Buckhorn Yacht Harbour
Another Overnight at Buckhorn Yacht Harbour
44°32’43.1484″N, 78°21’3.4200″W
What3Words: ///immaculately.derivative.sharing

It’s a rainy and windy day in Buckhorn. We had a quiet day aboard the boat catching up on some badly needed downtime and sleep. I also prepared a “catch-up” post for the blog.

Buckhorn Yacht Harbour Area – click anywhere on the map to enlarge it

Once the rain stopped later in the day we went for a walk to explore the residential area surrounding the marina. The map below shows a broader perspective of where we have already been, where we are now and where we will be going (someday soon – fingers crossed!)

Larger Area Perspective – click anywhere on the map to enlarge it

Buckhorn Yacht Harbour
Another Overnight at Buckhorn Yacht Harbour
44°32’43.1484″N, 78°21’3.4200″W
What3Words: ///immaculately.derivative.sharing

Catherine writes:

Wally went below deck this morning to take the fan belt safety shrouds off the front of the engines so the alternators and fan belts could be accessed by the mechanic.

Wally at one of his below deck workstations

Each engine has a protective shroud over the fan belt and alternator area. You would not want to be working close to these engines when they are running without the safety cover on.

Starboard engine with safety shroud off – before fan belt and alternator were removed

He also took the shrouds up to the Kawartha Propeller Shop to see about having some welding done on them (a bolt bracket on each one needed a small repair).

Engine safety shrouds going for repair

John Fuderer, the owner said no problem making the small repairs and he showed Wally around the impressive shop with its huge range of sizes and kinds of propellers. This is an extremely clean and super organized shop that serves customers all over Ontario and further abroad. Wally plans to bring Belisama back here this fall to get work done on improving the performance and efficiency of our boat’s propellers.

Kawartha Propellers Owner John Fuderer – photo copied from their website

While Wally was dealing with that, I tried to line up the decal with the boat name on it to place on the transom. It took some effort measuring and fiddling around to find the best location as it had to be done on the swim platform while the boat was bobbing up and down with all of the boat traffic going by. We settled on a location, but it was too rocky to do the final placement, so we have to wait for a quieter day to officially name the boat.

When I was back in London in early August I bought a bolt of Sunbrella fabric to make new exterior covers for Belisama’s windows and doors. I brought the fabric and my trusty sewing machine back to the boat with me when I returned to Midland with Valerie and David. Since we were going to be here for a few more days I  decided to try some sewing. I unrolled the bolt of Sunbrella at a picnic table that had plenty of space to walk around. It was windy so I tried holding the fabric down with cans of beans but no go.

Catherine’s work space – a bit of a difference from Wally’s eh!

Wally suggested using masking tape so that was brilliant and worked very well. I’ve cut out a lot of fabric over the years but never had to deal with windy conditions. I managed to get two large pieces cut out and Wally helped me get the sewing machine set up. Unfortunately, the fabric was too thick and wouldn’t feed right into the machine so the straight line sewing I had hoped to do was very wavy navy.

Catherine’s essential machinery is much more portable than Belisama’s

After consulting with the internet, I realized that I need to get a walking foot or even feed foot for the machine similar to what quilters use. I won’t be able to get one of those in Buckhorn anytime soon, so I have to roll up the fabric and pack up the sewing machine as the sun was fading. I’ll look in Peterborough or might have to wait until I get home which is disappointing, but I guess that will be added to the winter project list.

Cheers!

Overnight at Buckhorn Yacht Harbour
44°32’43.1484″N, 78°21’3.4200″W
What3Words: ///immaculately.derivative.sharing

Lots to talk about today!

We left Bobcaygeon around 9:00am headed for Buckhorn Yacht Harbour Marina. We planned to buy diesel fuel there and fill up our tanks. It was the first place to buy diesel since we left Orillia. We had assumed it would be readily available, but it isn’t as most local boats on the Trent-Severn have gas engines.

Catherine’s friend Joanne and her husband Randy live close by on Stoney Lake. Catherine and Joanne used to work together at Family Service London. When Joanne and Randy retired, they moved to their cottage which was only about a 20-minute drive from Buckhorn. They kindly planned to meet us at the marina and go for lunch.

It was an overcast day with a few spits of drizzle but nothing to really worry about. The trip would take us about 2 ½ to 3 hours. We were about 1 hour away from our destination when I noticed that the tachometer for the portside engine had stopped working. At first, I thought it was probably a bad ground connection for the instrument. I would check that out when we stopped for fuel. The other gauges for the engine looked normal. I asked Catherine to check the tachometer at the lower helm, and she said it was not working either.

About 5 minutes later, the port engine trouble alarm started to sound so I shut it down right away. I wasn’t sure what the problem was, but we were in no position to try to figure out what was wrong. We continued the rest of our journey using the starboard engine only. It was no problem because we were travelling at low speed.

