the night. As we watched the approach of the Voyager, it seemed impossible that it was going to make it under the bridge! We knew it must, of course, but were watching very closely to see HOW.

Time for it to move into the lock. The radar arch pivoted down to the front and the pilot house moved straight down onto itself – like one of those hi-lo trailers. The captain had a hatch through which he stood to see and control the boat. If you look closely you can see him sticking up through the top of the pilot house!

Once through the lock, up came the radar arch and the top of the pilot house. And down came the nose of the boat – it had been folded up in order to fit into the lock. All very clever.

Steve tried a recipe for a wild rice and edamame salad (along with other good stuff) that turned out really well. Seemed like a lot of cutting and chopping to me but the end result was really good. It was a quiet night (the usual road noise as we are docked right next to the main drag here in Buckhorn.

Off today to Lovesick. Steve is over at Trudy's bait shop for worms and possibly the grocery store for sandwich/lunch stuff. It's a rainy day with thunderstorms rolling in this afternoon – sounds like a good day to be tied up to a lock wall :-)

Sunday August 26: Bobcaygeon

The trip from Fenelon Falls to Bobcaygeon is a relatively short one – only about 15 miles on a perfectly calm Sturgeon Lake. I could just imagine in my mind: reaching the end of the channel and cruising along (now that we could!). Yep – not so much. Give me our diesel engine – PLEASE! It has been about 7 years since we have owned a gasoline fueled boat and we'd forgotten how an issue can be so difficult to track down. Diesel: if it has fuel and no air, it will run. Period.

Not so this gasoline engine. Could be fuel, could be carburetor, could be ignition, could be timing – could be who knows what. All we did was to put in a new set of points – should have run even better, right? Obviously we should have quit while we were ahead. Does make us wonder if it would have been fine with the old points. We'll find out as we have put them back in.

Regardless, we have one or two more things to try and then off to the marina we go. For now, we've enjoyed being in Bobcaygeon and since it hasn't changed much since we were here 3 weeks ago, I dug through old pictures of Bobcaygeon from the late 70's. Hasn't changed much from then either!

But how the people have changed! This is Steve and my Dad and Mom at a picnic table in Bobcaygeon. If I were to guess, there is a chelsea roll on the table for breakfast!

Our boats are in the background: my parent's Starcraft Chieftain and our Rienell.

Playing with a bucket on a string was great fun for the kids. Especially when Becky would be trying to pour it on my Mom! She was pretty game though and as long as Becky was pouring it only on her legs, it was ok :-)

This tree of course is long gone but with the amount of time the kids spent in it, it was their second home. The perfect spot for us to dock was right in the corner by the tree. You would have thought we didn't have trees at home in Ohio (admittedly we didn't have any this big though.).

This picture of Becky jumping off the top of the houseboat kind of epitomizes how summers were up here on the Trent whether on one of our boats or on one of the rental houseboats. Not sure where this picture was taken but it just really tells the story :-)

A sad note. We (maybe I should say I – in fact I'm sure Steve would say I should say I since he actually verbalized my being consciously stupid) may have slipped back into doing something consciously stupid. When we first arrived, I put a spring line that, as you can see, ran right across where we get on and off the boat. Mmmm... is this really a good idea? Seems like it would be pretty easy to trip on that line. No problem, I thought, just step around it.

While good in theory, in practice not quite so much. The only good thing I can say is I tripped on it getting out of the boat rather than getting into the boat. So I landed on the flat wood/ground rather than falling into the boat's uneven surfaces. Nothing broken and hardly any bruises even! Just moving a bit slower for a day or two. No more doing consciously stupid things – at least until this episode is forgotten :-)

It's Sunday and we'll either be headed to Buckhorn or Love Sick – if the boat is running. If it isn't we may have to say 'uncle' and go to Birch Point Marina to have the engine checked out. Time will tell ….

Thursday August 23: Fenelon Falls

Tuesday about noon, it was finally time to leave Orillia. I did the laundry while Steve made one last trip to the auto parts store and then the grocery store. Stocked up for another week or so. The wind was supposed to only be about 10 mph and shifting from south to north so we expected a smooth trip for the 20 miles across Lake Simcoe.

