Ontario Canals here we come -2

[tribologist]

Heading up to a Marina just east of Montreal on Friday. Plan is to run up to Montreal-Ottawa (through Lachine canal) then continue to Kingston via Rideau.

Our schedule might be a bit optimistic but we get as far as we get. There are several ramps along the way so when July 15 is approaching we need to find a ramp. Hopefully in Kingston.

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[SalishAire]

We posted this recently on Facebook, you may find it helpful:

So after about 1 1/2 months living in our 25' boat both on the trailer and on the water what has and hasn't worked:
Composting head (toilet) - (no smell) with very few pump-outs available on the canal systems this has been a real winner. Every few days we carry the bottle of urine to a public toilet and pour it in. We've only emptied the solids once and that was because we were at a place where we could.
Cheap (not inexpensive) windshield wiper motors (one stripped a gear in very short order)
25 gallon supply of fresh water - this was enough but we had to carry water in containers whenever we had access to potable water as most locks have untested wells and there were few hose bibs at the tie-up sites
freezer / refrigeration - we have a Vitrifrigo electric ice chest in the aft cabin that we keep at 7 degrees F for frozen food and to make ice for the daily use Yeti ice chest. Problem was that air circulates poorly inside the freezer so we found a small fan run from a USB charger on the ice chest to put inside of it
navigation system - we have 2 (long story but 1 would suffice) and were glad we had current chart software as with all of the side channels and islands it would be easy to stray from the course (which apparently is not uncommon) radar was not needed but depth sounder was critical. (Note: very very few boats and none of the locks are equipped with VHF)
Wallas heater stove - works well and with the control by the head of my bed I can turn it on before I get up so the cabin is cozy. We also carry a propane mini grill and Coleman stove with refillable green cylinders (highly recommended - becoming more available at sport stores and on Amazon)
Power supply (electric)- the boat's native alternator is not really up to the task so it will be replaced with a fancy 3 stage alternator / regulator when we get home. Some locks have power for a reasonable added fee on the lock wall. Our smallish solar panel did help.
Seasonal lock permit and tie-up wall permit (2 permits) - the tie-up permit paid for itself very quickly and most of the lock docks and walls are in national park settings. All have clean restrooms (keys or codes are provided for after-hours use) and a few have showers. All have garbage and recycling. (We found marinas in general to be much more expensive than we are used to with most charging CA$ 2.50/ft).
Oversized round fenders for locks (and gloves as many have slimy walls)
Fold-a-Bote dingy - we've only used it a couple of times but it worked well when we needed it as we anchored out travelling between Trent and Rideau canals
6 knot boat - much of the canals are limited to 10 km/hr which is about 6 knots and we used very very little fuel with a Yanmar 3GM30 diesel engine (we previously travelled 15000 nautical miles in our Nordhavn at 7 knots so we know you can get there at this speed)
fuel availability - very few boats on the canals are running on diesel so gas is easy to find but diesel requires a bit of planning ahead
autopilot - while very valuable in more open waters back home we didn't use it that much here except in lakes
Ham radio - provided a fun outlet for Norman in the evenings but only when the ionosphere was cooperative - no VHF/UHF used even between Clarice and Norman as we always had cell phone coverage
Internet - we use our phones as a hotspot (we have a North and Central America unlimited plan from AT&T) we frequently only had 1-2 bars of LTE (but always good voice coverage)
Truck and Trailer - Our F150 with a 3 liter diesel tows the boat like a charm (and we've always found boats (at least monohulls) don't sway much if at all without a fancy hitch). The trailer we came east with failed and has been traded out - hopefully our replacement trailer will be a winner.
Overall experience - crossing the upper states of the USA using the boat as a camper (depending a lot on HarvestHost.com and BoondockersWelcome.com), and both the Rideau and Trent-Severn Canals (the two canals have very different "feels" to them) has been a wonderful outing. (We are hoping to go back west on Canada hwy 1 if the smoke forecasts don't scare us off).

[WillieC]

Very fun following you on your trip. That is a great breakdown of your systems. I will have to check out the refillable cylinders. Nicely put together.

Cheers!

[DesertAlbin736]

Great trip, one we had contemplated but never completed except for the Erie from Tonawanda to Baldwinsville & Lake Onaondaga in 2021. Hats off to you & Clarise your adventure.

[tribologist]

Not as literate as Norman but here is an update. Might be a little messy.. hopefully entertaining. We carefully read the report from Gregory earlier. Most grateful!!! I treat diesel fuel places like bathrooms.. never go past one..

We are just now in Hull marina across from Ottawa.
We left on Thursday after work and took us up to near burlington, vt and pulled in on a truckstop.

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Next day we continued over the border. Drove right through. Couple of questions and off we went. On the other side there was a 1 mile backup of cars trying to escape Canada day..

We launched at Marina du Nord in Repentigny just down river from Montreal. Was a chaos at marina. A 50 ft house boat had just sank in the marina right next to the ramp and the water was shimmering with fuel..

