rideau canal recommendation, charter , or boat swap

[rpackard]

I would like to send time cruising on the Rideau Canal in Ontario, next summer. Does anyone have recommendations on a charterer (this is for two very experienced boaters). or a good route? I already read some things from LeBoat for cruises between Smiths Falls and Kingston.

If anyone with a boat on the canal would like to swap boats for a few weeks: I have a very nice 34ft sloop on SF Bay. I could include the house!!

Richard P

 

[RT Firefly]

Greetings,
Mr. rp. I VERY highly recommend spending time on the Rideau system! As far as I'm aware, Le Boat is the only charter company on the system that has a number of options and it's based in Smith's Falls. One can cruise the whole system (Kingston to Ottawa) but you'll have to cover the same ground twice unless the company offers a pick up in Kingston.

I'm sure you've seen this: https://www.rideau-info.com/boat_rent.html


Aylings Boatyard has 3 boats but I think they're pretty old.

 

[ScottC]

I can only highly agree with RTF's recommendation.

I did this trip with my Dad on his boat back in the 70's. It was one of the most memorable trips I've ever taken. I still have clear memories of it even today.
Autumn might be a nice time to consider. You will avoid crowds and the foliage in that area and the Thousand Islands can is stunning.

 

[Bacchus]

I strongly agree with the above comments. The Rideau is a wonderful cruising ground.
We have done the complete Kingston to Ottawa once but Kingston to the Rideau lakes section (about half way) about 10X. If you have any specific questions or want more detail PM me.
My TF photo to the left is on the Rideau in our favorite Mortons Bay... agreat place to spend a day swimming, evening at anchor, etc

 

[alormaria]

These folks might have some info



http://www.rideau-info.com/index.html




I just noticed...info is their middle name.

 

[Captain_Michael]

My wife and I have chartered twice--both times from LeBoat. Not cheap, but the equipment was immacualte and operate flawlessly. Fully equipped. LeBoat was easy to work with. Wonderful trip--as I said, we went back twice. First time was for or 50th anniversary. Both times in September, so crowds largely gone, weather wonderful.

 

[O C Diver]

Very much enjoyed doing the Rideau in 2022. Le Boat seemed to have nice well equipped boats. If you can actually handle a boat, you probably would be in the top 20% of their rental customers. From what I saw, most of the renters only had experience with bumper cars.

Ted

 

[Captain_Michael]

Ted is correct in that most of the people with whom we spoke did not have a great deal of boating experience. LeBoat advertises that one does not need any. Their rental boats were criss-crossed around the hull by a virtual cage of heavy rubber bumpers like "bumper cars" at the former county fairs. There is a speed governor on the engine. Hitting things did not seem as much as a problem as navigation errors. The company provides adequate charts, but some of the day markers can be hard to see. The young guy operating the chase boat told me he hauled boats off the rocks all the time.

All that not withstanding, the Rideau Canal was great, and I have only positive things to say about LeBoat.

 

[Mischief Managed]

We did the Rideau/Ottawa River/St. Lawrence River loop (Golden Triangle) in a trailered 25' I/O cuddy cabin (we launched in Clayton, NY) over a 17 day day span in August 2018. It was a fantastic trip that inspired us to finally purchase a boat in May of 2019, that we could eventually live aboard and cruise full-time, our current boat.



I cannot offer any help finding an appropriate boat to charter, but if you have little sense of adventure and some extra cash kicking around, you may be able to purchase a decent pocket cruiser for the trip locally in 1000 Islands area for say 20 grand, and sell it for roughly what you paid for it, with a broker, when you are done. With a pocket cruiser, you won't need a dinghy and you should have no trouble finding a place to tie up every night, if anchoring is not your thing. We found over the years that there was always room for a 25ish foot transient boat in a marina, even when they are "sold out" of slips.



Our old 25' boat had an effortless 30-35 knot cruise, so we could make great time on the less interesting stretches (mostly Ottawa River and St. Lawrence River) and spend more time in the interesting places. We sold that boat really quickly for $18,500 in 2019 and it's still going strong on Lake Champlain.