On Thursday, Brian sent a text that he wouldn’t be coming until afternoon.  We let the marina mechanic know that the boat was available to have the pump installed, but because they had seen Brian’s truck at his shop, they assumed he was on our boat.  At 11:30, Andy went up to see the mechanics, and learned this, so at about 1:30 we had 3 additional people doing work on the boat. 

The pump got installed, but when the generator was started up it still had a leak.  The pump was removed, and a portion of the old gasket was still adhering to the housing, and causing the leak.  Once this was removed and the coolant refilled the generator was again working.  Brian checked the battery bank connections and then worked on trying to get the RPM and voltage inputs to the new display screens, but had little success.  He returned Friday morning at 8:30 and tried again.  He was able to get some inputs, but they seem to be lots of fluctuation between the two engines.    He did finally put in our MMSI number, and finish the AIS setup.  He then proceeded to push the rat’s nest of wires back in the upper helm, and said he was done.  Andy was not pleased, but we were tired of this marina, and had already decided to leave.  So, by 10:45 we were pulling out of Harbour West, hopefully never to return.  We arrived at the Port Severn lock by noon, and waited for 3 locks before we were able to go through.  We were out by 2:00 and then off to the Chute, which we were through by 3:00.  We then proceeded to Swift Rapids, went through and were tied up to the lock wall by 4:45.  It was a hot day, at the lock there was a bit of a breeze, so it was bearable. 

I saw this sign at the lock- I don’t remember the warning about snakes in the past.

The weather is to cool down over the weekend- looking forward to it.  We left Swift Rapids shortly after 8:00, and were through Couchiching lock by 10:30.  We arrived at the CN Swing bridge at 10:35.  The bridge tender came out and told us that he was waiting for a train—it showed up at 11:05, a long train moving very slow.  The bridge was opened at 11:25, and we went through. Almost an hour wait!  We got out onto Lake Couchiching, and it was quite windy.   We arrived at the Port of Orillia shortly after 1:00.  We were meeting Andy’s cousin, Iain and his wife Teresa there. Iain had been on the boat in 2019 for about a week helping us get through locks.  They texted just after we arrived, so we went to meet them and sign in. 

We learned that on weekends visitors could not park in the marina parking lot or near the beach – as all spaces were reserved for “residents” of Orillia.  You could buy a $50 parking permit, or park elsewhere.  A lady, who was parked told us that too many non -residents were taking up the spots not allowing residents to use the facilities that their taxes were paying for. Definitely not the best way to encourage visitors to the city!  While I did laundry, Andy Teresa and Iain did some re-provisioning. We had a great visit on the sundeck, and had a wonderful supper. 

We played one game of 5 crowns with them after supper and then they had to leave for the 3-hour trip back to St. Mary’s.

On Sunday morning we left Port of Orillia at 8:00, and were off Lake Simcoe by 10:00. 

We then had the 5-lock marathon to do.  For all of the 5 locks we were with 3 pontoon boats and 2 express cruisers.   A tight fit, we were at the back on the starboard side.  Every lock was a very slow rise, we were in the first lock at 10:15 and out of the last one by 1:30.  In 3 ¼ hours we went 3.7 miles- WOW!

We then had a run across the infamous weedy Canal Lake, and a short distance in the narrow Trent canal before reaching Kirkfield lock.  In the Trent canal, we saw depths of less than 4 feet, and at one point we felt a bump.    We went through Kirkfield and were tied up by 2:45.  Andy tried fishing in the evening.

On Monday we left Kirkfield at 7:50, crossed Balsam Lake, and were through the Rosedale lock by 9:40, then it was on the Fenlon Falls and Bobcaygeon.  Going through Sturgeon Lake we came upon a number of small sail boats not sure if it was a Regatta or sailing lessons. 

We arrived at the Buckhorn Lock at 2:45 and tied up.  We read out books and enjoyed the sunshine.  In the evening we visited with some American loopers from Hudson Wisconsin.  They had crossed into Canada on August 9^th.  They have been living on their boat for most of the last 5 years. 

On Tuesday morning, we left the lock at 8:00 to move the boat to Buckhorn Yacht harbour, for whatever reason the Port engine would not start, so we limped the ¾ of a mile using on the starboard engine. We were met by one of the staff and another boater who helped us to tie up. In the afternoon, we drove up to Peterborough to do some grocery shopping as well as pick up synthetic oil for the engines.  On returning we were happy to see that our solar panel had been added to the radar arch and the hydraulic steering issue had been diagnosed, and temporarily fixed.  On Wednesday, the solar panel was tied into our electrical system the accumulator tank was installed, and the Port engine starter battery was replaced. We didn’t want to be in the way, so jumped into the car and drove the 90 KM to Bancroft.  We went out to lunch with Brian and Helen, and had a good visit.  After leaving their place we drove over to visit Brian and Muriel and visited them for over an hour.  I was given pocket books from both Helen and Muriel, so I have lots to read over the next month. We went back to Buckhorn Yacht Harbour, with a wine stop at the LBCO.

On Thursday, Andy secured the accumulator tank with a strap and some tie wraps, so that it wouldn’t move in the forward bilge while we are moving.

We went to Foodland to pick up a couple of items t hat we missed getting the other day.   For lunch, we went to Main Street Landing in Buckhorn, where we met Glenn Cavers, had a good visit with him. When we got back to the marina, we moved the boat and filled up with water and diesel.  We then took a road trip to Bobcaygeon, for the purpose of doing  a load of laundry, when in fact I really wanted was to go to Kawartha Dairies for ice cream, and to the bank to take out some cash.  We had put the AC on in the boat, so when we got back it was very pleasant, even though it was hot and humid outside. Our plan is to continue down the TSW and out to the Thousand Islands, with a potential trip to Long Sault to see our friends Wayne and Roxanne. That’s provided our charging system behaves.