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The ramp was borderline. If i had not changed from carpet to HDPE and added rollers shown in an earlier post, I could not have launched. (Not putting sequioia axles under water..,

On Canada Day we went in to Montreal, Old Port right in old town. To get there with a 7 mph boat is a challenge. One has to snug ile Therese to avoid the current, go past the inlet in to the harbor (in current coordinates) then put bow a bit starboard and have the current push you in to port.

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Got a chance to have dinner and just made it back to the boat when the rain started..

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Next day was a nice day in town and we spent most time at museum of fine art where they had a special tribute to Tribologists and the NLGI cone penetrator.. ever wondered what the NLGI number is…. Its a cone..

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[tribologist]

From Montreal we took the Lachine Canal. Made a stop
At Atwater market next to the canal. Amazing produce. Best strawberries i had in north america.

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From there we went through St Anne lock and stayed at a yatchclub. Next day we were lucky getting an early start. We were told the Carillion lock had issues but decided to go and check. Plan B was to pay someone at Rive du nord to bring the trailer and carry us across Carillion Dam.. we were the only lockage that day and the day after….

Mighty Carillion. 60 ft lift!

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[tribologist]

From Carillion we went to Montebello. Fancy resort built around the largest timber building in NA.

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And an excellent kitchen. ..

Halibut for dinner

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And a most excellent breakfast buffet.

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So today when we arrived in Ottawa.., McDonalds…. Poutine with chopped up hamburgers

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[Nancy]

Sounds like good fun! Thanks for posting!

[tribologist]

Took us up the 8 stairs into Ottawa. Gregory and Clarice left a nice spot for us. We stayed overnight and used the little portable shower handle for a quick refresh. Worked better than expected! Im starting to think I should replace the floor board with a Cosa panel and maybe put a sump under it. Had a nice dinner at Chateau Laurier and a nice stroll. Today is art museum time! Favorite piece was a wall made from hand made shoe shiner boxes from Aftrica! Very neat!

[ssrig]

Thanks for the write up! Nice to see my old stomping grounds, I lived in Montreal and Ottawa for several years and they are both great cities to live in and visit.

[DesertAlbin736]

Great trip! Hat's off to you & Elizabeth!!! Hope the weather gods are kinder to you this time than it was when we were with you on the Erie in 2021. You should contact BoatUS Magazine & see if they'll publish a write up of your story. You're doing what we had contemplated doing but never got close to making a serious attempt when they did this piece on us in 2020.

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When we did our RV trip up into Ontario & stopped to see 'sunsetrider' in Sharbot Lake & Gananoque in 2017 we made a rainy day side trip to the Canadian Capitol in Ottawa.

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[tribologist]

Thanks! Thats such a nice picture of Driftless and Elisabeth!

We have almost made it down to Kingston. Rideau is absolutely fantastic! Here are a few pictures…. It feels like cruising in the lakes i grew up on in Sweden. Were in Upper Brewers today and are going to kingston tomorrow. After that we probably go down through the thousand island before getting car from Montreal.

Its been hot until today but we have a 10kbtu AC in driftless and if it gets real hot we start the little Honda 2200 generator and run AC under way. New England is to hot in summers to be without. One loose to many days when its no fun to be out.

We also discovered how well it works washing our hair and doing a quick washoff using cheap rörerry cloth rags abd a simple hand shower hooked up to the sink. I will post it separate so we csn build on it

[Nancy]

Love your photos and travelogue! Thanks for posting.

[tribologist]

Thanks Nancy,

We made it to Kingston. We got stuck in Kingston Mills waiting for a storm to pass. They closed the marinas due to lightning and a boat drifting in during docking hitting three other boats…. Trying to work out the logistics now to get the trailer and car from Montreal and head back on monday.

[DesertAlbin736]

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Lack of air conditioning in La Dolce Vita is one downfall to hot weather cruising. But at this point with all I've put into our boat adding A/C is not in the budget. We have a 9,000 acre lake 15 minutes from our house, but we don't go boating on it from May to October. Yesterday it was 114 degrees (46 C for our Canadian friends) here at home. Even just being outside is brutal & having A/C in the boat would not help that much. Hot hot is a "dry" 114 you ask? It's so hot that going outside in mid day wearing shorts you can actually feel the sun burning your legs. You just don't fell sticky like with high humidity. Going outside is like walking into a sauna. 114 is an "in the shade" measurement. As I write this at 9:30 AM local time it's already 105 outside on my back patio. Having a swimming pool and central A/C is our only saving grace. Such is life in the SW desert.

We'd still like to do the Rideau sometime in the future (who knows when?) But no plans to "DA" the 2,400 miles from AZ to NY ever again. One last one way "DA" to PNW next year, then lay up La Dolce Vita with a broker for sale on consignment. 2024 will be our 10th anniversary of Albin ownership. After that maybe flying out to do a "Le Boat" charter on the Rideau? So I'm passing the title of "DA" on to you & Salishaire!