Mooring Ball in Ontario's Massasauga Provincial Park

 I was recently asked by a viewer of the following video as to how one pays for the use of a mooring ball in the Massasauga Provincial Park.

When tied up to a mooring ball in this area (the Massasauga Provincial Park), payment is made to the Ontario Provincial Park's guys who come by in a small boat to collect the fees, as well as take away your garbage for you.

 Sometimes, such as in this instance, nobody showed up when we were there, so we didn't have to pay. Not that that's an issue, because it's very reasonable, but sometimes they don't have enough time in the day to drop by every boat at every location. They will also collect a $10/night fee if your boat is tied to shore anywhere in the park. And that goes for all the boats who may be tied to shore together.

What I mean is that we have been there with four boats tied together (us and three friends) with a line running back to shore for stability. When the Park's guys came by, we all had to pay the $10/night. Again, we are good with that, because they will take the garbage away and best of all, tell you where the nicest anchorages are :-)
 
Have a look at this video I did from a trip there back in 2009. You'll see what I mean about the boats all tied to shore;

:-)

Boat Holding Tank Replacement - Measuring For New One

Ask yourself this; How can a day crawling around in a cold boat bilge to measure for a poop tank put a smile on anyone's face? Easy - it brings us that much closer to having 'Boogaboo' ready for relaunch and moving aboard full time :-)

 Although this photo may suggest that we are far from being back in the water, the snow and ice are melting quickly now. With any luck, we should be ready to be splashed in a couple of weeks.

Shrink wrap to be coming off soon :-) Boogaboo on the left in this shot.

 This past Sunday saw me down in that very bilge, removing three heavy batteries, measuring, doing a lot of crawling around and talking to myself - out loud. The end result was that I was very happy to figure out that we will be able to accommodate a much larger tank than was installed from the factory. That's gonna translate into longer times between pump outs, not to mention one happy Anchor Girl. She has been somewhat paranoid ever since we got the boat that we will have another overflow, something that happened during the first week we had the boat. As far as we can determine, the gas dock attendant didn't pump out our tank completely and only three days later - at anchor on Georgian Bay - a flush of the toilet chugged some unpleasantness out through the vent. Needless to say, we made a quick exit and over to the closest marina for a complete pump out.

 A look at my template for the new tank. Nothing more than a cardboard box, but it was very close to the dimensions I needed to check.

Our temporary cardboard tank.

 Ever since that incident, and despite a new gauge on the old tank, Anchor Girl was FOREVER asking me if I thought we needed a pump out. Argh!! Bottom line is that we should be able to enjoy an extra 4 - 5 days between trips to the gas dock, for a new total of 10 - 12 days capacity. That's gonna be relieving - for a couple of reasons ;-)

VIDEO - Yours truley doing the aforementioned measuring and smiling in the engine room;


 A shot of the marina, looking out from the launch ramp. As you can see, the ice is opening up and revealing the beauty of open water once again!

Open water again at the marina!

:-)

Spring Thaw - Finally!!

 After a very long (!!) and bitter (!!!) winter, Anchor Girl and I took a drive up to visit our beloved 'Boogaboo' to check on how it fared the cold, wind and snow. The good news is that it appeared to have survived nicely :-)

 The sorta down side was that there had been lots of settling under the wood pile supports, making it somewhat unsafe being aboard. Good or bad, I did get a chance to climb up to have a look around in the engine room - before I discovered the settling issue. Unfortunately, I was unable to do my final measuring for the replacement waste-water replacement holding tank. Next weekend I will do that, for sure, as the marina contacted me today to confirm that they have shimmed the blocking to make in once again safe to board the boat.

:-)

iPhone as a Video Camera?

 As you have already figured out, my next favorite thing to boating is capturing our fun and adventures on video - and sharing them with the world :-) Well, to achieve better and better video quality over the years, I have continued to upgrade to better and better cameras. Well, what a pleasant discovery it was to realize how good the camera is on my iPhone 4!

Lake sunset taken with my iPhone 4. Pretty nice quality, I'd say.

