Trojan Boat Forum

Paul, what an amazing adventure story!!!!!!!!!
You just finished what I hope to (or maybe not) accomplish next summer.

I'm just a new member as of this summer, and I joined to learn all I can about Trojan tri-cabins. I've started reading from page 144, and am gradually working my way through the wealth of knowledge that can be found in past discussions and I highly recommend the practice. I don't have a Trojan yet, but the tri-cabin that is on my short list is a 1984 located near Lake Simcoe. I've already had it surveyed, but it failed and is currently having stringer repairs completed by the owner. When the work is done I may take another look.

I have never done any boating in any Ontario canals, but have always wanted to. When I was attending Carleton U in Ottawa in the 70's, I would sit on the grass studying, and watch the cruisers pass by in the Rideau canal that was adjacent to the campus.....saying to myself....someday I'm gonna do that. If we do decide to purchase this tri-cabin, then the fact that it is located near Lake Simcoe would be the exact incentive I would need to force me to make the time to pilot it through the Trent to Lake Ontario, then east into the St. Lawrence, and the Thousand Islands, ultimately ending up at our marina here in Ivy Lea.

Your trip sounds like a "mirror image" of what I would expect mine would be, ie......only a couple of hours of overlap with the PO......engines failing when you need them the most (been there done that) .......stuff falling overboard........getting lost.....almost running out of fuel and having to backtrack......making contact with Canadian Shield real-estate under the St. Lawrence (been there done that too)....having my Golden Retriever fall overboard at the worst time......having the first mate refuse to talk to me for hours on end....but the upside of a trip like that would be......the making of new friends and acquaintances along the way.....the gorgeous scenery (our tax dollars at work).....the amazing and helpful canal and lock staff that go out of their way to help boaters like us launch and dock.

I winterized my 28ft Carver Riviera last Monday,after realizing that the boating season is all but done for most of us here in the Thousand Islands, but I have to tell you, your adventure sure perked up my spirits.

Your pictures are beautiful reminders of your adventure, but .......GEEEEZ, I'm a pilot and I'm not supposed to be afraid of heights....but those pic's of Big Chute, scared the crap out of me ...lol

Thanks again for your entertaining story and good luck with your new purchase....hope you get lots done on it over the winter.

Warren
Gananoque/Ivy Lea, Ontario

Paul, well you had a very exciting trip down the Trent. I haven't done that trip yet, but would like to. Others in my marina here at Rideau Ferry on the Rideau System have cruised the Trent with mixed results depending I surmise, on how much time they had available, due to the number of locks. I think a nice relaxed timeline would make for a better experience.

Actually, I hadn't realized that there was access to Lake Skugog from off the Trent Waterway, but now I see that you went to the southern tip of Sturgeon Lake and from there up the Skugog River, then through one lock in Lindsay. You sure packed a lot of adventure into your maiden voyage. Very entertaining write up and your story brought back similar memories to all of us, I'm sure.

Regarding your thoughts on moving the galley into the front V-bunks, I have never heard of that particular reno having been done before. It would appear as if you don't expect to have overnight guests or grandchildren aboard as you'd be eliminating one stateroom. It's an interesting concept though.

In my case, we eliminated the L-shape of the tricabin galley and this change alone, afforded us an extra 24 inches of seating space. That addition made a noticeable difference in the amount of room in the salon. I uploaded photos of this change a while back. Hope this helps.

Hopefully you just a dent in one of your props, but my advice would be to get the shaft checked as well sometime this winter.

Cheers

Rick.

Hi Rick/Warren

I highly advise taking the trent/severn trip you will love it, yes there are quite a few locks back to back but that is only in 3 or 4 areas, in the man made canals where the rises are only 8 feet or so,but there are lots of areas where the locks are 3 or more hours apart when your just cruising at 6-8 knots which is a good speed to watch the world go by, travelling some of those long tree lined channels made me think of that old movie The African Queen, and me feeling like Bogy, lol.
I have only done half of the system so far and am going to do lower side next year and maybe slip up to the 1000 islands if time permits.
As for moving the galley I was thinking (chriscraft aft cabin) where they put the galley just in front of the bow state room. and removing the factory seating, don't find the seats very comfortable, and putting in some more comfortable furniture out of Ikea have seen some really nice thing there, that are knock down and will fit thru the passage ways or windows, where this would separate the two aeras, now I haven't measured anything and put to paper as such, but when I do, it will certainly be shared here for review, for this year I'm just going to enjoy my boat. I have one weekend left before it gets pulled out.

cheers Paul