I tried to get a picture of the green water of Lake Simcoe but it wasn't to be. Just to hard to really show in a picture. Regardless, green it was (when the sun was shining). A very pleasant trip although we still could not cruise. Still not sure what that is all about – maybe it wasn't just water in the gas??? Engine is still running well at our normal traveling speed of 1700 rpm.

Once across the lake, we ended up going through 4 of the 5 locks that lead back to Balsam Lake (the highest point in elevation of the Trent System). What a peaceful night. We were the only boat here – no wind and low 60's for sleeping. Staying at the locks are really what we like about this area. Each lock has restrooms that are either keyed or locked with a pass code lock. So when Steve lets the lock master know we are staying, he'll either get the pass code or a key. Only two lock stations never lock the restroom: Swift Rapids (there are no roads to the lock) and Lovesick (also no roads to the lock).

We weren't in any rush Wednesday morning but when we were ready to head out, Steve stopped by the lock station here and let them know we were getting ready to leave. By the time we arrived at the next lock, the doors were open and welcoming – the lock master where we stayed called and let the next lock know we were coming. What service is that??!!!

This series of 5 locks are all hand operated – the same as they were when we traveled the system in the late '50's. One of the lock personnel told us she figured out that on an average day, she walks 8 miles a day just opening the doors (which are opened by walking in a circle)!

Steve drove part of the day and I rode on the front of the boat – probably for the first time. It's a nice place to ride :-)

We arrived at Fenelon Falls having decided to skip Coboconk on this return trip – next year. Guppy is at the front of the pack – I was hoping to be able to pick up the open internet being this far forward and it worked! First job after the engine cooled off: check the timing advance springs in the distributor – the ongoing need to figure out what is the real issue with the engine. Easy – just a few screws, right? Not so fast – both screws heads are in sad shape. Apply WD40. Still no go. Ok – go to plan B: let's just check the set of the ignition points. Mmmm...perhaps this is the problem. The points are hardly opening. Set them to the specs for the engine and call it a day. We would need to wait until morning to take the boat out and test it (there isn't any way to “hold” your spot and we already had our electric paid for).

The sunset from the beach was great. Someone even had the forethought to put an anchor in a very nice place to catch as the foreground for a sunset picture :-)

Many of you probably don't realize it but I really hate it when I am wrong. And because it doesn't happen very often, it's hard to take :-) But up early and out to test the engine before many boats were out and about. Amazing enough – problem solved!!! I said fuel. Steve said ignition system. He was indeed right. There. I've said it in writing. In published writing. Don't fret. It won't happen again.

So it's a good day. No more issues for now - but then it IS a boat :-) Two more weeks to enjoy here on the Trent and then we'll head back to NC and go north to the Chesapeake Bay area for a few weeks.

Cute little 'house' here in Fenelon that is used as an information booth. It's a replica of the small building that was used in the 1920's to provide shelter for the lock operators. I think this was before they began just building homes for the lock operators so they could just live on site with their families. For some time, the locks were open 24 hours a day during the summer season.

Tomorrow: on to Bobcaygeon for the weekend. Hopefully no crazed houseboaters but now we know who to call :-)

Tuesday August 21: Leaving Orillia

It was a gorgeous sunrise Monday morning at Big Chief. One of the calmest nights we've spent at anchor. There were only 4 boats that stayed the night and no loud noisemakers – nice :-) By the way, I was the one that was up to take this picture!

So the question of the morning was: cause and effect – or coincidence??? Sequence of events: Saturday: finally have the thermostat working so the engine is actually running at 160 degrees instead of 100 degrees – Sunday: the boat will no longer plane off and max RPM is 2500 instead of 3600 or so. Runs fine at 1600 RPM (our usual speed). So the question became did getting the engine up to it's proper operating temperature cause the drop in RPM? Or was it just a coincidence?

