New member - Albin 25 at Rideau Ferry

[Woody]

Hi all,
Just bought our Albin 25 in Kingston, Ontario, and motored up the Rideau Canal to Rideau Ferry Harbour where it will live from now on. Great trip - 8 lock stations with total of 14 chambers. It's a world heritage canal, with locks operated just as they were in 1832. Lovely scenery, friendly and helpful lock staff, and relaxed boaters. The first evening, we were entertained on shore by a couple from Quebec with guitar and microphone. Their boat is called 'Le Soprano'.

The 'new' Albin worked great, and we soon got the hang of docking and locking after a few awkward first attempts. The trip took 3 days - we might have stayed longer at Jones Falls because it is so beautiful there, but the weather forecast was calling for days of rain, so we decided not to dally.

When the rain started just as we were approaching the Davis lock, I switched on the wiper only to see the blade go flying! Fortunately, it fell on the deck, so my wife took the helm while I climbed out and jammed it back on - worked fine for the rest of the day. We spent the last 2 hours crossing Big Rideau Lake in a downpour with very limited visibility. But with charts and the GPS we had no trouble finding our way to our new home.

We love the boat, but it needs some TLC. We've ordered new material to recover the mattresses in both cabins, and we need to replace the cabin curtain holders - most of these plastic holders are broken. Any suggestions on where to get suitable replacements?

We also need to replace the fresh water galley foot pump - it leaks and the tank contents just end up in the bilge.

So glad to find this forum!

[jcollins]

Hi Woody,
Welcome to Albin Owners Group. It sounds like your first trip was a great one. Good save with that wiper! Post some photos when you have them.

[Woody]

Thanks for the welcome.
Here are a couple of photos from our trip up the Rideau Canal...

1-DSCN1474.JPG

1-DSCN1596.JPG

[DougSea]

Beautiful shots!

Welcome aboard!

[whwells]

Welcome Woody: Beautiful boat and some great scene shots. Nice to have your picture posting for all to enjoy.
whwells "Howard"

[Woody]

Thanks for the welcome!

We took our last ride of the season on Oct. 22 - went to the far end of Big Rideau Lake to Portland (about 1 1l2 hours) for lunch. Had the lake to ourselves, except for many loons and gulls gathering to migrate.

It was a gorgeous day when we started out, and the fall leaves were spectacular!

It turned out that all 3 restaurants in Portland were closed for the season, so we bought a do-it-yourself sandwich kit in the local grocery store and ate on the dock.

It started to look like a storm coming, so we headed back to the marina right after lunch.

Here are a few photos...