Completion of the Trent Severn Waterway, including the Big Chute Marine Waterway

After completing the Kirkland lift lock we continued on the Trent Severn Waterway and stayed overnight on a lock wall just before Lake Simcoe. Lake Simcoe is where Mike and Vicky purchased their boat in 2001. We wanted to wait until morning to cross this large lake hoping for smooth water. That worked well and we had a very enjoyable ride across the lake. We passed through Orillia and Lake Couchiching before arriving at the at the Big Chute Marine Railway. This was another adventure that I was looking forward to since 2001.

The railway is actually a mobile platform on rails that loads boats on one side of a hill, transports them across the hill and drops them back into the water on the other side. We had planned to stay on the top side overnight but the docks were all full when we arrived. Luckily there was room at the bottom and we transited the railway before docking for the night. It wasn't as we planned but worked out just as well.

While there neighbors from our condo in Florida, who are Canadians that live in Toronto, picked us up and took us to dinner at a nearby five star resort. We enjoyed the evening with them and had a wonderful meal.

In the morning we watched several looper friends transit the railway before we continued our journey to Georgian Bay. It was really fun watching the process of transiting the boats across the land. The attendants are so knowledgeable and professional and careful with our boats. It is quite the process as the pictures below will show.

I am fascinated, at the engineering from so long ago, that still works so well today. The attendant placed our boat so the rear of the platform was at the rear sling marks on our boat. This allows the running gear to hang off the end of the platform where it won't be damaged. Then they tighten the straps. The straps don't support the boat like a travel lift does, they just keep the boat from tipping. The weight of the boat is supported by the floor of the platform. The front of the car is on one set of rails and the rear is on another set of rails. By building the inside rails and outside rails at different elevations they keep the car level. I find this so interesting.

While riding back to our boat in our friends' car, I noticed a boat channel after a lock that I thought was extremely narrow and twisty.  I was so glad we didn't have to transit that. I was so wrong! After passing the resort where we had dinner with our condo neighbors, we entered the last lock on the Trent Severn. When the doors of the last lock opened there was that narrow twisty channel staring right at us. It was so narrow and tight that steering with the rudders wasn't adequate and I needed to work with the gear shifts also. We made it safely and were headed to Midland, Ontario.

There are two choices to get to Midland and we followed the advice to avoid the Potato Channel. That was a good choice as the other channel was quite intricate and it would have been very easy to run aground onto the rocks. We made it successfully through and into Midland.

This is our buddy boat, Average Looper transiting the Big Chute Marine Railway.

Our boats are too large to travel together on the rail car.

Now it is our turn.

We are approaching the rail car to be loaded.

Every boat has to be positioned just right to prevent damage.

This is a great view. We have crossed the road and are beginning to start going down the hill.

We are actually quite high in the air and it is a photo opportunity for everyone.

These people are other "Loopers".

Looking back as we begin going down the hill.

John from Endeavor is in the white hat and gave us some of the pictures above..

We are almost down the hill.

Exciting!

This is the spillway next to the railway for excess water to flow down.

The car is empty, going to pick up Twelve Stones.

Twelve Stones is entering the car to be loaded.

Now loaded, they are beginning the trip.

Jan and Jane are watching the process while the car crosses the road.

This is  a great way to check your props and rudders.

Twelve Stones' are looking good.

 

Almost down for Twelve Stones.

They produce some serious "hydro" here.

There was a little fog the next morning.

Jane and Jan walking back to our boats, ready for our departure.

I was too busy steering to take any pictures of the tight channel after the last lock.

They would have been good though.

The next blog will be Midland, Ontario.