We finally arrived at Buckhorn Yacht Harbour Marina and filled up with fuel. We decided it was best to at least stay overnight at this marina until we figured out what was wrong.

Buckhorn Yacht Harbour – photo copied from their website

When the fuel tanks were full, we moved the boat over to a docking space where we were told that we could stay for the night – or longer if we needed to. I told the marina manager that we were meeting friends for lunch and that I would take a closer look at the boat engine after the engine compartment had cooled down.

Joanne and Randy arrived at the marina around 1:00pm and we went for lunch with them at the Mainstreet Grill in Buckhorn, only a 5-minute drive from the marina. Catherine and Joanne enjoyed catching up while Randy and I got to know each other and talked “guy stuff”. It was a very pleasant and relaxing afternoon – especially after our somewhat stressful morning.

Mainstreet Grill in Buckhorn – photo copied from their website

After we returned from lunch and the engines had cooled down, I went (i.e. crawled) down into the engine compartment and quickly discovered that the fan belt on the portside engine had broken – that explains no alternator reading followed shortly after by a trouble alarm. Upon closer inspection I found that the alternator bearing was also failing on that engine. More than a fanbelt would be needed to fix this problem!

Port Engine Alternator and Broken Fan Belt

I had the marina send a mechanic over to our boat to check things out. Ralph, the mechanic, confirmed that the alternator needed to be rebuilt or replaced. He also checked out the starboard engine alternator – good decision – the fan belt for that engine was badly worn and almost ready to break, plus the bearings for this alternator were noisy.

After discussing the issue with Ralph, we decided to have both alternators sent off to a specialty shop in Peterborough to be rebuilt or replaced – whatever was the best choice. By the time we had made these decisions it was late in the afternoon and the specialty shop in Peterborough was getting ready to close. We were going to be at this location for the weekend and probably until Tuesday afternoon.

Luckily Ralph lives in Peterborough. The specialty shop was contacted, and they said they would be ready to begin work on the alternators first thing Monday morning. Ralph would drop them off at the shop on Monday morning before coming to work and pick them up the next morning and bring them back to the boat with him. Our hero!

Well, what to do for the weekend? As it turned out we were in a very good location. The marina was small but very well set up and in a really beautiful spot. The people were very friendly and helpful and they had excellent facilities for their guests. Super clean bathrooms and great showers! Plus it was easy for Joanne and Randy to find us.

We were hoping to get closer to Peterborough to see our friends Barb and Bruce who were in the city for her sister’s wedding. Catherine contacted Barb and informed her of our situation. Thankfully it was no problem for Barb and Bruce as Google Maps told them we were only about 45 minutes (by car) from where they were staying (and two days on the boat for us). They would drive to Buckhorn, and we could all go out for dinner at a nearby restaurant. Wow, what started out to be a gloomy day was shaping up to be a very special day instead.

Bruce and Barb arrived at the Buckhorn Yacht Harbour Marina around 4:30pm and we had a great little reunion. They were anxious to see the boat, so we gave them the 5-minute tour and then settled down to comfy spots on the flybridge to catch up with all the goings on since we last saw them at their daughter’s wedding in Ottawa a few weeks earlier.

We drove to the Burleigh Falls Inn, in “downtown” Burleigh Falls (there is no village – just the falls across the road from the Inn).

A delicious dinner with Bruce and Barb at Burleigh Falls Inn

We had a great dinner – I had a Yorkie, but no worries it was not a terrier – just braised roast beef served on an oversized Yorkshire pudding – very tasty!

My Yorkie – I’d order that again for sure!

Afterwards we went back to Buckhorn and stopped for a few minutes to see an unusual giant rock formation just a couple of minutes from the marina. The rock formation is known locally as “Adam and Eve” because two huge granite boulders are just sitting on their own with no other stones around them.

Bruce and Barb check out Adam and Eve

Today turned out to be pretty good – reunions with Joanne and Randy followed by Barb and Bruce – each included a tasty meal. We will sleep well tonight and whatever happens tomorrow, we will deal with it then.

Fun times for the gang with Adam and Eve – no snakes or apple trees in sight!

Cheers!

Overnight at Bobcaygeon Lock 32
44°32’18.2112″N, 78°32’36.3300″W
What3Words: ///sprouted.attainment.monday

We left Kirkfield Lift Lock at 7:30am and cruised a long narrow canal before crossing Mitchell Lake and then Balsam Lake to Rosedale Lock.

Long narrow canal leading to Mitchell Lake – not a good place to meet a large boat

Rosedale Lock is a very pretty area with picnic tables and lots of big shade trees. It’s in a bit of a remote area and would be a great place to stop for one or two nights for a peaceful rest. The lock was only a four foot change in elevation so it was pretty quick and easy. The next big body of water was Cameron Lake and then on to Fenlon Falls. We arrived there at 11:00am and to the lock down – a 24 foot drop to the river below.

