ORILLIA, REDUX

Tuesday, July 7

The forecast for the day is pretty stormy, so we decided to stay another day in Orillia. We had a few things to do and/or buy, and we could do that here. Besides, we’ve had enough of locking through in the rain. I spent the morning, before the rain came, on my bike, riding off to the marine supply store and a bike shop. I have been so frustrated trying to adjust the bearings in one of my pedals, that I was ready for professional help. The bike mechanic looked at my pedal and said there was nothing else he could do, so I bought a set of cheap pedals ($5) as replacement. Elaine stuck around and did stuff on the boat.

The rain started late morning and was to last the rest of the day, so I decided the conditions were right to do a major wash-down of the boat. Whenever I wash the boat I get soaking wet anyway, so doing it in the rain doesn’t really make much of a difference. It’s pretty amazing how dirty a boat can get on a trip like this - I started from the very top and scrubbed every inch of this boat. It took several hours, and when I was done with the boat, I scrubbed down all of the fenders and fenderboards. It was a long afternoon, but it made a difference in how the boat looks.

Wednesday, July 8

So much for planning. We had planned to finish the Trent-Severn Waterway today and be in Lake Huron. However, the person who crashed their vehicle into the power pole next to the highway changed that. Both the lock and the railroad swing bridge at the north end of Lake Couchiching were without power by the time we got to them around mid-day, so there was no way to get through. It was unclear when power would be restored, but estimates ran as late as 6 PM, and by that time, the lock is closed. Since the railroad bridge couldn’t open, we could not even get to the lock to tie up at the wall and wait.

It was not difficult to decide what to do, although we did have options. We could have gone back into Lake Couchiching and anchored (there are some very nice anchorages there, and the weather is nice), but if you pay for two nights at the Port of Orillia, the third night is free. Since the marina has nice shore facilities and free electricity, not to mention access to Orillia, we retraced our route and got back to the marina by mid afternoon. This gave me more time for the boat projects that keep adding up. The 12 volt power cord which we have used for 3 years to keep the computer charged, quit working the other day. It had been getting a bit temperamental lately, and when it stopped working I pulled it out of the socket and saw melted plastic. Surprisingly, the fuse had not blown, but, apparently, the long term use was too much for it. I was going to replace that outlet with a USB outlet anyway, so I did that, then found I didn’t have a cord that would fit to charge the computer. After biking around to a couple of stores, I finally decided to completely eliminate any 12 volt plug, and temporarily hardwire the cord direct to the 12 volt source. It doesn’t look pretty with a wire coming out of a hole in the dashboard, but it works. Next project was getting the mineral spots off of the front windows using a glass polish and a polishing head on a drill. That done, I coated the windows with Rain-X to keep them clear. Next was repairing the VHF antenna - long story, but it needed repair and that got done also. Lastly, I’ve been meaning to take off some hardware on the dinghy. I’m not sure exactly what it was meant for - probably to hold a light pole, or something. Anyway, it was made of aluminum and had corroded very badly. When it was installed many, many years ago, some of the washers were poor quality stainless steel and had rusted, making ugly stains on the fiberglass. I removed it, sanded down the rust stains and filled the holes. By then, it was time for a shower and a walk into town to visit the local brew pub for dinner.

We’ll try again tomorrow morning - should get through the locks and the “Big Chute,” if there’s not too many boats backed up from the closure today…