 I am blown away by the quality of both the still photos and video capture from this compact camera. Couple that with the recently upgraded YouTube Capture app and I now have a DSLR quality solution for on the fly production, all at point & shoot price - plus it's always with me!
Camera shake on the video side is a bit of an issue for hand held (on the fly) capturing, but the YouTube app now corrects that while rendering. Basic video editing is now built in to the app as well with the ability to cut and join different clips. And again, it's all on the phone!! Brilliant :-)

 Will this replace my other cameras? No, but it does make a great companion unit. Especially for those times when we are out and about and it's the only camera at hand. Hey, never know when the mood is gonna strike. For filming, that is . . .

 Makes me wonder if there's anyone who still only uses their phones for simply calling people any more?

Boat Cruise on Trent Severn Waterway 2013, Part One

After a number of years cruising to/through Georgian Bay, we decided to spend our 2013 boating summer holidays with a return cruise through the eastern part of the Trent Severn Waterway. As we had only two weeks to venture from - and back to - our home port on Lake Simcoe, we were only able to get as far as the village of Lakefield. I had hoped to be able to get down to Peterborough, but that's going to have to wait until next summer.

Yes, yes, I know we could have made it to Peterborough and back easily within two weeks, but the days of hammering the throttle just to say we did it are behind us. Theses days, it's more along the lines of 'sit back and smell the roses' kinda mindset.

 As things are, we are hoping to have the whole summer of 2014 to go on extended boating trips, as we have recently put our house up for sale, with the intention of moving full time aboard 'Boogaboo' during the seasonal months, but that's a whole other Blog post ;-)

 Back to this years' fun.As mentioned, we travelled east from Lake Simcoe towards Fenelon Falls and beyond.

Leaving our marina gas dock.

The weather was spectacularly clear and calm. A great way to start the voyage.

Lake Simcoe was unbelievably calm. A beauty day for boating.

For those of you who have travelled this way, you know that there are quite a number of locks to pass through. Oh well, a small price to pay for a voyage like this. And it provides a great opportunity to master your driving skills ;-)

Going through the fist of many locks.

 This is both a funny and sad photo; the car rushing along the side of the canal has the lock staff that has to run between these locks to let the boats through. One example of Parks Canada's way of 'saving' money. Hmm, I wonder what the vehicle costs for the year, with fuel, wear and tear and maintenance costs?

A Parks Canada vehicle rushes to the next lock.

 After travelling for a few hours, we decided to make Lock #39 our first stop and stayed there for one night.

Lock #39 of the Trent Severn Waterway.

 Staff closes the big lock doors after some boats dropped down

The lock chamber.

I love the nature at these locks. Keep in mind that all of the locks are operated by Parks Canada and are mini national parks. The trees are one nice part of the attraction.

Big trees, big sky and a lovely, peaceful afternoon.

As the locks in this area are very close to one another, the lock staff generally tries to have a number of boats all go through at one time. That's why you often see groupings of 4 - 6 boats passing through together.

A group of boats head towards Lock #39 of the TSW

Here's a shot of yours truly walking over to the other side of the canal for some picture taking.

Walking over a lock gate.

 A cool shot of a big trawler, the 'M/V Quimby' that pulled in for the evening. These folks were part way through their voyage through the Great Loop, a circumnavigation of the eastern portion of North America. Affectionately referred to as 'Loopers', the boaters who do the trip typically take about a year to make all the way around the roughly 6,000 mile route.

One of the 'Looper' boats we see along the TSW

Perry The Penguin, our mascot, enjoys a lovely sunny summer evening from the deck of 'Boogaboo IV'.

Perry The Penguin on board 'Boogaboo IV'

 I took this photo hanging out of the forward hatch - the first one I've ever taken from that vantage point. An appropriate spot to finish up this entry, as that is the direction where we will be heading on the next leg of the journey . . .

 Next time, we will be heading to the Kirkfield Lift Lock :-)

:-)

Weather, Man!

I just came across a report talking about the predictions of Florida sea levels rising as much as 60cm over the next 50 years. This prediction is being taken seriously. So serious in fact, that a local fire department currently under construction in the Florida Keys is being built well above grade to alleviate the possibility of it's being flooded in the future.

