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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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!

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.

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!

Overnight at Trent Canal Lock 39 “Portage”
44°29’56.6520″N, 79°7’55.0920″W
What3Words: ///whomever.factually.clothed

We cast off from Orillia Marina around 9:00am. It’s about 90 minutes across Lake Simcoe to the entrance of the Trent Canal. There’s a marina at the narrows junction between Lake Couchiching and Lake Simcoe so we stop to get our wastewater (toilets) holding tank pumped out. This marina also has diesel fuel, and I thought that perhaps we should fill up the tanks there.

There are three fuel tanks aboard Belisama, and the gauge shows that we already have lots of fuel on board so I decide that we will wait a few more days before filling up. This “Tank Tender” system does not use electronics to measure the level in each tank – it uses air pressure. I am familiar with this type of system because they were used with standby diesel generators at several pumping stations that I worked in many years before. This system aboard Belisama works but I am not certain of how accurate it is. We need to get going across Lake Simcoe and there will be lots of places along the way to buy diesel fuel – but that decision turns out later to be a big mistake!

It was a very nice morning with calm weather but the forecast for later in the afternoon is not so good – possible high winds and thunderstorms. We are anxious to get off Lake Simcoe before the weather turns. Lake Simcoe is pretty big with lots of open water so this is an opportunity for me to open up the throttles for the engines and give them a good workout.

The boat has not seen much use in previous years, so the engines tend to smoke at low RPMs. Our surveyor told me that whenever I get the chance, I should take the boat up to higher speeds to make the engines work harder. Diesel engines “like” to be worked hard. It helps them keep clean and running smoothly. So when we get out on Lake Simcoe I open them up and we are cruising at around 18-20 kph – fast for this boat.

Everything is running fine and we can see the breakwater at the entrance to the Trent Canal a few kilometers away. Soon we will have to start to slow down and prepare to enter the canal. All of a sudden, the portside engine stops and then a minute later the starboard engine quits – it’s about 12:30 noon. At first, I don’t understand what’s going on but it appears like we have run out of fuel! We are still several hundred meters offshore so I told Catherine that we need to toss out the anchor to keep us from drifting to shore.

At this point I’m not too worried. The weather is fine, the lake is calm, we are only in about 15 feet of water and clear of the canal entrance so we can anchor comfortably here. The water looks so clear that I’m almost tempted to go swimming!

Once the anchor is set, I take a closer look at the fuel tank gauges. The fuel tank we are drawing from shows that it’s about 1/3 full so fuel should not be a problem. I tried to start each engine but no luck. It’s obvious that they are not getting any fuel. I crawled down into the engine compartment and switched to another fuel tank – but still no luck. Next, I try to prime each engine by manually operating each primary fuel pump but still nothing. I tell Catherine not to be worried (!) but that it’s time to call for assistance. I am not familiar enough with these engines to try anything else and am concerned if I do the wrong thing that I could make things even worse.

I found a phone number for C-Tow, a marine assistance company that is essentially CAA for boaters. Ironically C-Tow has an office at the marina in Orillia where we had stopped earlier this morning to get our holding tanks pumped out. I explained our situation to the office manager, and he said they would send a mechanic out to our location right away. It would take them 30-40 minutes to reach us, as long as there is no thunder as they have to stop then and find shelter!

When the C-Tow boat arrived, I explained our situation to the mechanic. He took a close look at the engines and fuel system setup and set to work. He got the starboard engine running in just a couple of minutes simply by cranking the engine over and moving the throttle back and forth – just about the same as pumping the gas pedal in a car. The portside engine was a little more difficult to start. He ended up having to bleed the injectors but that only took a couple of minutes before that engine started up.

The mechanic was kind enough to explain what he was doing each step along the way so if the problem ever occurred again, I could take the same approach to remedy the situation. We let the engines run for about 5 minutes and then the mechanic started and stopped each one a few times to confirm that everything was OK.

All told, they were only with us for about 30 minutes and then back on their way to home base. I won’t bother to say how much that service call cost us, but it wasn’t cheap. Thankfully our boat insurance will cover a pretty good portion of the service call, and I will chalk up the balance of the fee to a lesson learned.

Note to self, join C-Tow service plan. As of this posting we are also now subscribers to C-Tow. That gives us two free tows each season plus unlimited service calls. A bargain at $160 a season.

We were ready to get back underway. The anchor was raised, and we entered the Trent Canal. There are 3 locks in quick succession. We arrived at the 3^rd lock, #39 which is named “Portage” around 3:00pm. It was still nice out, but we could see clouds gathering on the lake and an hour or two later we could hear thunder in the distance. We were pooped! It was time to stop for the night and reflect upon the day.

We were lucky that our problem was not all that serious. The only damage that was done was to my ego, my boat knowledge reputation with Catherine and our credit card. On the upside, I now know what to do to try to get the engines started if that problem ever occurs again. Belisama will be getting new fuel gauges for Christmas. Wally will be getting a lump of coal in his stocking.

Where’s the Tequila? Now that we are safe and securely tied up for the night, I need a jumbo-sized drink (Margarita) before I do anything else!

Tomorrow, we tackle the next stretch of the Trent-Severn. Fingers crossed for smoother sailing!

(It never did rain at our location that night which was too bad as there are forest fires nearby and everything is parched)

Cheers!