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Santosha’s Winter Home – Aylings Boatyard Merrickville, ON

Santosha was hauled out this past Thursday afternoon.

Once she was “on the hard” I winterized the plumbing & the engine & took the balance of stuff off the boat that needs to go home to London with me.

This morning my fiberglass guy started to sand the antifouling paint off the boat’s bottom. Now that’s one tough job to do! The dust from the sander was unreal!

After several hours of work he concluded that the paint was much too hard for efficient sanding & recommended that it would be much better to hire another contractor who has the equipment to strip the hull using an abrasive blasting media – probably soda, dry ice or glass pellets. We are arranging for quotes from several contractors & will make a decision next week. Time to dig deep into the piggy bank 🙀. BOAT!!

I’m anxious to get home so I’ll drive back to London tomorrow & make the contractor arrangements remotely. Hopefully they can complete the work within the next 2-3 weeks.

Fall is setting in quickly now. The weather here through the day is beautiful in the low to mid 20s but the nights have been chilly at 5 to 7 above freezing. It’s working wonders on the fall colours. They will probably peak just before Thanksgiving.

I took the photo below from the bridge at Burritt’s Rapids.

This next photo was taken from the bridge in Merrickville at the river “bypass” around the Parks Canada locks. I’m still trying to get a handle on the special effects app on my iPhone.

On the way back to the boat this evening I was also treated to a flypast & high level roost by this crane.

Nice images to close out Santosha‘s 2019 Rideau Cruise.

Cheers!

Santosha is currently tied up to a dock at Aylings Boatyard in Merrickville. She will be hauled out for winter storage on Wednesday afternoon. I’ve had a great summer travelling with family and friends on the Rideau System.

Here is a summary of Santosha’s travels this year:

Thanks again to everyone who spent some time with me. Lots of fun & good memories to get us through the winter, eh!

I will post some info about winterizing Santosha along with some work that “Jay, the fiberglass guy” will be doing below the waterline later this week.

Cheers!

Overnight at Aylings Boatyard in Merrickville

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Today was the last day of my journey with Mike & Pennie & it was also Santosha’s last day of cruising for 2019.

We had tied up in the basin at Smith Falls above the Combined Locks. Our journey today would take us through the Combined Locks, Old Slys, Edmonds, Kilmarnoch & then finally through the three locks at Merrickville.

But, before we cast off I took Pennie & Mike for breakfast at the Roosteraunt! This was a great way to start our day.

Our journey from Smiths Falls to Merrickville was uneventful except for some heavy looking skies, the occasional raindrops & a beautiful black cat on the trawler that went through the locks with us. His “people” told us that he loves the boat & often takes command of the flybridge.

We got through the three locks at Merrickville around 1:00pm & headed directly over to Aylings Boatyard.

After tying Santosha up securely we walked into the village & had lunch at a local cafe. Then I drove Pennie to Kingston in my car (to pick up their car) while Mike stayed aboard Santosha.

Pennie & I were back in Merrickville just before 6:00pm. Mike & Pennie helped me take down Santosha’s bimini & then we BBQ’d a pork tenderloin for supper.

I am feeling a bit sad at having reached the end of my cruising adventures for 2019 but I am also ready to go home. I’ve been away for 3 months. I spent the first month working on Santosha on the hard & then the past two months cruising up & down the Rideau between Merrickville & Kingston. It’s been a great summer with lots of memories.

We were up early the next morning to a beautiful sunrise. Heavy mist on the water reminded us that fall is quickly approaching.

Pennie & Mike had to head back to Goderich. We had a great trip together. Be sure to come back next year for an adventure on the Trent Severn System!

Aylings Boatyard will haul Santosha out on Wednesday, September 18. Jay, “the fiberglass guy” is going to refinish the bottom for me between the 19th & 21st & then she will go into a storage shed for the winter. I will post some details & photos of that project & also about winterizing Santosha’s engine & plumbing.

Cheers!

I have been a delinquent blogger & fallen several days behind in my postings. Sorry about that 🙀. Here is a brief update on what’s been happening:

Saturday August 31:

Catherine & Emily & I travelled from Lower Brewers Lockstation to Kingston. That was the end destination point of our trip together.

Emily & I finally got a game of Backgammon in the night before.

We arrived in Kingston in the early afternoon & spent the next couple of days at Confederation Basin Marina in downtown Kingston. We especially enjoyed the hot showers!

BBQ’d ribs for supper!

Sunday September 1:

We had a slow start to our day & then took the ferry over to Wolfe Island to have lunch at a local restaurant then back on the ferry to Kingston to explore the downtown area. Early in the evening Catherine & I went to see the movie “Yesterday” at a downtown cinema.

It was a great movie with a lot of Beatles songs in it. Well worth seeing.

Emily opted to hang out on the boat & do a bit of shopping downtown.

Monday September 2:

Catherine & Emily took the morning train home to London. I was sad to see them go. cheered myself up by doing laundry & making updates to the Spanda & SET Togo websites.