 That's some serious considerations for those living coastal areas. But what does that have to do with those of us living well inland and many hundreds of feet above sea level, you ask? Much, actually. I recall learning that, as a result of global warming, our weather will become more erratic, and rather than enjoying the normal summertime patterns of days of sun and warm being gradually replaced with rain or periodic, fast moving thunderstorms, we should expect much more rapid changes. These changes would be more severe as well, with more dramatic changes and more prolonged stormy days and nights.

Perry the Penguin enjoys a windy, albeit beautiful, sunset at Fenelon Falls

  Well, it looks like we are there. So far this summer, I have heard of 4 severe storms being forecast while boating, three of them being tornado watches or warnings! Only last night, enjoying the final hour of light aboard the boat, sitting on the flybridge, we heard squall warnings for both Georgian Bay & Lake Simcoe. Thankfully we never got the squalls on Simcoe, but there was lightning, gusts and LOTS of rain on and off for most the night.

 As I have said to Anchor Girl many times over the past couple of seasons, if we are going to keep boating, we have to get used to travelling, docking and going through the locks in the wind - something she doesn't like. Looks like we don't have a choice anymore :-(

Sea Ray Plant Tour - Palm Coast, Florida

 At long last, I'm finally gonna post some photos & video from our tour of the Palm Coast Sea Ray manufacturing plant we took back in February when we were in Florida. When we were in Florida?!?!? The Sea Ray plant tour was the whole inspiration for the trip to begin with - I kid you not!

 So, Mr. Harbour Master, here are the photos you requested.

  Told you I was there;

This was so cool, the folks at the plant knew we were coming & had this welcome ready for us - that's 'Commodore Frankie & Anchor Girl', in case you can't read it through the Florida sunshine glare;

It was neat to see how all the components of the inside were put in place before the upper deck was installed;

Here we see the interior walls being put together. I was impressed to see that they built all the cabinetry and did all the upholstery right on site. I always figured they would bring those components in from outside suppliers.
No, I wasn't taking notes, just listening;

The engine bay with all the systems in place for a big Sundancer;

Here's the upper deck section ready to be 'married' to the hull in the previous picture;

A finished Sundancer, ready for final rigging;

This is  Shawn Wilson, who was good enough to take us on a 1-1/2 tour of the ENTIRE plant. He is the guy to contact at Sea Ray for any technical support or insights, as he has been working with them for 25 years in the manufacturing side and can come up with part numbers by wrote & has an encyclopedic recall of the boats, hulls, engines and parts right down to special clips that hold down trim!
 In this shot, Shawn was just looking back to make sure I wasn't taking any spy photos of hull #1 of the newest 450 Sedan Bridge (the current designation for our Boogaboo boat)  before it reached the market;

This is the final station before the boats go in the water, where the boats are gone over by white clad specialists who make sure there are no scratches or other blemishes - including touching up the bottom coat paint.
 Again, I was very impressed with the attention to detail and quality put into a mass production boat. I guess that's one reason that Sea Ray was able to weather the economic melt down in the US boating market, as well the support of long term, die hard Sea Ray owners like my wife ;-)

 The last part of the process is an in water test of EVERY boat that they produce, complete with a Mercruiser technician dialing in the power plants. After that, it's a shake down cruise on Florida's Intracoastal (NOT 'Inter-Coastal) Waterway to  make sure everything is ship-shape.
 And yes, they actually pay people to do this kind of thing. Did I mention this is in Florida??

Our New Boat Delivery - Home Again

May I present the final part of our Great Adventure, delivering our new boat home from Michigan to Lake Simcoe in Ontario, Canada.

 I know it's only taken me the whole winter to get it posted, but this was the hardest part of the trip - actually getting home and calling it a day. I tell ya, when we did get back to our marina and eventually left for home (our house, that is), it sure was tough. After dreaming, hoping, working for and finally realizing the dream - not to mention the fun and excitement of driving the Big Boy nearly 700 miles all the way from another country, through mostly brand new waters to us - it was difficult to walk away :-(

 But, go home we did. After all, that was the point of the trip, right?

