Young’s Point, On - 7/15/12

In Line for the First Lock

 At 8 a.m. this morning we went to the gas dock for our complimentary pump out and then on to lock #20 for the 8:30 opening.  Only problem was …. All the boats ahead of us!

6 locks later and only 19 miles we are now on the lock wall at Lock #27.  We have traveled 104 miles of the 240 in the canal but have already covered over half of the 44 locks.

On the Wall at the First Lock

One of Three Westies

 One of the boats waiting on the first lock had 3 Westie dogs on board. 

Cute Tug

 After passing through the first lock of the day we passed the tug Trent which is some sort of a tradition on the canal.

Approaching the Lift Lock

Green Light - Right Pan

 A short mile later we came to the famous Peterborough Lift Lock, an engineering marvel that is over 100 years old.  It was completed in 1904.  Each of the 2 pans weighs 1300 tons when filled.  With one pan up and the other down the two balance each other .  It does not matter how many boats are in either pan because they displace their own weight in water.  When it comes time to lower one pan and raise the other, one extra foot of water (130 tons) is allowed to enter the upper pan which allows it to push down and raise the other pan to the top. It is nothing but exciting to be raised 65 feet in this manner.  When you get to the top they open the gate and one foot of water is released and out we go.

Up and Away

At the Top - Gate Down

Looking Back

Trent University

 We travel past the Trent University which was amazing. 

Indian Statues

 Some of their students (Indians) have built the rock statues at the next lock that we will start seeing as we go forward in the trip.

Narrow!!

 The canal is very narrow in spots and if we meet someone coming from the opposite direction it would not be comfortable. 

Lady and her Dog

 We did pass a lady swimming with her dog which looked really cool.

Passenger Boat

Big Boat

 We had been warned at the last lock that a large passenger craft was coming our way and when we saw it took up the whole river.

Lockside Trading Co.

 We decided to stop at Young’s Point for the night and are tied to the lock wall.  There is a store next to the lock that was amazing.  Ice cream, clothing, even furniture.  The ladies were in seventh heaven getting their shopping fix.

Ricki and Michelle

After dinner on the boat, a swim in the canal was in order.

N  44  29.264   W 078  14.039