Overnight at Burleigh Falls Lock 28
44°33’30.8844″N, 78°12’30.0672″W
What3Words: ///lipless.juicing.parked

Catherine writes:

In the morning, we walk over the dam to Buckhorn Home Hardware to return a couple of things that Wally had bought the day before but ended up not being what he needed. It seems he cannot walk into a hardware store without buying something for the boat!

We cast off in the rain at 8:30 and cross Lovesick Lake through Lock 30. Again, very friendly and helpful staff at the lock even in the pouring rain. If there is time we usually tell staff that we used to work for Parks Canada and that we met in Yoho National Park 40 years ago, which invariably makes people go aawwwhhh that’s sweet!

Island 29 on Lovesick Lake – such an un- romantic name for an island on a lake called Lovesick

We had planned for an early stop at Burleigh Falls at the upper side of the lock and go to the Inn as they advertised a very tasty sounding breakfast.

Burleigh Falls Inn (photo copied from their website)

However, because we were slowed down in the rain it ended up being lunch which was just fine with us. They know how to make a pot of very hot tea, so I was happy to warm up with that. There were leftovers for supper, even better.

The bar in the restaurant at Burleigh Falls Inn – we will be sure to stop there again! (photo copied from their website)

In the afternoon we chatted with a lovely couple, Rick and Anna who had an older 36’ Marine Trader named “Rikahna” that Rick had painstakingly rebuilt. It was very impressive! Also impressive was their travelling companion – “Wizard”, a huge black cat that must have had some Maine Coone heritage – tufts on his ears and great big feet – so chill and comfortable walking on his leash and visiting our boat. Wish we had got a picture of them! Next time! Our boat needs a cat!

We stay at the upper side of the Burleigh Falls Lock for the night where it is very quiet. Tomorrow we head for the lift lock at Lakefield.

Overnight at Buckhorn Lock 31
44°33’21.5676″N, 78°20’44.6172″W
What3Words: ///longed.resisted.months

Catherine writes:

Ralph the mechanic arrived at 9:00 am with the refurbished alternators and new belts – yeah! Thank you, Ralph! It only took him a few minutes to install the rebuilt alternators, new fan belts and safety shroud covers. The engines were started to confirm that everything was working OK. Job well done Ralph and alternator rebuild shop in Peterborough.

Wally paid the bill for the marina and mechanical service. We have decided to bring the boat back here for haul out and winter storage. The marina is very friendly and well run, nice clean facilities for guests, their rates are reasonable, we like the mechanics as well as everyone at Kawartha Propeller so that feels like a good decision.

We left the marina around noon and headed to Buckhorn Lock 31 – just “around the corner” and only 10-15 minutes away. What started out as drizzle while we were in the lock began to intensify to a downpour, so we quickly decided to stay at the lower end of the lock for the night and get an early start the next morning. We are joined by three large houseboats and one smaller one for the night of steady and much needed rain in this area.

Wally writes:

What3Words screenshot of our location at Buckhorn Lock 31

For those of you who are interested, I have been using the “What3Words” app on my phone to quickly determine the Latitude and Longitude of our location at any point in time – or to look back at where we were or look forward to where we will be going.

This system is based on every location on the planet being divided into 3 square meter plots. Each plot is assigned a unique name of 3 words divided by a period “.”. For example: “longed.resisted.months” or, more traditionally: 44°33’21.5676″N, 78°20’44.6172″W –  is where we spent the night at Lock 31.

Each unique set of 3 words relate to a specific latitude and longitude. This system makes it really easy to share our location with anyone – compared to figuring out and sharing our latitude and longitude described as hours, minutes and seconds.

The system has proven to be so simple and reliable that many emergency services organizations (police, fire, ambulance and rescue) are adopting it in addition to the more traditional latitude and longitude readings because it is so easy for people who need assistance to share their exact location with anyone.

It is often humorous to see the combination of words that are used for a particular location we are at. Sometimes the coincidence of the 3 words in relationship to our situation at that moment in time is even a bit “spooky”.

The app for What3Words is free to for anyone use and available for download to Apple and Android phones and tablets with GPS. Here is a link to their website if you want to learn more:  About us | what3words

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:

We are often up early in the mornings – cool temperatures aboard and the call of nature are usually key motivators. One of the benefits of rising early can be sometimes be very beautiful morning scenes.

Early morning sunrise over Buckhorn Lake

Early morning is usually a good time to stay in touch with friends and family. If we are not trying to get an early start to our travels this is a good opportunity for a more relaxing tea and coffee along with responding to text messages, emails and even telephone calls. This particular morning one of my friends in London texted me and asked what we were doing at that moment. Here is my reply 🙂

A relaxing start to our day

After we finished our tea and coffee Wally went back down below decks to try and figure out the boat’s fuel tank selector system. There were lots of grunts and groans and “what the #!$%” coming from down below. I want to be supportive but its going to take a real emergency before I go down there – that’s most definitely a “blue job” on this boat.  FYI, blue jobs are the tasks for men; pink jobs are the tasks for the ladies. The only time my pink jobs include grease and oil are when I am washing a frying pan! It hurts my head just to look at this crazy piping and valve arrangement!

Belisama’s fuel tank selector system – this bonkers setup will be changed before we launch next year!

Happily we were able to meet up with Joanne and Randy again and went for lunch at the MainStreet Grill. Randy took Wally to the Home Hardware for some “boat stuff” while Joanne and I waited for a table on the patio. We were able to watch the boats going by at this very popular spot.

There were large rental houseboats, cruisers and smaller craft lined up along the wall to come for lunch and others waiting for the lock. After a tasty lunch, there was more shopping, this time for groceries in “The Buck” as the locals call it.

We were so appreciative of Joanne and Randy taking the time to get us where we needed to be and to help with provisioning the boat. We hope to reconnect with them when we are back in “The Buck.”

Great news – sort of. Wally was looking in his wallet for his credit card to pay our share of the restaurant bill and what did he find but the bathroom pass key for Orillia Marina! He was quite sheepish about it as I had been very upset thinking I had lost it! Oh well, we will return the key to the marina when we go to Orillia to pick up our car. Hopefully they will give us back our $30 deposit! From now on, whenever we stop at a marina where a bathroom key or pass card is involved and a deposit is required – I’m going to be in charge!

Oh, Oh – guilty as charged!

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!