 See, I feel better about it already :-)

---

Leaving our anchorage of the previous two nights, we were back on the main Small Craft Route heading south.
 Here is 'Water Wings' approaching the turn at O'Donnell Point in the clear morning sunshine. What a beautiful day;

Rounding the big marker on the point of O'Donnell Point;

On the way down, we took a little side trip through a place called 'Indian Harbour' to see what it looked like. Very pretty with the rocks on shore being very smooth as they rise out of the water;

The route is very well marked, but, as with any ventures on the water, one must be careful to stay on the correct path.
 A couple we know from our marina had been coming to this very spot for a number of years but ended up hitting bottom here two seasons ago. When I say hit bottom, I mean they hit with such force that one out-drive was badly damaged and the other one was sheared completely off!! The result? An abbreviated holiday and a $12,000 insurance claim. . .

This guy is known as 'The Hitchhiker';

The Boogaboo IV on The Bay;

The Picnic Island store at Honey Harbour can mean only one thing - we are close to the end of our time on Georgian Bay for another year :-(

 If we study this photo closely, two things become apparent; First, we can see the highway 69 bridge in the distance making this the approach to the first lock of the Trent Severn Waterway at Port Severn.
 Second, we can see the anxious look of trepidation on the face of my lovely wife who is not looking forward to taking this big boat through ANY lock for the first time.
 Can't imagine why. . .

 Oh ya, this is why.
 Clearly, the up-bound channel to the lock under the bridge is very narrow and the current that tends to push the boat's bow from side to side is always a treat.
 You'll be happy to learn that I managed to stay on course through here, but landing the boat on the lock wall didn't go quite as smoothly. The result was a HIGHLY animated 'discussion' between the Captain and First Mate.
 I swear that the lock walls are still ringing!

 Fast forward two hours and we are quietly, calmly secured to the dock at the five star Rawley Resort (and they even let people like us in);

 A shot of our boats;

Walking over to the restaurant for dinner;

Say "CHEESE!"

Mmmmmm, desert time;

You don't wanna mess with this guy's cake ;-)

'Boogaboo IV' climbs aboard the Big Chute Marine Railway for the very first time;

With the boats all settled in, the big machine starts it's upward trek;

Geez, it almost looks like I ain't got no pants on;

 I know that there's allot of boaters who are apprehensive of going over 'The Chute', but after passing through all but one of the 43 locks on the Trent Severn Waterway, I can tell you that this one is by far the easiest and least stressful of them all.
For those of you who haven't seen my previous posts of this technological wonder, here's the view from inside the boat, as we travel up the hill;

And, as yet another bonus feature, some video of our ride;



Looking back;

And a zoomed in shot of the Water Wings crew waiting on the blue line for their turn;

The next lock is Swift Rapids, which has the highest average 'lift' of 47' (the distance that the boats are lifted or lowered) of any of the conventional locks on the system;

Passing through the MacDonald Cut;

Next stop is the last lock before home;

'Boogaboo IV' & 'Water Wings' inside of Lock #42 (Couchiching Lock);

Our home for the night, on the blue line;

The entire crew of 'Docked Wages' had come up for the night & met us here;

The three boats on the wall;

Wevvy & Jason come over to take a peek at the new boat;

Jason entertains us with one of his fishing stories;

Final day on the water for this trip as we pass through The Narrows, between Lakes Couchiching and Simcoe;

Crossing over the lake to our home port, Lake Simcoe gives the Big Boy an appropriate welcome;




Arriving at the gas dock to see where they was gonna put us. Ultimately, we ended up docking right here for the balance of the season while the marina operators figured out what to do with us.
 I know some of you probably had a few ideas of your own, but . . .
 To top things off, the 'Docked Wages' crew were in the midst of upgrading to a much bigger boat and needed a place to keep it as well. . .

The chart-plotter shows the final tally of 662.4 statute miles traveled on this great adventure;

Home.
Total Trip Time: 25 days
Total Distance Covered: 662.4 Miles
Fuel Consumed: Don't Ask
Result: A Dream Come True!!

Now, all we need is a new slip . . .