Thursday June 20: No Rest for the Wicked

There was still no rest for Steve yesterday as he continued to tackle the arduous job of refinishing the teak on the boat.

He finished removing the varnish from the aft deck and then tackled the job of the flybridge steps. I'm WAY glad this was a Steve job - lots of sweating going on :-)

It will be worth it in the end but what a job.

My chosen task for the day was to begin the installation of the depth finder in the lower helm station. This will make the lower helm totally complete if (rather, when) we need to travel in not-so-great weather in Georgian Bay/North Channel.

Of course there are already a zillion wires under the control panel but at least it was readily accessible and I didn't have to crawl under anything!

The installation went well (we had brought our set of large hole saw bits with us) and when I turned it on it actually worked! I'm getting way better at electrical things :-)

The 19.9 feet is just a decal as the depth here at the dock is really only about 5 feet.

Next step was to test if the transducer would give an accurate reading thru the hull of the boat. Tested and looks ok. After we check it at cruising speed, the transducer will be glued to the floor of the boat using slow cure epoxy. I consider this job done :-)

Sunrise this morning was exceptional. And I was the one that actually took this picture while Steve slept! Of course I went back to sleep so maybe that doesn't count ....


A trip around town after breakfast led us to the local Dollar Store and the Giant Tiger discount store. When we walked in the door there was this giant folding camp chair that I couldn't resist.

Do you suppose anyone really buys these??? Very odd.

We also passed a bakery for Wendy along the way. Orillia must be pretty with it to have a bakery that has over 60 gluten free items! Guess they have actually gotten the jump on Dunkin' Donuts who is now offering gluten free donuts.

Steve chose his job carefully today: lots of tedious measuring and cutting but not the intense labor of stripping the wood.

The wood strips on the steps in/out of the boat need refinished and actually are quite slippery anyway so he decided to replace the wood strips with an anti-skid material. Great idea and the result is nice looking as well.

I chose not to do anything today :-)

As the boats continue to flock into the marina, we are revisiting our decision to stay until Saturday!

This weekend is "Christmas in June" and there will be virtually no dock unfilled. Already it is madness and it's only Thursday night .......

But everyone is nice enough - we'll see how late the partying goes on tonight.

Let's hear it for earplugs.

Tuesday June 18: A Great Place to Be - Orillia!

We enjoy being in Orillia because you just never know what you'll see and what might be going on :-)

One of the dock guys here was walking around on the dock with his hawk. Best way to keep the seagulls from sitting on the wall around the marina! I've seen plastic one before but never a REAL one on patrol.

And of course there was the chocolate lab whose job was to keep the docks clear of sea gulls. One word from her master and off she went down the length of the docks to chase the birds away.

Sure beats washing the bird dirt off of all of the docks!

One of the best things about being here is the availability of whatever we need to complete our remaining projects (said like there is ever an end!). Steve decided to start working on the teak.

Someone decided to varnish it which just really does not work because of the oil which is naturally in the teak wood (hence it doesn't rot - which makes it perfect for boats). So first job is to remove the varnish using paint remover. Not a fun job - another one of those jobs which most certainly had Steve's name on it :-)

Meanwhile the cold, rainy weather of the past week or so reminded me that it was imperative to be able to move the chartplotter to the driving station down below. Sadly, unlike the trawler, when it is raining driving cannot be done from the flybridge - well, I guess it could but definitely isn't going to be me!

So I spent the time adding a 12-volt outlet to the flybridge dash (who said a wood drill bit can't cut through aluminum - just don't think it'll ever cut wood anymore :-)) and wiring the chartplotter plug to the appropriate 12 volt plug in. Success :-)

The day was complete with a nice sunset or at least some nicely colored clouds as we can't really see the sun set from the docks.

Today started with breakfast at the Rec Center. They are willing to prepare breakfast potatoes with no oil so we're totally in! This is the view from the restaurant - it's right across the street from the entrance to the Narrows off of Lake Simcoe.

The city has lots of fun sailboats sitting around. Much like the guitars in Cleveland, etc. Funny how many cities we've been to that have embraced this idea of local artists creating original work which is displayed around the city.


