MTL Ottawa Kingston mini loop

[Starscream]

We're on a mini loop trip if about 400 miles. We left 6 days ago heading from MTL up the Ottawa River towards Ottawa.

We left with 5 in board but when we got to Ottawa we lost one and added two so now we're 6. My wife and I, and four teens: 18M 16M 16F and15M. When we get to Kingston 15F is joining us so the last leg is gonna be 7 on board.

We have a big Bodega fridge-cooler in the aisle below, half fridge, half freezer. The freezer part is just re-freezing a gallon jug of water that gets switched into the cooler below the aft dinette seat, so plenty of cold food storage. But it's amazing how much teens eat. We're carrying lots of premixed flour for pancakes and cookies, cereals, milk and pastas. Bread only lasts for a couple of days before it molds. Cooking on the origo stove or Sea-b-cue.

First leg was MTL to the Carillon locks, with a stop at Pointe aux anglaise for 14L of gas. Second leg was to Montebello, with a stop at voyageur National park and another stop at Hawkesbury to resupply. On day 1 my bilge-drain pump stopped working.. no pressure. Also on day 1 my fresh water pump pressure switch failed so it just kept running until it burst a connection in the bathroom. We didn't notice until 20 gallons of water drained in to the bathroom floor and bilges. So.. no pumps and all cooking and cleaning had to be done with refilling gallon jugs from land stations. An Amazon order sent a new pump to a friend's place in Ottawa, and I installed it yesterday in the fresh water system, and put the pump with the faulty switch in the bulge system. Everything back to normal now.

Montebello was..um..interesting. called ahead for a marina slip, was quoted 150 if I also booked a room at the chateau, which I wanted to do anyway to say we've done it. Then they quoted 800 for a basic room... Forget it. Marina was $250 for the night!!! But we rubbed elbows with people in sundresses and hats and Pomeranian dogs and helicopters parked over there. Interesting place to visit... hikes, pools, ambiance, restaurants. Nice, but never again.

Got to the RockCliffe Yacht Club on the next leg from Montebello, stopping at a beach and doing some full throttle paddleboard-skiing. We wanted to visit the aviation museum in the morning there but weather rolling in forced us to leave early and run for lock 1 of the Rideau. Fourth in line at 8am, 5th into the first lift. Up 8 locks, docked for the night by Rogers arena.

66L for the first 169km running mostly at 2200 rpm at 8.5 km/hr and about 3L/hr fuel burn. The whole 160km was into the wind and into a ripping current. Thank God for autopilot. Now that we're in the Rideau canal, were burning 2.7L/hr and running at 9.7 km/hr. Total burn for 160km to Ottawa was 66L, which included maybe 45 minutes of WOT and a few hours of motorsailing.

We stayed out for a couple of days and explored Ottawa. The homeless issue was on full display, with the entire area full of mind-altered people living in their own worlds. We were warned by fellow boaters to not leave the boat unattended, so we always left someone on board. Sad to see the nation's capital, with so much history and beauty, turning into an absolute dump and smelling of urine everywhere. We were happy to leave, in a sad way.

Did another 8 locks yesterday. There really are 2 types of boaters: awesome people and total entitled morons.

We stayed the night at Hurst Marina in The Middle Of Nowhere, Ontario. Laundry, showers, a nice restaurant, but nothing else. Oh, other than a steamboat wreck that the boys boarded and explored.

Wondering if we'll make Smith's Falls today. Its 8 locks and 40km away, so a big maybe. We have to restock groceries, hopefully in MerrickVille which seems to be the next possibility for a grocery store.

[Be Free]

You have my attention! That is more miles with more people than I've ever done non-stop. I'm looking forward to your next post. It sounds like a great trip.

[Starscream]

We didn't make Smith's Falls. We're at the Kilmarnock Lock station for the night, Gonna try to pass Smith's Falls tomorrow morning and run across upper Rideau Lake to gas up and try to cross Big Rideau and Lowed Rideau tomorrow, plus another couple of locks we hope.

MerrickVille was a great little town, very nicely set up with a cute downtown. Coffee, AC, two kids getting lost in the used-book store, small museum, and restocking groceries.

Good trip so far. The new battery system is working great, doing a full two days without power, running the fridge, lights, phones, and a movie without having to switch to the 2nd lead-acid. We had power last night so I expect the lithium is back to fully charged for tonight.

It's amazing how switches and buttons get accidentally pressed during the day. Have to remember to check everything...fridge got turned off once, main breaker got turned off once, fridge got turned up to 50F by accident. Trick is to realize it before too long.

Fans are essential, especially when it's raining or just so steaming hot outside. Ok gotta go cook a supper.

[OverEasy]

Hi StarScream!

Wow! What a trip!

That is more miles with more people than I've ever done non-stop.

You’re on a full scale adventure!
What a great time to share with your family! Fantastic!

We’re glad that you’re sharing this journey with us all.
(And yes, we’re also a tad envious too! )
Canada is such a fantastic, interesting and beautiful country.
Post a couple pictures when you can.

Looking forward to your next update!

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[NiceAft]

400 miles with a septet.

[Starscream]

We slept at Kilmarnock Lock station last night. Very quiet location, since we were upstream at the no-power dock we were all alone. The big cruisers hang out at the slips with power. The kids and I were calculating the people/sqft ratios of 6 in a 26X vs 2 in the typical 36ft Carver that we see here.

