2 July 2014

Locks 43-44 including our trip over Big Chute Marine Railway pictures

7/2/14 Orillia Ontario to Big Chute Ontario time lapse
After a great Canada Day and 12 days in Orillia we did the last pass around the dock and headed out to get a pump out at the next marina up. Once that was done we headed out of “The Narrows” and headed up Couchiching Lake. We were soon at Lock 42. Even with the long break our docking skills were intact!

Next up was Sparrow Lake a combination of river and islands. There are a lot of cottages here and a number of houses that look like year round residences. On the way we saw our Mariposa Landing neighbor, Larry. We stopped to say our final goodbyes and headed to the next lock.

Lock 43, Swift Rapids, is one of the tallest lifts on the Trent / Severn system at 48 feet. It’s unique with two lock walls at the upper end to help with the water pressure. The other locks that go higher are double lift locks.

We were soon down and learned how Swift Rapids got the name. There are sections where it goes from being 60′ wide and 50′ deep to 30 feet wide and 10 feet deep. It’s pretty interesting to go “surfing” the rapids in a 45′ boat.

There is a really nice dock on the upper side of the Big Chute Railway. There were two other boats but there was enough room for us. One of the boats was a looper, Thanks Dad from Florida.

We spent an hour doing some fishing, Susan caught two small fish, but I once again went empty handed. For dinner we walked over to the Big Chute Restaurant. Because of the holiday they were low on their selections of food. Susan got the Big Chute Burger which was good. Coleslaw with an oil/vinegar/sugar dressing was best I’ve had in years. They had hard ice cream, perfect for a Sundae.

We woke on Thursday to rain and a dead generator. I did some trouble checking and was coming up with the correct voltages, but the engine would not turn over. I contacted Terry who lives in the area and he got me in touch with a generator guy. We talked over what the problem could be and decided that our best bet was for him on Friday. Since I wanted to go across Big Chute on a nice day we set it up for him to come to Big Chute.

That gave us a lazy day on the dock, we both read and got naps in. By dinner time the rain had stopped and we walked back over for the fried Pickerel dinner.

After dinner we tried fishing again, but we didn’t get any bites.

Friday weather looks good and after Andy fixes the generator it will be a ride on the Big Chute Railway!