August 18 – Smiths Falls
44°53′43″ N 76°1′22″ W

Today was a layover day in Smiths Falls. We were going to take advantage of having a car & do some touring around the area as Ed has to leave for home tomorrow (Sunday).

Before we went for a drive I wanted to move Santosha a few feet to a different mooring spot. I also wanted to check the engine because I had to add a liter of coolant to the engine the day before & that was not a good sign – there must be a small leak forming somewhere. Hopefully just a loose hose clamp somewhere.

When I crawled down inside the engine compartment my worst fears were realized. The bilge underneath the engine was full of engine coolant. There was a major leak somewhere! A quick look around the engine with a flashlight revealed the source of the problem. One of the hoses leading from the engine to the hot water tank was laying against an engine motor mount & the constant vibration of the engine had worn a hole through the hose.

The hole must have started to leak a couple of days before & then finally broke through yesterday while we were en route to Smiths Falls. It’s a miracle that the engine didn’t overheat during the last segment of our trip!

Thankfully the hole in the hose was in a spot that was easy to access. We drove over to a nearby Canadian Tire store & picked up some supplies to make a repair. The repair only took a few minutes but the cleanup job in the bilge took a couple of hours hours!

After that job was done we went over to the marina building for a shower & headed out on our road trip adventure.

I took Ed to the locks at Jones Falls. It took us about 45 minutes by car. The same journey on Santosha will take me almost 2 days!

Photo below: the dam at Jones Falls. Amazing construction in the 1830s & still in service today!

After exploring the locks & the Hotel Kenny we returned to Smiths Falls. A crowd was gathering in the park beside where we were docked & a rock band was setting up their instruments. We were docked beside Smiths Falls’ first annual gay pride celebrations!

Thankfully the band was pretty good because in our location we had no choice except to listen to it – unless we were willing to leave the boat & go somewhere else until it was all over.

The hosts of the event announced that there was lots of cake left at the refreshment stand so Ed & I wandered over to check out the band & have some dessert!

Most of the people around the band stage & the refreshment stand were under 20 so Ed & I stuck out like a couple of sore thumbs but it was an “open to all” event, so why not, eh!

The cake was so good that we went back for seconds. Besides, the first pieces were pretty small.

Cheers!

August 17 – Smiths Falls
44°53′43″ N 76°1′22″ W

We got up early & continued on our journey to Smiths Falls.

Photo above: sunrise on the lock turning basin in Merrickville.

The group of charter boats was headed in the same direction & I wanted to get out in front of most of them so we wouldn’t have to wait too long at the remaining locks along the way. I also wanted to arrive in Smiths Falls by early afternoon because I had booked a rental car for the weekend & their office closed at 4:30 Friday afternoon & did not open again until Monday morning.

The weather was pretty much the same as the day before – scattered light showers.

A few of the boats that we travelled through the locks with were having trouble with their engine cooling systems. The weeds in the water were so thick that their cooling water intakes were plugging up as fast as they could clear them. I had been keeping a close eye on my engine as well but thankfully I have not had that problem yet (touch wood).

We arrived in Smiths Falls shortly after 1:00pm with plenty of time left to pick up the rental car.

No G&T upon arrival today – at least not until after we pick up the car & get it safely parked close to Santosha.

Cheers!

August 16 – Merrickville
44°54′58″ N 75°50′17″ W

Thursday we travelled from Long Island to Merrickville. It rained off & on through the day but not hard enough to force us off the flybridge & into the lower (enclosed) helm station.

At the Burritts Rapids Lock we caught up with a group of 7 LeBoat charters. It was a pretty busy scene as some of the skipoers were maneuvering there boats to raft up with others in their group.

At the next lock (Lower Nicholsons) we encountered a group of 26 kayakers on a trip from Kingston to Ottawa. There was a mixture of adults & teens in the group & they were participating in a fund-raising effort “Kayaking for Cancer”. They were camping each night at a Lockstation along the way & having a good time despite the rain. A determined bunch, for sure.

We arrived in Merrickville at 2:30pm & managed to secure one of the last available dock spots on the overnight wall. The rain had finally ended & the sun made an appearance.

The group of charter boats arrived shortly after we got Santosha tied up. Time for a relaxing drink & watch the world go by us.

Photo above: the LeBoat “fleet” arrives in Merrickville.

Cheers!

August 15 – Long Island Locks
45°15′1″ N 75°42′9″ W

We were up at 7:30 this morning & had breakfast over by 9:00 – in case the lock master decided to bring us up first. Unfortunately, we had to wait for boats to come down, so we didn’t get underway until 10:30. This was a slow start to our day.

Once we were in the locks Ed had his “baptism by fire” – 8 locks in a row.

Ed had his hands full, because we were the only boat in the locks & by the time we were traveling up they were lined with tourists & everyone was asking him questions about the boat & our trip.

Everyone had a few chuckles when we took pictures of people taking pictures of us.

By the time we got through the final lock it was past noon so we tied up on the wall downtown across from the National Arts Center, had lunch & then walked over to the Farm Boy store in the Rideau Centre for a few more provisions.

Then we were off again. I wanted to get as far as possible to make up for some lost time and we managed to get through the locks at Hartwell (double), Hogs Back (single), Black Rapids (single) & Long Island (triple). In total we managed to get through 15 locks today. That was enough for anyone. Well done, Ed. Time for a G&T!

We finished the afternoon with a refreshing swim off Santosha’s swim platform. The water was beautiful – 81 degrees F.

Thursday we have an early start & head for Merrickville.

Cheers!

August 14 – Lock 8, Ottawa
45°25′36″ N 75°41′56″ W

We left Montebello at 9:30am & headed up river to Ottawa. We were making much better speed against the current than I thought we would. Traveling, with the current to Montreal a few days ago we frequently made over 8 knots so I figured we would lose 2-3 knots in speed coming back but we managed to maintain 6.5 knots most of the time.

Ed looked after the helm while I prepared lunch & we ate underway. I tried my best to interest him in one of my famous Spam special sandwiches but he declined. Oh well, all the more for me!

Photo above: The Prime Minister’s residence. I would have like to stopped to say hello but the PM’s place is one of the few on the river that has no dock. 🙂

Photo below: Ed checks out the view of the Parliament Buildings as we approached the lock entrance.

We arrived at the lower lock in Ottawa at 4:00pm but unfortunately that was too late in the day to travel up the locks so we had to spend the night on the dock. That was disappointing but at least we had a nice place to tie up & the view was fantastic.

Photo above: the Chateau Laurier Hotel.

Photo below: Sunset over Hull, Quebec

Lots of tourists were walking by & we even had requests to take people on sightseeing tours. Maybe that’s something I should consider. Hmmmm, I wonder if Catherine would be interested in a bigger boat? I’d better sleep on that first.

Cheers!