Our main engine is almost at the 2000 hour mark, and so it was time for the valve lash adjustment. Diesel engines require this to prevent valve damage as the engine ages, and at the same time there are other items that need to be inspected. Our engine is a Caterpillar, and I wanted the work done by a Cat mechanic. One thing about having a single engine boat, if the engine fails you don't have a backup engine, so it is important not to skip out on maintenance. I was also not 100% sure about previous maintenance, boats sometimes are not as well taken care of as cars. And we all know that not every car is well-taken care of. So, I asked for a few extra things to be done including changing the coolant. In principle, changing coolant is a DIY job, but I have never done it and don't think that now is the time for a youtube tutorial, so I am having the experts do it. I set up an appointment with a mobile Cat service to meet at Hartwell's lock to do the work. In preparation for this, we journeyed to Dow's Lake pavilion, where we would be leaving the boat for a week or so to get some chores done besides the engine service.
Our friend Mary Jane served as crew for this trip, so we literally showed her the ropes, and then set off on our trip north to Dow's lake. I was very surprised at the lack of traffic for a sunny Saturday. Overall, boat traffic on the Rideau has been incredibly light this year, lots of empty slips at all of the marinas. Guess people are doing other things after the burst of boating we saw during COVID. There are a lot of boats still shrink wrapped, and we have been told by other boaters that marinas have been refusing to launch boats because owners have not paid their bills.
Along the way we passed a trimaran going south. Looked like a space ship on the water as we came around a curve. MJ was a quick study, and we passed through a variety of locks on our way to Dow's.
Once we got to Hog's back, Louise got on the phone about a slip with Dow's. She had called last week to try to reserve a spot, but was told they could not take reservations. WTF? I was there last week and their docks were empty. Took three calls, as the staff there did not know what to do. Are we the first transient they have had this year? Anyways, she eventually talked to the right person, and they had a spot for us for a few nights. While all this was happening, we got hit with a short thunderstorm, so we had to wait in the lock until it passed.
Waiting in the rain.
We got tied up and connected, then visited with MJ and later Collin, who stopped by in the afternoon. Then we had to do a bit of car shuffle, as we had left our car at Hurst, but now needed it in the city. Thankfully MJ was willing to shuttle us, and after a loooong day we were in place at Dow's lake.
Did I mention this was a Saturday? Dow's lake has ballrooms that it rents out for weddings and other events, and we were parked right beside the DJ booth. Not the most peaceful sleep, as the party continued late into the night. The worst was at 4 am when the cleaning staff turned the volume to 11. Anyway, we survived and the next day we were off to the house to wash windows, and finish our hardwood floors.
Back on the boat Monday, I took the boat to Hartwell's lock, locked through solo, and parked at the top. I spent the day installing our Starlink antenna and router, but could not run the wiring yet as I needed to keep the salon area empty for the mechanic. At the end of the day, I moved all our stuff from the salon to down below in preparation for the engine work the next day. Eevee helped.
Next day, up at 5 am, quick breakfast and then opened up the engine room in preparation for the mechanical work. The mechanic arrived around 7, and started in right away. I ended up helping with the coolant change (he got me to hold the bucket), and I also asked him to show me a few things around the engine. He showed me how to change the fuel filters and prime the engine, and suggested a few things that I should do around the engine room. Turns out a couple of valves were loose when he did the lash adjustment, so very happy I did it a bit early. One thing I learned is that changing the coolant on this engine is not a DIY operation. The mechanic had to do quite a bit of dis-assembly to get at the drain. He told me that it could be DIY if I installed a drain valve, but he pointed out that this was not cost effective as it would require replacing a few parts. He mentioned however, that when it is time to replace the hoses, that it would not be much more expensive to add a valve, so this could be part of that service in the future. Overall, the coolant only needs to be changed every 4 years or so, so having an expert do it is not a bad thing.
The next day I went down the lock by myself, and went back to Dow's lake, then docked in a tight space beside a Nordic Tug looper. Love the stern thruster.
Spent the day finishing the Starlink install, and also installed our new helm chair. Louise had complained that the old helm arrangement did not allow her to see when we were underway, so we bought a pontoon boat helm chair which I installed beside the helm. When Louise arrived at the boat after work, she finished the Starlink connection (she handles all the high-tech) and we watched the Stanley cup game on TV.
