Cruising the Trent Severn Waterway

In the North Channel. There will be mosquitos in June and early July - usually just around dusk. The black flies are mostly done by the first week of june. There are however some sand and deer flies all year. Bring a bit of insect repellant and enjoy the trip. I have never let the bugs stop me from enjoying the boating - there are a few early evenings when the mosquitos are bad but all in all not much of a bother. When in the north Channel look out for us. We are in a 3270 Bayliner called "dajinka".

Are you Don from Akron? I am rich formerly from canton and Atwood lake.

I remember one night (in July I think) when we were at a Marina in Byng Inlet, the mosquitos were so loud outside the hatch screen it was scary!
Make sure you have a couple of those tennis racquet bug zappers, they are invaluable.
One time were anchored in some bay (I forget where exactly) I killed 82 spiders one evening with one of those zappers. Then the next night I killed 53. Then 30 the 3rd night and we didn't see any for a while after that. Canada is bad for spiders.

Slainte 1 said:

Hi all - I was wondering what the bugs are like in June in the North Channel and the TSW.......black flies, or whatever. John

Click to expand...

Northern black flies breed in cold running water (think snow/ice melt) they can be horrendous clouds some years. Fortunately they die off after a couple of days of hot weather (28C or so) so should be gone by June. Thereafter, mosquitoes take over so screens are a must before dusk. Nothing worse than hearing the dreaded buzz while you lie in bed. My admiral gets terrible reactions to them, so I have to take one for the team if they get in the cabin. Some years we have had swarms of mayflies which don’t bite but die en masse on your decks etc. We have had a few trips where large black flies like deer flies/horseflies congregate under our Bimini. Last time they found us mid way between Little Current & Tobermory! The carnage from our flyswatters was grisly. Overall, though, bugs won’t interfere with your experience.
Enjoy the trip, a wonderful experience especially the N.Channel.

Bug Zappers

Quote "Make sure you have a couple of those tennis racquet bug zappers, they are invaluable."


Jay Leonard, what are these devices? Spiders ruined my accordion blinds and curtains last year. We plan a TS cruise this year.



Thanks
Phil Little '92 Carver 33 Aft Cabin

plittle2005 said:

Quote "Make sure you have a couple of those tennis racquet bug zappers, they are invaluable."


Jay Leonard, what are these devices? Spiders ruined my accordion blinds and curtains last year. We plan a TS cruise this year.



Thanks
Phil Little '92 Carver 33 Aft Cabin

Click to expand...

https://www.amazon.com/Rechargeable...jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

This is one example. Walmart sells them, so does Harbor Freight, etc.

Thanks, Jay.

FWIW, in the '90's when I cruised the NC, 7 trips, I always did it in September, 2 weeks including Labor Day. I never saw a bug! They were GONE! No mosquitos, no blackflies or biters, and no spiders!

The weather then was sometimes a bit cool, but otherwise very pleasant, and the summer cruise crowd was back home. Anchorages and dock spaces were plentiful.

Our trip by van out to our "new" boat in Sturgeon Bay is coming up soon! mid May we leave for WI ! I was wondering if any one of you have a short list of "absolute must stops" in the north channel........I am watching u tube almost overnight and there are so many places.....from there we'll be on to the TSW.........on that note, I'm wondering if anyone has trouble with high water and currents especially once you "go over the top" and are heading down, with the current.......

Still looking for anyone wanting to go east towards Trenton or Kingston mid June this year!

Thanks all !

Slainte 1 said:

from there we'll be on to the TSW.........on that note, I'm wondering if anyone has trouble with high water and currents especially once you "go over the top" and are heading down, with the current.......

Click to expand...

No real current to be concerned with. Getting into locks and securing going down bound is probably the trickiest part, as there may only be a few inches of wall showing. But the locks are well staffed and helpful. I generally hang two sets of fenders, one at the waterline and another at the sheer. Then hold the boat from the wall until the water drops and step aboard when the deck is just below the wall.