The Continuation of the Trent Severn, Peterborough to the Kirkland Lift Lock

The water fountain isn't the only Looper attraction in Peterborough! The major attraction for us is the Peterborough Lift Lock. This is a very unusual lock in that it is actually two extra large tubs on hydraulic cylinders, one tub is up when the other tub is down. They fill the top tub with approximately a foot more water than the bottom one so the top one is heavier and it raises the lower one by gravity. Here are a couple of concepts that help understand how it work. First a boat that enters a tub replaces the exact amount of water in weight that the boat weighs and second the lock is fast because the tubs are always filled with water. There is no delay in waiting to fill the lock chamber with water to raise you or drain the water to lower you to the next level as the case may be.

After we transited the lift locks we continued to Fenelon Falls. We had a wonderful visit with our friends Len and Karina Logazar who live in Haliburton, Ontario. Shortly after we arrived in Fenelon Falls Len and Karina picked us up, gave us a tour of Haliburton and took us to their lake cottage. Canadians call homes on lakes cottages no matter how nice they are and Len and Karina's was a beautiful year round home. We enjoyed our visit very much, having drinks on the deck and a wonderful meal later. After breakfast on Saturday morning we attended the Haliburton Art Festival and had lunch in a local restaurant. After lunch they returned us to our boat in Fenelon Falls.

On Sunday we took a bicycle ride with our buddy boat friends, Mark and Jane from Average Looper. While on the ride we came across a family that was shooting rockets into the air with two liter pop bottles and a foot pump. They were having a fun time and we enjoyed watching them and the rocket. It was one of the few hot and humid days we experiences so far and after the ride we were tired. Mark began talking with some teenagers or young adults that were jumping from the open railroad swing bridge. Of course Mark convinced one guy to show him where and how to jump. He did it and he said it was exhilarating. I chose not too participate, he is almost ten years younger than me.

After we departed Fenelon Falls we traveled through Buckhorn Lake and right past the dock of Jim and Sue McGavin. They are condo neighbors in Florida of our friends Tom and Kris Sharping from Minnesota. Jim and Sue were very welcoming hosts and disappointed that we couldn't stay longer. They have a very beautiful home on Kishgo Island and we were sad to move along so quickly. That is the loopers life, so much to see and do but having to keep moving.

This is the fountain that we ran our dinghies through in Peterborough.

Approaching the Peterborough Lift Lock.

Notice the blue and yellow boat along the side of the canal.

We have entered the huge tub.

Again, notice the blue and yellow boat along the side of the canal.

Here the gate is raised and we are ready to go up.

We are starting to go up.

We are part way up.

We will exit this end of the tub up by those gates.

We are passing the other tub going down.

Here we are up waiting to lower the gate for our exit.

This is looking back where we came from at the top.

Now notice the blue and yellow boat along the side of the canal.

This group of young people were not having a lot of fun in the cold weather.

They weren't dressed warm enough.

Some of them asked for a ride instead of canoeing.

This is a church on the Trent Severn that many people attend by boat.

Pretty.

We are at the scenic overlook of Haliburton, Ontario, near Len and Karina's cottage.

The Admiral and Captain.

How foolish we were to not have any pictures of Len and Karina.

We offer our sincere apologies.

Len and Karina's cottage near Haliburton, Ontario.

Rocket science from a different century.

It worked quite well.

Here is Mark getting ready to jump.

Glad it was a hot humid day.

He really did it!

The Trent Severn Canal leading to the Kirfield Lock, another hydraulic lift lock.

This time we are going to go down in the tub.

How will it feel to look off the bow of our boat into the air?

We need that gate lowered to enter the tub.

Now we can enter.

It wasn't as frightening as we expected.

This is the picture Jan was taking in my photo above.

Looking back where we came from.

Beginning to go down.

We are even with the other tub going up.

That is the bottom of the other tub going up as we go down.

Almost down.

Next they open the gate and the extra foot of water flows out before we can leave.

Average Looper exiting this newer modern lock on the Trent Severn.

There are not many of these.

It is prudent to stay in the channel!!!!

This rock shelf was right at the edge of the channel.

How are we going to fit through this?

It wasn't a problem.

The next blog will be the rest of the Trent Severn Waterway.

Until next time.