The next day started with some boat yoga. When I installed the helm chair, I was not able to tighten the bolts, so Louise helped by holding a screwdriver while I snugged up the bolts. Even got some help from Eevee. Test fit and all is well. The seat base was made with a piece of scrap plywood I had in my shop. Will paint it sometime in the next few weeks. I was off to uOttawa as the department was hosting a retirement event for me. Thanks to everyone who stopped by, it was a really nice send-off.
The day after, Louise's school held a retirement party at Mexi's, one of the restaurants at Dow's lake. I stopped in for a beverage and a piece of cake, and gave boat tours to a few of the teachers who wanted to see our new home.
The music teachers sang a song for Louise (tune of Gilligan's island), and everyone enjoyed nachos and cake. I hope I don't have to wear the hat.
Next day, Louise and I went back to Hurst to collect our dingy. I had made a dingy bridal out of some rigging rings, shackles and soft-straps I got at Canadian Tire. The front one fit perfectly, but the straps were too short for the back. I improvised with some rope, and we eventually got it secured. Next, a quick shower for me and we were off to the Long Island lock station, where we met up with my sister Ruth, and my brother Bruce. Had a nice dinner at the Swan. Louise does not drink beer, I think the last time she did was about 30 years ago. But that night she had a beer, I wonder why?
Up the next morning and into the locks headed north. Full lockage with another Mainship (Surface Interval), an old Chriscraft, and an expensive pontoon. They loaded us in the lock with no room to spare. The dingy was really close to the back wall and escape ladder. Yikes. We had to make sure the boat was pulled forward so it didn't scrape. Luckily with a full lockage, they drain the water slowly so there is less current. Locking went well, except for the departure.
Normally when you leave a lock, you go slow for the first little bit to secure up your lines, then increase speed. The guy in the Chriscraft left the lock second, we were third to leave. I gave him the normal interval to depart the lock, then we cast off. As we were coming out of the lock, I had to manoeuvre clear of this guy as he decided to STOP just after he cleared the lock to police up his lines. Not only me, but the pontoon behind us was stacked up, and so he also needed to wiggle around the Chriscraft. Eventually the traffic jam cleared, but WTF!
Next lock I waited for buddy in the Chriscraft to exit, stop, and then re-start before leaving the lock so I would avoid the cluster. Have seen a lot of things on the canal in 14 years but this was a first.
The reach between Black rapids and Hog's back is often full of canoes, kayaks and paddle-boards. The Rideau canoe club is located right beside the lock station on Mooney's bay, and paddlers often take advantage of the calm waters early in the day. Today was no exception. We passed racing canoes and kayaks near the railroad bridge. I went dead-slow in this stretch, which meant I was rapidly falling behind the first two boats in our convoy. Was able to speed up slightly for a short stretch before rounding the bend into Mooney's bay. Here we were greeted with a capsized canoe, with a chase boat giving aid. Dead-slow past the rescue. Then a dragon boat full of kids decided to stop cross-wise to the channel, so we had to stop and "hover" until they cleared the way. During all this, the pontoon behind me lost patience and passed us and the dragon boat, plowing quite a bit of a wake. Surprising, since rushing won't affect the bridge opening, the staff won't swing it until all the boats in the convoy have approached. I guess people in expensive pontoons don't like waiting for kids in dragon boats. Anyways, with the delay and having to go dead-slow we ended up significantly behind the rest of the convoy. Right on cue, as we arrived, the lockmasters swung the bridge and in we went.
Since the pontoon was going through Hartwell's, I told him he should exit the lock third (out of order) since I would be stopping at the next lock. Unfortunately, he did not wait for buddy in the Chriscraft to stop at the lock exit, came out a little hot, and so had to jam on the brakes (reverse down) to avoid crashing into the stern of the Chricraft. The little pleasures in life to watch the show on the water. Once the drama cleared, we cast off and trundled off after the others.
At Hartwell's, the two mainships peeled off and stopped on the grey line while the other two boats continued on. We passed a quiet evening putting things away on the boat, then settled in to watch Edmonton thump Florida in the cup final. Connor freakin McDavid YES!