Just fun to look at!









Of course, more projects. Another one on the "must be done" list was to get the electronic ignition installed and working correctly. We tried this when we first put the boat in the water but then ended up having to just put points back into the distributor. It's time since we are not able to really "cruise" the way the boat is designed to.

So first Steve cleaned the inside of the distributor with the dremel to remove any rust that might be causing a bad ground connection. Put in the electronic ignition (nice little kit from Petronix), go for a test ride and ..... no improvement.

Back to the dock. Let's try retiming the engine.

Great plan!!

Back out to the lake to check and YES!!!! We now have a boat that cruises at 29 mph at full speed and at 21 mph at a reasonable speed (which means we're not burning fuel at a crazy, crazy rate with the 4-barrel carburetor in this thing). How great to have that issue resolved :-)



Odd things happen around here. I swore I heard bagpipes but decided it was my imagination. Not so - just the local legionnaires practicing! (You may want to turn your volume on to really enjoy the video :-))

Sunday June 16: Orillia

We left Coboconk yesterday a bit before noon and traveled to the Kirfield Lift Lock. Not a very long day but it gave us a nice jump to then move to Orillia today.

You can see our meanderings from when Becky left last Monday from Fenelon Falls.

The Summit Festival was still in full swing when we left with the antique boat show finishing up at 1 pm. These boats are amazing and the shine on what I assume is mahogany is something else. Not sure how old most of these boats were but someone sure spends a lot of time keeping them in pristine shape.

It was another really nice day to travel with much of the way spent on the relatively narrow canal dug from the shale rock that makes up this region.

The rock shelves on the side beckoned us but we managed to stay in the center of the channel :-)

 Even the wide areas weren't really all that wide as right off of the channel was mostly shallow water with lots of seaweed.

It's amazing to know that much of this canal was dug during a time with no mechanized digging equipment.

We ended up at the bottom of the lift lock as only one of two boats there for the night. It was early afternoon when we stopped so Steve took the opportunity to finally get our new anchor hooked up.

The anchor that was originally on the boat is not very good to use to anchor where the bottom is weeds (actually no anchor is really very good in weeds) so we replaced it with a heavier CQR style anchor.

The one on the trawler has worked really well for us so it seemed like it might be a good idea to go with a winner. Of course among boaters the "best anchor" is a subject similar to politics and religion - something to be avoided!

It rained most of the night last night - which is actually something that's enjoyable to hear. A plus is that we no longer have any leaks - yea! So we know nothing is getting wet as we enjoy the sound of the rain.

It wasn't until about noon that the rain cleared out and left overcast skies and somewhat misty moments as we headed out. Destination was below the last lock on the way to Lake Simcoe. Our thought was to just cross early in the morning (the wind typically dies down at night). The travel through the 5 hand operated locks was relatively painless as we were the only boat traveling our direction. Cutbacks on the staff at the locks is very evident as each team of two lockmasters covers 2 different locks. They drive from one to the next with about a mile or so between the locks.

So much for plan A! Once we arrived at the entrance to Lake Simcoe (about 3:15) it was calm enough to just go for it. The distance is about 20 miles and the day was still warm enough to drive from the flybridge. The wind had kicked up a bit by the time we arrived at the Narrows so we were glad to be in and tied up to the dock - especially when the dark clouds started rolling in!

It was one of the most amazing storm clouds I've ever seen. The second round was even MORE spectacular with a very definitive line where the storms clouds ended. One side of the storm went west of us over Barrie and the other went east of us toward Fenelon Falls.

 We were quite happy to NOT be on the Lake!!!

So we're here now for 3 days - who knows, maybe longer. Projects for the boat are still on the list and this is a good place to get anything we need.

Saturday June 15: Coboconk!

We finally decided it was really time to leave Fenelon Falls after staying 5 nights.

Many projects were completed so now it was time to start moving again - and the weather was perfect! Sunny skies and warm weather. The only lock we needed to go through was Rosedale. It's always a nice lock but with Fenelon Falls so close, I'm not sure we ever stay there.

