Monday, July 15, 2019
The day has finally arrived - we will begin the Trent-Severn Waterway (TSW) today!
TSW Locks
~The TSW locks only operate from 9AM to 5:30 PM on weekdays, or until 6:30 PM on weekends. (They are actually open until 6pm and 7pm, respectively, but the last lock through is a half-hour before closing.)
~Many of the gates are operated manually: the lock-hands walk around in a circle pushing a handle that turns the gears to open or close the gates. (see video)
~Each lock has a lock-house that is open to the public with washrooms and sometimes coded facilities with bathrooms and showers for the paying transient boaters or campers (tent-type camping). A few of the lock-houses are original houses that were actually-lived in by the lock master many years ago, though they have been refurbished for current uses.
~Only a few locks have a power supply, which is an extra charge. Some also have potable water available (hose hook-up) and ice for sale.
~Each lock-house’s grounds are maintained by the lock master (and his/her summer lock-hands), resulting in some locks being well known for special features.
~Most of the summer workers (lock operators/hands/assistants, etc – various names used to refer to them) are college-aged students with a few high-schoolers thrown in. They are all (except one or two) extremely helpful and courteous, and fun to chat with while being raised or lowered in the lock chamber.
The locking process is a bit different going through the TSW than on the US rivers.
In the US:
1. There is commercial traffic locking through, which is given preference over pleasure craft.
2. Communication with the lock master is by VHF radio or phone.
3. There is sometimes a wall to tie up to if you have to wait for your turn to lock through.
4. A life vest is required for anyone on the boat decks.
5. The lock gates will not begin closing until the lock master knows that each boat is securely attached to the bollard/cable or line in the chamber
6. Boats’ engines are left running while in the lock chamber.
On the TSW:
1. There is no commercial traffic, though the occasional lock workboat may be seen and given preference.
2. Communication with the lock master is by arm-waving and shouting, and occasionally a personal visit; only the first lock uses a VHF radio. (We are not joking, this is true.)
3. There are walls for tying up to, typically on both sides of the river and along both the upper and lower ends of the lock; one of the walls on each end has a blue stripe painted down its length where boats waiting to lock through are to tie up if they have to wait.
4. There is no requirement for wearing life vests/belts, etc.; it is a personal decision.
5. The lock gates begin closing as soon as all the boats are in the chamber knowing that sooner or later they will get secured to a line or cable; occasionally the water will begin filling or emptying before every vessel is completely secured as long as it’s in the process of getting secured.
6. All engines must be turned off within the chamber.
We developed a routine for locking that worked well for us:
- Going up: Sue would use a boat hook to grab one of the cables or ropes hanging down the chamber wall and pull it close enough to get a line around it, attach one end to a deck cleat and hold onto the other end (unless it was very windy or turbulent water, then she’d half cleat the “holding” end). Brian would do the same in the stern or next to the sundeck, then Sue would shut down the engines.
- Going down: The lock-hands were always helpful by taking then ends of our lines and putting them around the cable for us (there was usually no way to reach down to the cable from the boat deck), then we’d cleat one end to the boat and hold the other end. When both front and back of the boat were secured Sue would shut down the engines.
- When the chamber was filled/emptied and the lock gates opened, Brian removed his line from the cable, start the engines, and let Sue know when to remove her line. Sue would tell Brian when the boat was free from the chamber wall, and off we’d go!
We did this 42 times! We got really good at it! Though it’s probably not a skill we’d add to our resumes. However, the lock masters and lock-hands really made an incredible difference in creating many interesting and memorable experiences!
Back to the big day starting the TSW! Since there were many Loopers in the marina who had arrived over the past few days, we knew there would be quite a few heading onto the TSW this morning. There are those who want to be the first ones in line, and as we expected, they were over at the lock wall well before 9AM. A few more of us left the marina shortly after 9AM to go to the fuel/pump-out dock and wait in line there for a while (it was a very small dock). We didn’t need fuel, but it’s always best to pump-out if you don’t know where the next one will be, so everyone pumps-out there. (Note: US marina pump-out systems are partially subsidized, so they cost between $0 to $5/pump-out. Canadian pump-out facilities are not government subsidized so they are more expensive, usually $15 - $25/pump-out. Interesting that alcoholic beverages are more expensive in Canada too – they get ya at both ends, input & output!)
Almost all the locks (except a couple that are narrower) are 32 feet wide, and the lock masters decide how many boats to put in the chamber for a single locking. The size and type of boats, the currents at one end or the other, the winds or even the rate of flow into/out of the lock may result in different numbers of boats locking through at one time, and in what configuration, single, side-by-side, rafted, secured to one side or the other. In particular, lock 6 is only 16 ft wide, so locks 1 through 5 do not put any boats in side-by-side because it would cause a jam-up of boats waiting for lock 6, which is too narrow to put in two large boats side-by-side.
We were in the third group (5th & 6th boats) to lock-through that morning. While in the first lock, you must purchase your locking pass if you haven’t done so already. Since we were only going from one end of the TSW to the other, we purchased a one-way pass through the entire TSW. Once you’re in the locking system, they tend to keep track of you. At each lock someone takes down your pass number, asks how far you plan to go that day and they advise you if there could be a problem, then they let the next lock know how many boats are on the way there. It’s all very efficient, except for the shouting and arm-signaling part! :-)
Since the first 5 locks are closely spaced (only 6.4 miles total), most people do them plus number 6 to get to Frankford then tie up for the night at the lock wall. Frankford also happens to be one of the few lock walls with access to power hook ups. We thought that might be an easy way to start our TSW journey. At 1pm at lock 4, the lock-hand said that lock 6 walls were already full with transient boats. Uh-oh! We decided we’d keep going if there was still no room at the wall when we got there… and that’s what we did. We ended up going all the way through lock 8 and tying up at its upper wall. That meant our first day on the TSW was 25 miles long (instead of 7.3), and we went up 310 ft (instead of 118 ft). The town at this lock is called Percy Reach and there is nothing near the lock. Without power, we used the generator to cool down the inside of the boat after a long hot day and heat up dinner. As the evening cooled, the generator was turned off, windows opened and we called it an early night. Not a bad way to begin our TSW adventure!