Little Current is a great stop. Provisions and a decent pub or two.

My favourite segment of that trip is taking as much inside as possible from Killarney down to Parry Sound. It's a lot like Maine, weaving around rocks and islands. See http://boatingadventures.ca/2022/08/08/north-channel/ for my trip and route through there last year.

You'll have the place to yourselves. Lots of nice anchorages.

Jeff F said:

No real current to be concerned with. Getting into locks and securing going down bound is probably the trickiest part, as there may only be a few inches of wall showing. But the locks are well staffed and helpful. I generally hang two sets of fenders, one at the waterline and another at the sheer. Then hold the boat from the wall until the water drops and step aboard when the deck is just below the wall.

Click to expand...

That is definitely true on the Rideau canal, but I don't remember any like that on the Trent Severn.

Ted

We did TSW in 2019 which was record high water on Great Lakes.
1st lock at Trenton was tricky... no wall exposed, actually flooded by 6+/- inches of water so tie up for wait was out of the question. There is also a long narrow approach to the lock so holding position was a chore for a long period. Best bet if staying overnight in Trenton is get to know the boats leaving in AM so you can communicate once in the queue waiting for the lock. We circled in the river and tried to stay in touch w others ahead to approximate timing. You might try to call the lock master the day before to see if they could provide an update on wall conditions and any recommendations.

After 1st lock the level will be fairly well controlled so nothing like the first lock situation. There will be a few lock approached with strong spring currents but you should be able to power through and slow once inside the approach.
The last lock at Port Severn may have similar conditions when leaving the lock. It helps that the tenders will usually only put one boat in at a time (short lift & time) so less congestion leaving. The boats awaiting will not have a blue line to tie up and will be circling in the river. Know the exit routs ahead of time as there is a bit of a twist & turn under the bridge.

There are a couple narrow canal sections near the N end of the TSW and practice is to issue a "securite" when entering to alert others approaching. It's not a difficult situation if alone but not the best place to meet anyone and need to pass.

Slainte 1 said:

Our trip by van out to our "new" boat in Sturgeon Bay is coming up soon! mid May we leave for WI ! I was wondering if any one of you have a short list of "absolute must stops" in the north channel........I am watching u tube almost overnight and there are so many places.....from there we'll be on to the TSW.........on that note, I'm wondering if anyone has trouble with high water and currents especially once you "go over the top" and are heading down, with the current.......

Still looking for anyone wanting to go east towards Trenton or Kingston mid June this year!

Thanks all !

Click to expand...

We also did the TSW with the record high water. Since you are starting fro the Bay side you will be going up to start with which is a little easier since you have wind protection entering the lock. There are often a few squirrelly currents entering or leaving the locks but nothing too consequential. Your biggest challenge will be large rental houseboats around the mid section of the canal Bobcageon, Fenelon Falls etc. have lots of fenders on both sides!

Finally in the TSW you don’t have to pay for a season dockage or lock age pass up front. For each, save the receipts, and if you accumulate enough to reach the season pass rate, the next lock master will charge you only the remaining balance and issue the decal(s)

Flatswing said:

We also did the TSW with the record high water. Since you are starting fro the Bay side you will be going up to start with which is a little easier since you have wind protection entering the lock. There are often a few squirrelly currents entering or leaving the locks but nothing too consequential. Your biggest challenge will be large rental houseboats around the mid section of the canal Bobcageon, Fenelon Falls etc. have lots of fenders on both sides!

Finally in the TSW you don’t have to pay for a season dockage or lock age pass up front. For each, save the receipts, and if you accumulate enough to reach the season pass rate, the next lock master will charge you only the remaining balance and issue the decal(s)

Click to expand...

10 Lock Days and 10 mooring days = the locking & mooring pass, although if bought prior to March 31st it was 8 Days Locking and 8 Days mooring

O C Diver said:

That is definitely true on the Rideau canal, but I don't remember any like that on the Trent Severn.



Ted

Click to expand...

Yes, quite right Ted. I get the two mixed up in my memory... I take it back.

