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!