Trent - Severn Thread

T

Thatguy

Active member
Joined
Aug 25, 2019
Messages
31
Fluid Motion Model
C-24 C SE
Vessel Name
Toto
My best friend and I are planning on transiting the Trent- Severn this September, onboard Toto, a Ranger 21. We will transit one way (Lake Ontario to Lake Huron). We have budgeted 10 days for boating. We have several hundred miles of canal experience, boating the Erie, Oswego, and Champlain canals.

We have two excellent guide books, but nothing beats intel from fellow boaters!

What insight can you give us? Specifically, best anchorages, places to eat, “must see’s”, fishing spots, etc?
Share your experiences with us and anyone else that plans on visiting this amazing waterway!
JP
 
Well, 100 views in 1 week - no comments! Looks like some folks are interested in the topic...
I'll post an itinerary as time gets closer, and give some updates as we make our way along the waterway! It would be fun to touch base with anyone who may be in the area in September. Till then, lets hope CoVID settles down and the border is open!
J.P.
 
Thanks for the info, Bruce!
JP
 
I have done the route. Ten days will be enough time. It was a fascinating ride, especially the big chute. Getting the permit and staying at some of the walls at the locks can be some good spots. a Few have power at a cost. As always, speaking with other boaters along the way gives you ideas for specific spots. My advice is enjoy the scenery and the ride. No matter where you stop it will be a great experience. Many of the locks have no radio communication, but the lock masters talk via cell phone and know when you are coming. When pulling up to a lock just go to the wall with the blue line and the doors will open when ready. We did our trip in June and there was little traffic. The lock masters asked our destination when entering the first lock and they coordinated the openings. We rarely had to wait and the locks were open when we got there.
 
Your route will bring you in the East side of Lake Simcoe and out the North side. Lake Simcoe can go from flat to rough rather quickly. The East side is very shallow and a strong blow from the West will bring waves that build and break when they come to the shallower water. The time we did that portion of the canal we were advised of this and experienced it the windy day we had scheduled to cross Simcoe from East to West. We had a R5SC and it was quite a ride for that stretch on what was otherwise a peaceful and enjoyable trip. If you don't have strong winds out of the West for that stretch, you will have a great trip. Watch your charts and for the red and green markers closely. There are a few places where they mark rocks or rock ledges that are just inches above or below the surface. Not a problem if you pay attention to navigating, but there are places you do not want to get complacent just because the shoreline is off in the distance.
 
Thanks for the advice regarding Lake Simcoe. We’ll definitely pay close attention to the weather through there. The conditions you describe remind me of those we encountered on Seneca Lake a couple years ago - we ran from the canal to Geneva (and back). That turned out to be an exciting, and memorable, ride. But I’d prefer to not relive it!
JP
 
Still planing on transiting the Trent the second week of September. Very much looking forward to it. Any other Tugnutters going to be in the area?
I'm also curious what the weather (temps in particular) will be like. Assuming highs in the low 70's, and lows 30-50?
J.P.
 
There is a FB page Trent-Severn Waterway They are very helpful. The Big Chute Marine Railway has been having issues this year. The biggest being lack of staff for taking larger beam boats. These can only go on the week days, and there have been some mechanical issues on a couple of the other locks. I know the beam thing is not an issue for you but just suggesting you add a buffer for time. It is very beautiful and as mentioned check your weather for your Lake Simcoe crossing.. The port of Orillia is a great spot to spend a night. Great showers, liquor store, shopping and many restaurants a short walk from the port.
Have a wonderful trip
 
Thanks for the update! I have been checking in on the Trent Facebook page. Maybe once the “Big Blue Boat” passes through there will be more to read about! I’m not particularly concerned about the Big Chute -we are only transiting one way and have already decided that we will let time not distance dictate the end point.
We will overnight in Orillia for sure!
I will be looking for a rental to get the truck/trailer back to our end point. From what I understand, this should t be difficult?JP
 
The lift loch at Gamebridge is now shut down indefinitely. It is a bad year for the system unfortunately.
 