Out came the thermostat again to check. Steve is getting so he can do this in his sleep! Ok – head the short 4 miles to Orillia and we'll see if the engine still boggs down at 2500 RPM. Fingers crossed, off we go. Mmmm... it really was just a coincidence and not the cause - still bogging down.

Interestingly enough though, upon closer inspection of the thermostat housing Steve found the retaining ring for the thermostat in the housing right were it should be! So with that ring removed, he was able to put the thermostat back into the housing just as it is supposed to be. Well, that's good at least :-) How the thermostat originally got out from under the retaining ring remains a mystery though.

Now on to solving the bogging down problem. One thing I've noticed is that Steve and I both are pretty sure of ourselves (translates to stubborn) when it comes to trying to fix a problem. So I think it is definitely a fuel issue and we need to change all of the fuel filters (there are two of them). He thinks it is in the ignition area so change spark plugs, distributor cap, points etc.

We've seen this before. We talked with Dave. We scoured the internet. So we decided to just do everything! Two test runs: first after the fuel filters were changed. No go. Second phase: change all spark plugs, distributor and rotor. Still no go but better.

Mmmm... maybe it's water in the fuel as we purchased fuel in between when the engine ran fine and when it didn't. Another coincidence??

Fortunately Steve had bought several bottles of dry gas at the auto parts store – put in enough for the amount of fuel in the tank. Slosh it around a bit and while not an instant cure, the engine was definitely running better. Will add more fuel today (and more dry gas) and I think we're good to go. Probably the cold nights and an aluminum fuel tank producing condensation in the tank.

Just when we thought the day was going well again, I tried to be nice and help a boat in that was having trouble with the wind. No problem – we do this all of the time as it's just what boaters do for one another. Sadly, somehow, my face go too close to his boat and it smashed my glasses into my face and off the glasses went – into the drink! Steve was nice enough to jump in and rescue them :-) I've often wondered what we would do if one of us were to lose our glasses – guess I almost found out. And my black and blue eye should be back to normal in a matter of a few days …....

Off to cross Lake Simcoe today. Next internet is Cococonk in a day or so.  

Sunday August 19: Big Chief Anchorage

Saturday morning and off we went. The waterways here are an interesting place – especially on the weekends. Not only do you need to keep an eye out for the many boaters around but also for the every so often seaplane! I was trying to figure out who would have the right of way and whether or not an airplane had to follow the accepted rules of navigation. Decided that it didn't matter – the bigger the vehicle, the more right of way it has, so I yielded to the seaplane!

I've heard tell there are moose in the area but I don't think this guy qualifies :-) Fun to see though but I'm not sure what the paint colors are all about.

Really? We waited until the weekend to go through Big Chute? We should know better but didn't have to wait too long but the boats were sure piling up behind us.

An older Chris Craft that we had first seen at an anchorage in Georgian Bay and then meet again in Port Severn was waiting at Big Chute with us. Its unique configuration requires that air bags be placed under it on the railway car rather than the usual slings. No problem!  It really limited the railway car to this boat and two small runabouts but just amazes me that the railway car was designed to accommodate so many kinds of boats. For a bit of the history, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Chute_Marine_Railway

We made the next load along with a sailboat from Nova Scotia. It just sat on the keel with slings holding the sailboat steady so it didn't tip to one side of the other. The rudder seemed VERY close to touching from my perspective.

The night was spent at the bottom of Swift Rapids Lock. It's quite a view from the walkway across the lock. One more job completed: rerunning the wiring for the speakers for the flybridge. Pretty soon we'll have this boat just the way we want it!

Our own picnic table – what more could we want? Nice dinner on the grill. We seem to be in a rut – but since it's a good one, we'll keep it :-)

We met the gentleman in Trawler Trash at Port Severn. His wife died of brain cancer when she was 60 – she loved boating as well as he did so now he just does short trips from his home near Sparrow Lake. Know anyone that likes to boat?? We really liked the name of his boat as trawler trash is the term some sailboaters use to refer to folks who prefer to have some control over the direction in which they travel i.e. primary source of power is NOT wind :-). We don't mind being trawler trash at all!!