We came through the Rideau lakes to Newboro, the place where the channel markers reverse colors and a drop of rain ends up in the St Lawrence vs. ending up in the Ottawa River. Currents were not noticeable, and wind was behind us, so the we were hitting 10.5km/hr with a fuel burn in the 2.7L/hr range. Much better than the first leg of the trip, and I'm curious what the next few downhill days will bring. I coulda had the sails up almost all day if we wanted to make the effort to raise and lower the mast, but no thanks we'll pass.

My son's girlfriend is with us, and they're having the absolute time if their lives together. They were snuggled up asleep in the cockpit today holding hands and I hate to say it this way but for him these are the glory days of his life, he'll remember this forever I think.

Oh, a word about Canadian mosquitoes, especially in Kilmarnock island. Literally, they formed a mist in the cockpit last night...hundreds of them. We've got hatch screens and we stuff napkins or Kleenex in the upper corners where the shape of the hatch creates a little gap. This method has kept us mosquito free in the cabin for 15 years but last night four of the little buggers made it past the defenses, just by sheer numbers and random motion. Its 8:45pm right now on the Newport municipal dock, with a light land breeze and I'm in the open cockpit with no nets up, bug free for now. I feel like they're coming for me, though.

Feeding 6 people on a Mac is quite a challenge, especially with 4 teenage appetites. Girlfriend #2 is joining us tomorrow, so that'll make 7 for the next week or so. Made pancakes and eggs this morning... Used 13 eggs, a bunch of bananas, a container of strawberries, pancake mix, milk, butter... Keeping it all in stock and cold is nuts. Lunch: 11 frozen chicken burgers and buns from a MerrickVille bakery, tomatoes, lettuce, chips, two cucumbers and two peppers. Supper: 2 bags of rice noodles, the remaining 5 chicken burgers chopped up, 2 cans of veggies and a bottle of teriyaki sauce for a great stir-fry. Cookies for desert, with instant coffee and tea. Also went through 2 bags of chips and maybe a dozen bubbly drinks. That's one freaking day with this gang of eating machines.

[Starscream]

Trip is complete. No casualties no mutinies, surprisingly. A few thoughts:

The DF90A was absolutely flawless the whole time, never making a single sound, noise or vibration out of the ordinary. 53 gallons total consumption, for 400 miles on the water. Most of the time was at 2000 RPM, at speeds between 5 and 9mph, depending on the river currents and winds. My only comment on motoring long distances is: protect your hearing, even at 2000 RPM our ears were ringing at the end of each long day. It doesn't SOUND loud but prolonged exposure builds up. Ear-plugs for next trip.

On the upstream/upwind leg to ottawa we motored almost the entire way. In the Rideau Canal the mast was down as we passed through the 45 different canal locks. On the homeward leg we were able to motorsail a lot, with the jib alone allowing us to maintain our target speed of 6mph with engine RPM's as low as 1200 in the calm spots, and 9mph in the spots with current.

We passed through the 5 commercial locks on the seaway: Iroquois, Eisenhower, Snell, and 2 at Beauharnois. There's a lot of conflicting information about how to do this, but we made it through learning as we go. If anyone is interested in the procedure just let me know: it involves pre-reserving and pre-paying on both Canadian and US websites. In the Beaharnois Canal the bridge operators were telling the slug of pleasureboats transiting with us that the sailboat would cause a slow passage because of the long Canal...so we powered up and led the charge on a plane and were the first ones in the lock. Beaharnois locks were the longest and most bothersome, taking over 2 hours to transit: for Iroquois, Eisenhower and Snell we were the only boat in the locks and had very rapid service, not waiting more than 5 minutes.

Imagine 7 sleeping on a 26X with no AC in an extended heat wave. Cabin temps hit 95F with 95% RH. Fans and cold-water misters saved the day but no one was comfortable. Two out of four fans gave up the ghost during the trip, and one night I found one kid sleeping in the central aisle on laundry bags, and another sleeping in the cockpit without even a mosquito net. They couldn't take the body heat of the others adding to the stifling cabin heat.

It was so hot that the Bodega cooler we bought on Amazon couldn't make ice, so we were trying to keep the other cooler alive with cold water from its freezer portion that never really froze. We lost a block of cheese, but the eggs and other less perishable things survived. A real marine refrigeration system would be nice...it's on the list of potential upgrades. AC would have made the difference. If we're going to do another extended summer trip, we'll have to find a way to add it.

Back on solid ground...last night we could feel our beds rocking even though they weren't, and when a small plane buzzed over this morning my wife and I both looked at each other and said "WAAAKE", feeling like we had to prep for the upcoming rocking.

Glad to have done it. Glad to be home. On to planning the next trip.

[NiceAft]

Well written. Well done.

[OverEasy]

Hi StarScream!

Congratulations! Congratulations! Congratulations!

Wow! What an adventure!
Great trip! Thank you for sharing!

Best Regards,
Over Easy

[dlandersson]

... two kids getting lost in the used-book store, small museum, and restocking groceries.

[Russ]

Reading that I could feel the heat and trying to sleep in those conditions.

Great story, thanks for sharing.

[Be Free]

Trip is complete. No casualties no mutinies,
...
Glad to have done it. Glad to be home. On to planning the next trip.

Sounds like the definition of a great trip!

[Prospect]

Wow. Sounds like a great time. I really can't imagine 7 people sleeping and moving around on an X. It's tight with 4! I'm planning to do it in 2028 so you've given me some good ideas! I wish I had a 90 HP motor like you. I'm stuck with the Honda 50 and getting on a plane is almost impossible.