Support Education Togo (SET) is an international charity established by Don & Heather Barclay & their family & friends. Catherine worked with Heather in London for several years & have been friends ever since.

Heather & Don needed some assistance with updating their website so I have been helping them out.

Their education charity has accomplished a lot for children in Togo. Please visit the website & make a donation if you can. https://supporteducationtogo.org/#

Tuesday September 3:

My friends Mike & Pennie Meadows from Goderich Yacht Club joined me in Kingston. They arrived just before supper. Dinner at a nearby pub! We stayed overnight at the marina in Kingston & headed out towards Ottawa the next day.

Wednesday September 4:

We got provisions at the downtown grocery store in Kingston in the morning & then started out on our next adventure.

Pennie took this photo above of a local fellow riding his motorized paddleboard in the bay just in front of the bascule bridge in Kingston. Very cool to watch him zip around on this thing.

The locks have now started operating on their fall schedule so we just barely made the last lift up at Kingston Mills.

Photo above – on the lower level blueline dock at Kingston Mills.

Our first night was stop (Wednesday) was at Lower Brewers Lockstation.

Thursday September 5:

Thursday morning we set out for Jones Falls. We arrived there just in time to get the last lift up for the day.

Pennie took the photo below while we were on a little side trip on our way to Jones Falls. Let’s just say that I took Santosha down a very shallow little channel that we should not have been in & I was darn lucky to get out! At least we got a great photo of the turtles sunning themselves!

Friday September 6:

We had a short trip to Chaffeys Lock & stayed overnight at the upper side of the lock. Dinner at the Opinicon Bar & then ice cream at the Ice Cream Shoppe!

Pennie & Mike couldn’t agree on who had the biggest cone!

But cooler heads prevailed & they made up & settled their dispute.

Today was also a special family day – my son Steve’s birthday.

Happy Birthday Steve!

I won’t disclose his exact age but let’s just say he’s “getting up there” & holding up well.

We had a very nice docking spot at Chaffeys – just across the channel from some local boathouses. Mike took this photo below. Very peaceful & idyllic setting, eh – but not for long!

Saturday September 7

We had an exciting start to our morning! About 10:00 pm the night before we were just getting ready to head off to bed when we heard a brief “bang”. It sounded like someone had fallen or dropped some lawn chairs on the dock. We looked out the windows to see what happened but saw nothing & heard no further noises so we all went to bed.

This is what we saw the next morning. Remember those boathouses across the channel?

The driver missed the corner, ran off the road, down the bank & ended up in the boathouse.

Apparently the driver was a “bit” inebriated & he simply crawled out of the car unharmed & then wandered off somewhere to sleep it off. Crazy things happen – it’s a miracle that nobody was hurt!

With the morning off to an exciting start we headed out towards Smiths Falls-our destination for the day. We arrived at 3:30 & decided to have dinner at a local sports bar & watch the Women’s US Open Tennis Match Final. I’m not really a very big tennis fan but we had a great time. The bar was packed with fans all cheering on our young Canadian star Bianca Andreescu!

Cheers everyone!

Overnight at Lower Brewers

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Today we traveled approximately 20 kilometers from Jones Falls to the Lower Brewers Lockstation.

Today is also a special day because it is my grandson Levi’s 18th birthday! Happy Birthday Levi!

We called him at his parent’s home in Golden, BC & had a good chat. Nowhere nearly as good as being together but we were glad to catch up with him on this special day.

Last summer Levi & his mom & dad travelled with me on Santosha from Ottawa to Montreal. We had a great time. I hope we can have another adventure together next year.

I took the photo below of Levi last year when we stopped at the marina at the Chateau Montebello. The resort & the dinner were both very impressive!

There are 4 locks at Jones Falls. The upper one is separated from the 3 step locks by a pond/turning basin. The view from the top of the 3 step locks is impressive.

While we were passing through the locks one of the Parks Canada staff was telling me that over the next two winters all of the locks at this location will be entirely rebuilt.

Many of the stones in the lock walls are beginning to break down from age & need to be replaced. Rather than replacing individual blocks the entire lock will be rebuilt using all new stone.

This very challenging project will be further complicated by the fact that it has to be rebuilt following strict material standards in order for Parks Canada to maintain the UNESCO World Heritage Site designation.

We arrived at Lower Brewers Lockstation around 1:30 in the afternoon, had a light lunch & then a nap. After our nap Catherine & I walked over to the artisan’s shop on the other side of the canal at took at the things that he & his wife make. She focuses on painting & jewelry & he focuses on metal sculptures. They also have a very nice walking path alongside the canal with lots of interesting exhibits along the way.

Emily made dinner tonight-pasta-her specialty. Very delicious! After dinner Emily & I had a round of Backgammon while Catherine did the dishes & worked on her needlepoint. Life is good!

Tomorrow we will arrive in Kingston in mid afternoon

Cheers