July 25 – Long Island Locks
The Human Powered Swing Bridge
Only a couple of bridges at the locks on the Rideau System are automated. The single lane bridges at these locks are primarily constructed of wood and most of them have to be swung by hand.
If you ever thought your job was running you around in circles then you will have some empathy with this fellow & his colleagues.
Follow this link to a short video that I have posted on YouTube:
Cheers!
July 25 – Newsflash Long Island Locks
45°15′7″ N 75°42′10″ W
It’s been raining in the Ottawa area for several days now. It rained really heavy last night & it’s still coming down pretty hard. Apparently the amount of rainfall in the area has been setting some records.
A few days ago I was tied up at Hartwell Locks, which are beside Carleton University campus.
I just heard on CBC Ottawa radio that there is flooding at various locations throughout the city – including at Hartwell Locks, where the canal is overflowing onto the adjacent street.
I am currently docked below the dam at Long Island Locks.
If water starts to come over the dam wall then maybe it’s time for me to move.
Stay tuned 🙀
July 24 – Long Island
45°15′7″ N 75°42′10″ W
On Tuesday I moved Santosha about 5 NM further south from Black Rapids to the locks at Long Island. These locks are close to the town of Manoutick which is only a few minutes from Ottawa by car.
Rain was forecast for the entire day but thankfully if was limited to mostly drizzle while I was traveling.
There are 3 locks at Long Island – all joined together to achieve a total change in elevation of 25 feet.
I tied Santosha up at the dock beside the entrance of the lowest lock. It overflows like a waterfall when boats are goin through it.
Despite the rain there was a lot of boat traffic going up & down the locks so I had plenty of entertainment throughout the day.
Shortly after 4:00pm the Kawartha Voyager, a 120 foot long river cruise boat from Peterborourgh, Ontario tied up at the dock in front of the upper lock. This boat can carry 45 passengers plus the crew & has a series of scheduled cruises each summer on the Rideau Canal, the Trent – Severn & the Bay of Quinte.
The Kawartha Voyager has some very unique design features. Portions of the superstructure on the upper deck, including the wheelhouse, can be lowered several feet hydraulically to allow it to pass under fixed height bridges on the canals. The photo above shows the roof over the top back deck lowered down.
In addition, the bow of the boat can be “folded up” when it goes through the locks. This feature allows the boat to have several additional feet of deck space on the bow for guests to relax on.
The boat will go through the locks at 9:00am on Wednesday morning. I am lucky to have a front row seat to watch the passage.
Cheers!
July 23 – Black Rapids
45°19′17″ N 75°41′56″ W
Monday was my second day at Black Rapids. I had a couple of small projects lined up.
My first task was to replace the boat registration number decals on the flybridge. I wanted to get this job before it started raining again.
The decals that I put on this spring were black but the boat name decals are blue. I had new numbers made up in the same colour as the boat’s name.
Removing the “old” numbers with a razor blade scraper was easy but the adhesive glue left a residue on the side of the boat & it took a lot of scrubbing to get it off.
My next project was to relocate the power inverter from inside the engine room to a cooler location. Just like a computer, the electronics in the unit have to stay relatively cool – so being mounted in the engine room is not a good idea. Each time the engine runs the heat that radiates from it causes the little cooling fan on the inverter to run constantly. This is hard on the unit plus, every time I stop the engine the inverter fan continues to run for well over an hour, trying to cool the unit down. When I’m not plugged into shore power that is putting an unnecessary drain on the batteries.
I had a limited number of choices where I could put the inverter because of the length of the cables that were connecting it to the batteries. My solution was to relocate it to a spot inside the electrical wiring cabinet. This will be a much better place for it.
By the time those two jobs were done it was after 2:00pm & I was pooped. I fixed myself some lunch & then had a nap.
When I woke up around 4:00 it was pouring rain & the showers were forecast to continue well into the evening. Oh well, that gives me some time to do some reading & to watch some TV.
The rain was coming down so hard that I had to close all of the windows on the boat. Thankfully I had shore power so I could run the air conditioner to stay cool.
Cheers!
July 22 – Black Rapids
45°19′17″ N 75°41′56″ W
Sunday morning I moved from Hartwell Locks to the locks at Black Rapids.
This was my first time to go through the locks single-handed. Fortunately Santosha was the only boat each lock so that was one less thing for me to worry about. I went through the first lock at Hog’s Back Falls & then another at Black Rapids.
The weather forecast was not promising. Rain & even thunderstorms were to occur throughout the day. Fortunately I only had to endure light showers while traveling from point to point.
The locks at Black Rapids are further away from downtown Ottawa & very close to the airport. I had reached my 2-day limit at Hartwell so it was time to move on.
I had just tied up at my new location & the heavens opened up & it poured for about 20 minutes.
There was a group of people beside the lock huddling under a sunshade. After the rain stopped I went over to talk with them & learned that they were participating as officials in a canoe & kayak race from Kingston to Ottawa.
Before too long a bunch of soggy kayakers came around the bend, hopped out of the water, checked in with the race officials & then made a portage to the lower side of the lock & continued on their journey. Now that’s dedication!
Shortly after lunch Wayne came by & took me to nearby Canadian Tire & Loblaws stores for some hardware & grocery provisions. Wayne is also going to help me with my tachometer project. He has a workshop at home & is making a faceplate for the upper helm station that will hold the tachometer.
The forecast for Monday is for more rain. I have electricity at this sight so I have a few more maintenance projects lined up that will be easier to complete with my power tools.
Cheers!