That’s unfortunate, but shouldn’t affect us too much because we were plan into. Kirkfield being done for the season as well. We will explore the lakes a little more.
Unfortunately for us, we purchased a one way transit pass. I am hoping, given the lock closures, that they will allow us to transit both directions with our pass. We’ll soon see!
Headed to the tugboat roundup in Waterford NY this weekend - then off to the Trent ( by trailer ).
JP
 
Our trip from Waterford NY (by trailer) got us into Quinte West by mid-afternoon. The staff was great, and the grounds were beautiful. Clean bathrooms and showers! They arranged secure parking for the truck, and gave us a ride back from the yard.
The next morning, we made it to the bottom side of lock 8 on Day 1. The reduced fall hours make it a little more difficult to put miles on, but we are not in a hurry. Gives us more time for fishing and poking around.
The lock staff has been pleasant and helpful. Caught a couple pike, had some dinner, and called it a night! Great trip so far.
JP
 
Yesterday, navigated from bottom of lock 8 to bottom of lock 18. Spent the night in Hastings; the wall below the lock is not as clean and picturesque as the wall above, but it is a very short walk to the washroom. Had a shore dinner and went into town for breakfast. Lock keepers continue to be knowledgeable and very friendly. Going to head up to Peterborough today, perhaps a little fishing on rice lake as well.
JP
 
Made it from the bottom of Lock 18 to the bottom of 19 in Petersborugh today. The trip was fun - Rice lake was a little choppy due to the wind, and the quartering waves kept the wipers busy once on the Otenabee the wind quieted down. In Petersborough, enjoyed some wings, couple salads, and beer at the local Sticks.
Tomorrow, to the Petersborough lift lock and above for the night, then head back the following day. I'll post some pics when I get some better internet - Verizon service is disappointing up here.
J.P.
 
I gave up on the updates due to spotty coverage. Had a great trip, made it up Lakefield where we spent the night and turned around.
Boat is back in the yard now; we arrived in Massachusetts yesterday. Next year, the plan is to pick up in Lakefield and continue on to the Chute and beyond!
If anyone has any questions, pm me or reach out here.
JP
 
We completed the Trent Severn this fall in our Ranger 21 tug and it was awesome. Thanks everybody for the support and advice. It was definitely a trip that was made for a ranger tug. If anyone out there is doing it next year And needs some advice feel free to PM me and I would be happy to help. Due to one of the lift locks being closed we weren’t able to make it the whole way but did the lower half all the way up to Lakefield. We started it down in Trenton and left the trailer and truck there at the beginning. There are some great marinas along the way and definitely it’s not a trip that should be rushed. We allocated eight or nine days for the duration of the canal and probably should’ve had more time just to explore the many towns along the way. It’s a beautiful area of Canada built for recreational boating. We made a brief video about our trip on YouTube. Thanks again for all the support!
Jonathan
Little red tug.com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=00-RNN0bDFY
 
hey great video! Did you cross paths with any trailerable boats traveling 1-way? I wonder if any local services exist to help shuttle the truck+trailer to the other end and avoid the return trip.

Thanks for sharing your trip.
 
Hey. Thanks for the kind words about the video. Our goal when we planned the trip in the spring was to do it one way and then our plan was to take a bus and train back to Trenton from port Severn. At the beginning of the waterway in Trenton there is an awesome marina called the Trent port marina. It’s a brand new marina and the facilities are awesome. They will store your truck and trailer like we did for $20 per week in a secured lot off property. Our plan was to leave the trailer there and then come back and get it at the end. we had planned a extra day of travel where we would head back to Trenton, pick up our truck and trailer and then drive back north again to get the boat. That plan was scuttled after the Kirkfield lift lock had a catastrophic failure at the end of August and there was no through opportunities for us or any other boats. We were hoping to make the big Shute railroad but the canal was essentially cut in half.We actually talked to a couple people who were doing the entire great loop and because they couldn’t make the whole Trent Severn were paying to be taken out at a marina below the Kirkfield lift lock and shuttled around by trailer putting back in a little further up in lake Simcoe. We heard that the locals were making a good profit shuttling boats around the broken lock and that some people were paying several thousand dollars to have their larger vessels taken out and shuttled around. We actually bought a waterway pass that was only good for northbound transit but they honored it in both ways because of the Kirkfield lift like being out of service. There’s a number of marinas along the way that do some shuttle service we asked about. The other option is to start in the middle and just work one way north and then go southbound. It’s really something we figured out that we bit off too much than we could chew. You can do the whole length of it in six or seven days but that’s really not spending any time at any of the towns along the way and passing up a lot of opportunities
 
Hello, we did the Trent-Severn Waterway as a portion of our Great Loop trip in 2022. Our travels, experiences, and comments are captured on our trip blog. It can be accessed at:

https://mikebethadventures.blogspot.com/2022/07/great-loop-kingston-ontario-to-trenton.html

You may need to use the blog archive menu selection to read of each travel segment. Our travels in Canada were one of the highlights of the Loop. Best wishes for a pleasant cruise! If you have any questions don’t hesitate to contact us.
 
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