Days 322 - 323 - McCraken's — Captain Father John

Miles cruised 13, locks transited 1, lift 6′, fuel purchased $0, slip fee $62, daily high temperature 88°f

Monday started with a nice walk along the Lakefield waterway. At 10:00 am Melanie Allen picked us up and took us to Paris Marine to buy our fuel filters for the dingy engine. We then went to the Canadian Canoe Museum in Peterborough. The Canoe Museum traces the history of canoes and kayaks from the early days of the Indians, Inuits and voyageurs through the current day with fiberglass, aluminum and Kevlar. They have over 3,000 canoes and kayaks in storage in addition to all the canoes and kayaks on display.

Melanie took us to lunch at the Lakefield Country Club where we met her husband John as he finished his round of golf. We then visited their home on Clear Lake that has a dock and a tennis court.

On Monday evening we were joined by long time boaters Robert and Donna Lockhart. They own a classic 1974 Egg Harbor 33 called Summer Quarters. They have owned Summer Quarters for 25 years. Robert and Donna have been cruising the Trent and Georgian Bay for 40 years. They gave us insightful suggestions on ports and anchorages for our remaining time in Canada.

On Tuesday John Allen picked me up at 8:30 am and we went to his home to get his boat. He wanted to show me a wonderful anchorage where we could have lunch and swim. It turns out the anchorage he took me too is only 1/2 mile from the McCraken’s Marina where we will spend the night. John has a 20′ inboard bow rider. At 45 mph it did not take us long to cross Clear Lake and Stony Lake to get to the anchorage.

The old swimming hole. The scenery on Stony Lake looks just like the North Channel of Lake Huron with rose granite islands and pine trees.

We cast off at 11:00 am and transited one lock at 6′. Total travel was 13 miles. We anchored in 17′ of water, had lunch and went swimming all afternoon. After swimming, we cruised 1/2 mile to McKraken’s Marina. They have a bakery that makes the best blueberry scones ever. And did I mention the banana bread?

Dale installed the new filters in the dingy so off we went for a test ride. It ran great for five minutes then stalled out as before. Priscilla suggested pumping the fuel ball. That worked and we where able to motor back to CL. So now we have clean fuel filters and the same problem. The remaining suspects are a clogged air vent or a bad fuel pump. We shall see.

The 12 year old Racor fuel filter.

Well it turns out there was a third possibility. As I was unsuccessfully searching for the fuel vent I traced the fuel line and noticed that the fuel line had worked itself between the inflatable tube and the rigid bottom. With the hot weather, the tube expanded and pinched the fuel line. I pulled the fuel line out and straightened it and now the dingy motor runs like a champ.

There is a lovely church on Stony Lake that was built on a rock. It is only accessible by boat. This is the church where John and Melanie Allen’s daughter was married last year.

Bonus photo

On Wednesday we will cruise 13 miles and transit 3 locks to Buckhorn Lake Marina. We are slowly making progress towards Orillia.

Carl (Chef) Wooden – quote of the day.

“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out and meet it.”
– Jonathan Winters

Jonathan Harshman Winters III (November 11, 1925 – April 11, 2013) was an American comedian, actor, author, and artist. Beginning in 1960, Winters recorded many classic comedy albums for the Verve Records label. He also had records released every decade for over 50 years, receiving 11 nominations for Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album during his career and winning a Grammy Award for Best Album for Children for his contribution to an adaptation of The Little Prince in 1975 and the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Comedy Album for Crank(y) Calls in 1996.