Again, the question was, why are we traveling on a weekend? The Couchiching lock is one of the busiest on a weekend and here we were. Timing of the lock was actually pretty good as we waited only about 20 minutes. In the past we've seen a line up of 15 boats waiting for this lock on a weekend!

The Kawartha Traveler crossed out path on Lake Couchiching. I told Steve that we get too old we would maybe enjoy traveling on it- one more time through the Trent kind of thing. He said maybe when we are 90 …... The dark skies in the background should have been a clue to us as we approached Chief Island where we intended to spend the night at anchor.

One minute we are peacefully at anchor – I'm in the V-berth reading and Steve in the aft cabin for a short snooze. With no one looking out of the windows, the storm crept up quickly and announced itself with a clap of thunder. And wind. Lots of wind. There goes Steve's kayak – blown off of the front of the boat. Good catch with of all things the back anchor that he tossed into the kayak as it was headed for parts unknown. Disaster averted!

Is shore getting closer?? Sure seems like it. Yep - the anchor has broken loose in the last gust of wind (first clue is that we are drifting sideways to the wind rather than being held nose into the wind by the anchor). Get the engine running, get the anchor up (sadly this is Steve's job so he is the one out in the blowing rain :-( ) and drive around until the wind/rain lets up a bit.

It's now a very peaceful night – no storms in the forecast – good for tonight :-)

Saturday August 18: Windblown in Port Severn

The winds started very early in the am on Friday. Not just nice friendly breezy winds but serious winds of 20 mph out of the west with gusts upward to 30. Maybe this is a good day to stay put - especially after watching boats approach the locks here at an angle because the wind was blowing them sideways as the boat moved along.

Good day to continue working to get the temperature of the engine up to where it should be. This has been an ongoing project ever since we bought the boat! First check the thermostat - replace it. Then check the temperature sending unit - replace it. Engine still not getting up to temperature - which wouldn't bother me much except my shower water is drawn off of the engine and if the engine isn't hot then my shower water isn't hot either! This is not acceptable so Steve was game to check it out again. The system just isn't that complicated.

Called Dave - our friend on the sailboat in Baltimore who is an amazing whiz at engine stuff (he is currently rebuilding the engine in his boat before he heads south) - he confirms our thinking. So we examine everything again and come up with what we think is a solution. Start the engine - YES!! The temperature gauge is showing the thermostat is doing it's thing - ahhhh - hot water for the shower :-) High fives around for finally figuring out what was wrong. (There is a retaining ring missing which is to keep the thermostat where it is supposed to sit in the housing - worked around that problem and for now we're good to go :-))

Rented "The Bridesmaids" for our movie of the night. Very funny if you haven't seen it. When we woke up this morning, the wind had finally blown itself out - time to leave. But not before we rode to  a place on the water for breakfast. Steve discovered it yesterday as he was out for a walk.

Our number one goal is to keep every breakfast place along the Trent in business :-)

Odd things: how in the world did this huge chunk of concrete get there??? It's sitting in an area that is an overflow for the lock and while there is usually quite a bit of water flowing here, I can't imagine how this chunk got here. Very strange.

Destination today: not sure. Expected high today is 68 degrees but it's sunny - great day to travel this area. Next populated area will be back to Orillia in a few days time.

Friday August 17: Soggy and Wind Blown in Port Severn

Wednesday morning at anchor in Port Rawson Bay was incredible. Not a ripple on the water. It had been a very quiet night but sadly no meteor shower for us. I may have to check out when the next one is due as it seemed like there were more meteor showers than I ever knew even came around.

There was only one other boat in sight of us. We'll be back to this place for sure!

Wednesday night was spent back at Frying Pan Bay. Once again we were able to just tie to one of the docks rather than anchoring. It's nice to be able to be on shore - Steve takes advantage of the trails around the island. There is a very nice circle path around a small lake - lots of climbing around on the granite rocks.

Thursday morning we were in search of breakfast out at Honey Harbor. We knew there was a nice little cafe just up the street from the public docks - as long it was still there. The last time we were in this area was 2 years ago on the trawler as we made our way around the loop. Success! It was still there :-)  Steve supplied up at the small store while I made a stop at the library which is right next to the town docks. Fueled up at Picnic Island (gas up here is crazy expensive: $5.15 a gallon yesterday but we've paid as high as $5.55 a gallon!) and then headed on to Port Severn.