Steep steps to the river for cottagers in Fenlon Falls

The upper side of Fenlon Falls Lock has several overnight mooring spaces with electric power points for boaters. This is right in the heart of the downtown area. It would be a good spot to stop for a day or two for restocking the cupboards and fridge and to do some tourist shopping.

We tied up Belisama at a space on the mooring wall right in front of the falls and had our lunch there. The lock staff told us that the Kawartha Voyageur was headed to Fenlon Falls so we decided to have a short lunch and get back on the move so we would not meet the tour boat on the narrow canal.

We passed through the canal and headed out across Sturgeon Lake on our way to Bobcaygeon. We met the Kawartha Voyageur on Sturgeon Lake so there was no problem at all with feeling crowed.

Passing by Kawartha Voyageur on Sturgeon Lake en route to Fenlon Falls

We arrived at Bobcaygeon Lock at 2:30pm and stopped on the upper side for a rest. Around 5:00pm we decided to overnight on the lower side of the lock so we could get an early start in the morning. Also, there was a small festival happening in the park beside the lock and live music entertainment crews were setting up their instruments and amplifiers for a free concert early in the evening. We could see that the park was going to be crowded so thought it best to put some distance between us, lots of people and loud music. Turned out to be a good decision.

Getting ready to BBQ another chicken for our dinner while conversing with friends in London

We enjoyed more BBQ chicken on the boat. Lots of people walking by on shore jokingly expressed interest in joining us for dinner. Maybe another time, eh!

Thankfully the concert was over by 9:00pm. If was surprising how big the crowd was at the park for the event and the music was pretty good. Bobcaygeon looks like a nice community to visit. Hope to come back another time and stay a bit longer.

As a postscript, we wondered about the connection with the Tragically Hip’s song “Bobcaygeon” and the town. Apparently Gord Downie never gave an explanation why he chose that title except that “Bobcaygeon” rhymes with “constellation”, sort of. The line “It was in Bobcaygeon, I saw the constellations reveal themselves one star at a time” has become iconic. It put the town “on the map” when the song was released on the Phantom Power album in 1999. in 2011, The Hip held a massive outdoor concert in Bobcaygeon, drawing more than 25,000 fans. Sadly, we were unable to attend because I was working in Kuwait that year and Catherine was busy with Emily!

Cheers!

Overnight at Kirkfield Lift Lock #36
44°35’22.5600″N, 78°59’13.8408″W
What3Words: ///embassy.ducks.pocketing

We both slept well last night. Especially after our “mishap” on Lake Simcoe yesterday afternoon. We left Lock 39 at 9:30 and passed through 2 more locks before crossing Canal Lake to Kirkfield Lift Lock #36.

Narrow canal approaching Kirkfield Lift Lock – not a lot of room to meet boats coming the other way!

Until 2 days ago I thought that the lift lock in Peterborough was the only one on the Trent-Severn system. The only reason I knew in advance that the one in Kirkfield existed is because Catherine read about it in our Ports Cruising Guide Book.

Peterborough’s Lift Lock raises/lowers boats 65 feet while the Kirkfield Lift Lock elevation difference is “only” 45 feet. Peterborough’s might get all of the media attention but even so, Kirkfield’s is a very impressive piece of infrastructure.

As we approached the lift lock we were not sure what to do because we couldn’t see any gates that had to be open and shut. One of the lock staff called out to us asking if we wanted to go up and we replied yes. He told us to come right in – only then did I realize that the “tank” that we would be riding up in was already in position and opened up for us. All we had to do was carefully manoeuvre into position and tie up our lines to the railings that were at waist level on each side of the tank.

The lower side of the lift lock – we ride up in the tank on the left.

We were the only boat going up so it was just a couple of minutes before they closed the entrance gate and we began to rise 45 feet to the next level.

Ready for the ride up!

This is a completely different experience compared to going up or down in a standard lock. There is no water movement.

Almost at the top!

Everything is calm and silent. I wish I had the presence of mind to take a video with my phone camera – but Catherine and I were both focused on keeping the boat still. Before we knew it we were at the top of the lock and the gate at the other end of the tank we were in was opened up and away we went.

At the top waiting for the gate to open so we can exit!

Once we were at the top it was quite a sight to look backwards and down to see where we had just been a few minutes before. I took a quick glance but didn’t have the nerve to stare from flybridge – I’m afraid of heights!

Looking back from the top of the lift lock

We decided to spend the night at this location. It was very quiet – no other boats around, plus I wanted to get a closer look at the facility.

Belisama safely moored for the night

I cooked hamburgers on the BBQ and Catherine made a salad. Except for the very cool ride in the lift lock this was an uneventful day compared to yesterday – just the way we like it.

Bonus – the weather has become noticeably cooler once the sun sets. Great for sleeping!

Cheers!