Steve worked for a day and a half on the flybridge. It's amazing how this boat grows when trying to get it cleaned up. Good thing removing oxidation and waxing is a Steve job :-)

My project was to finish up the shower in the bathroom. With the wood blocks now firmly attached to the ceiling, it was time to put the track up.

A trip to the dollar store for curtain hooks and I was good to go. Job done. This was a great improvement - sorry that Becky wasn't around to take a shower in the new improved bathroom! Maybe next year :-)

On our way out of Rosedale we passed what is now a home. But it used to be an ice cream store. I remember stopping here when we were kids. One time we left the dock only to discover we had left my youngest brother, Dick, behind! After all, with 5 kids on a 21-foot boat, it would be easy to do.

Rather than going back to the dock, my dad told him to just swim over to the boat!

Once in Coboconk, we found out it was the Fresh Water Summit Festival this weekend. Sounded like some fun things going on to celebrate Coboconk being on Balsam Lake: the highest point on the Trent system. Up until now we have been going upstream. Once we cross Balsam Lake and continue moving toward Georgian Bay, we'll being going downstream.

Our favorite 'junk' store (really like a dollar store) produced some great finds.

Steve thought about the skull belt just in case we attended another MTOA rendezvous where pirate dress was needed. He ended up passing on it.

But we bought some other great stuff: wire brushes, liquid epoxy to install the depth finder, a grater so Steve can grate the ginger (I don't like ginger but he says I do as long as it's grated small enough), a small container of 4 little single use tubes of super glue (great for 'stitching up' a cut), a new shower head along with the swivel holder, trash bags (they charge 2 to 5 cents for plastic bags at the grocery stores here - our usual trash bags) and a couple of storage containers.

Steve is headed back this morning to pick up some Craftsman screwdrivers that were $1 each. What a buy!

This really neat 1957 Larson boat docked behind us for a while. I loved the taillights! The owner said they really work too.


There was a small boat parade as a part of the festival - this is the dalmation mascot of the Fire Deparment.

And what a better way to finish the night than with fireworks!

Right over our boat. Literally.

The closest we've ever been to fireworks before!

Wednesday June 12: Still in Fenelon Falls!!

As nasty a day as Monday was (we took Becky back to Toronto to catch a late afternoon flight), Tuesday was just the opposite. Sunny and fairly warm. We're still in Fenelon Falls at the same spot as we were when Becky left – it's really a great spot! It was a good work day as we managed to get the laundry done, picked up a second new battery in Bobcaygeon and got the car returned to Lindsay.

Having a car occasionally definitely spoils us :-)

Dinner was perch on the grill – still left from the fishing on Sturgeon Lake on Sunday. Good thing Becky wanted to fish! It was great.

Today was a full fledged work day as we decided to spend yet another night here. During the busy season there is a two day limit for staying at the lock wall here but with only one or two other boats each night, the lockmaster had told us to stay as long as we like. I think we may be here for the summer :-)

First job for me was getting shower curtains installed in the bathroom. Right now a shower requires a very careful directing of water so as to not splash all over the place. The bathroom is mostly waterproof anyway but it's a pain cleaning it up after a shower.

Step one was to cut the salad fork and spoon Becky found into small pieces. These will be glued to the ceiling then the shower track will be attached. The fiberglass is too thin to screw into without the wood.

Next was to cut small pieces of the fabric on the ceiling off and glue the wood blocks in place. These need to dry 24 hours so the job will continue tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Steve started removing the varnish which is on the teak. It looks pretty bad but this may be a job for another day.

Instead he decided the loose railing was a higher priority so after a bike trip to the marina for screws and the hardware store for caulking, it was job done!

Fun job of the day was to finally apply the fish decals I found for Steve for Christmas. Becky suggested putting them on the sides of the flybridge – we agreed!     

Steve was very happy with the results!! 

And he also like the one for the back of the boat as well. Funny that we stumbled on the design in Jacksonville Beach. It was the hand stamp they used as proof of payment for being on the pier there.

Worked well for us :-)

Who knows – maybe we'll actually leave tomorrow :-)

Update: it's now Thursday noon and I'm still at the library - maybe we'll leave tomorrow!