I'm slowly making my way north now. Kirkfield Lock is closed for emergency repairs.

Jeff F said:

Yes, quite right Ted. I get the two mixed up in my memory... I take it back.

I'm slowly making my way north now. Kirkfield Lock is closed for emergency repairs.

Click to expand...

Jeff
Any estimate for Kirkfield repairs?
It was down fall of 2022... I'd have thought they would have had it figured out by now.
Marine RR at Swift Rapids was also down last year. Any word on that?

Bacchus said:

Jeff
Any estimate for Kirkfield repairs?
It was down fall of 2022... I'd have thought they would have had it figured out by now.
Marine RR at Swift Rapids was also down last year. Any word on that?

Click to expand...

Sorry, it's Big Chute that's down.

Parks Canada advises that Lock 44 – Big Chute Marine Railway remains inoperable. Boaters looking to transit through Big Chute are encouraged to slow their pace to allow for repairs to be completed. Specialized contractors and the Parks Canada maintenance team are coordinating repairs to the control and drive systems. Timelines for these repairs are currently unknown, however the repairs are expected to continue into the weekend. Additional updates will be provided on a regular basis. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Jeff
You are correct, my bad, memory not as good as it once was!
That's not encouraging after having all fall / winter to do repairs.

It's open now.

Bacchus, I suspect your memory is better than mine . I mislabeled the lock in my earlier post.

No matter. All good now.

I'm just coming up on Peterborough. Very quiet on the Trent section.

Anyone doing the Trent S. this July headed SE ? We're in a Krogen 49 and wondering about the skinny spots!!??

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Slainte 1 said:

Anyone doing the Trent S. this July headed SE ? We're in a Krogen 49 and wondering about the skinny spots!!??



Any thoughts?



Thanks

Click to expand...

Canal Lake, the spot with about a three-mile run through a narrow channel with six-foot depths and sometimes choked with weeds. Do not follow another boat closely or you may run into a sunken log. Some folks avoid the Dismal Swamp Canal in NC/VA for the same reason. This spot is far more concerning. The year we transited this channel, we had to stop three times and reverse the props to clear the weeds. Still, it was uneventful otherwise. Our boat drew 5 feet.

catalinajack said:

The year we transited this channel, we had to stop three times and reverse the props to clear the weeds. Still, it was uneventful otherwise. Our boat drew 5 feet.

Click to expand...

I haven't done the Trent Severn, but I've had to do that in a few other places with shallow, weedy fresh water. Even if there's enough traffic to keep the weeds from the bottom from growing up too high, you're likely to encounter (and eventually snag on a prop) clumps of weeds that have broken loose nearby.

I've found the most effective way to clear weeds is to bring the throttles back to idle, pop the engines in reverse for a couple seconds, then back to neutral for a few seconds before going forward again. Don't actually stop the boat, you want to be out of reverse before speed gets down to zero so that the weeds thrown off the props get moved away before you go back into forward and potentially suck them back up. When doing this, you can often see the weeds float off behind you.

When we did the TSW it was very early in the season. Canal Lake we indeed full of weeds. We had to stop and reverse countless times. The day before a 42’ trawler literally got stuck in the weeds. They sent a tow boat in to get them and it got stuck and overheated its engine. The second tow boat was successful in getting them out. The lockmaster at the next lock said that as more boats went through the weeds would get cut up and it would not be a problem, not sure about that though. However the TSW is awesome and not to be missed.

Slainte 1 said:

Anyone doing the Trent S. this July headed SE ? We're in a Krogen 49 and wondering about the skinny spots!!??



Any thoughts?



Thanks

Click to expand...

Stay between the markers and have fun.

I'm at Lock 4, heading up to Gamebridge over the next week or so. I've been parked here for the last week or so watching big loopers heading north. Will keep an eye out for you.

Big Chute is only doing big boats on week days. AFAIK that's the only service issue.

Sent from my moto g play (2021) using Trawler Forum mobile app