Pleasant enough travel day - the winds were due in Thursday night along with thunderstorms so Port Severn was the perfect place to be. Steve enjoys riding on the front of the boat but in this boat his feet hang in the water! Much different than riding on the front of the trawler :-)

Finally I was able to rent "The Iron Lady" which I've been wanting to see since it first came out. There is a video rental place here in Port Severn so the plan for the night was a movie. Steve found a very comfortable movie viewing seat in his fold up chair - perfect! Plus it even has a drink holder :-)

The movie was good - not what I expected though. Guess I thought it was a documentary about her life as Prime Minister. Regardless, Meryl Streep was really good in the role. Maybe I'll have to find a book that give more history about her 11 years in office.

The wind and rain did indeed show up as promised. The first clue was when the aft door blew shut in the middle of the night. Sure glad I didn't have my fingers in that door! (I sometimes grab the opening for leverage :-))

Today we start back on the Trent - headed toward Orillia. The weather is windy all week - in hindsight we had an excellent weather week on Georgian Bay. Very little wind and relatively nice days and nights. Will be back online in a few days!

Thursday August 16: Posting from Honey Harbor

Leaving Parry Sound Monday after a leisure morning worked out well. By the time we rounded Two Mile point the sun was out and the rain and clouds had finally moved on. It was a nice day to travel – even though I had jeans and long sleeve shirt on while driving.

There are two ways in and out of Parry Sound. One is from the south through relatively small bays and channels – the other is around the north and through the actual sound with the name of Parry Sound (as opposed to the town of Parry Sound). It was again beautiful ride through the granite islands which liter this area (30,000 islands).

There was one incredibly narrow channel – perhaps the narrowest we ever went through – that was rock on both side. One boat at a time, please :-). You can see the rocks under the water on the left.

But they are even more visible as we passed by on the boat. No straying from the channel here! Although I must admit I was on the wrong side of a buoy again – but in my defense it was totally Steve's fault this time – for real. Distraction. Anyway, the outcome was happy so all is well :-)

More rocks – it's so incredibly clear. I love yet am fearful of this place called Georgian Bay! I think they should have just called it Rock World!

There may be hope for us. We managed to pass by Henry's again. Neither of us really thought we could take deep fried, battered pickerel :-) Just not on our menu any more – and I say that sadly. Regardless, we ended up anchoring Monday night north of Henry's in one of the Provincial Parks. It was overcast for the night so no sighting of the meteor showers. Perhaps tomorrow ….

Steve was up for the sunrise again. Nice start to Tuesday but the weather forecast didn't hold much promise.

We finally pulled up anchor about 10 am even though it was cloudy and rain was predicted – we wanted to explore some of the other anchorages and bays that are nearby. There must be hundreds of places you could go in this area. Too bad we didn't know about this when we traveled with my parents – although I think we made it to Georgian Bay only once or at most two times when we traveled with the Sea Rays.

Ended up picking up a mooring ball (easier than anchoring) in a very nice bay that is quiet on weekdays bt my guess is that it is likely to be crazy on weekends. And of all things – the sun decided to come out! A kayak around the area was definitely in order. Not many fish but we did see a couple of beaver huts.

The most amazing thing: this tiny little pine tree. How it ever decided that this rock was a suitable place to grow is truly amazing! And yet it seems to be just fine. Often we'll see trees blown down that have a big root system but it is very shallow. Hopefully this little one will make it – guess we better stop back to check :-)

The evening began with Steve barbequing on the aft deck. The sky is still clear so we are VERY hopeful that we'll be able to see the meteor showers tonight. The peak was to have been Saturday night when we were socked in in Parry Sound. Fingers crossed …..

Added note: set the alarm for 1 am - tons of stars out but for some reason it was still quite light out - weird. Anyway, Steve saw one meteorite but I missed it. Off to bed ......