Iceman Cruising

Vessel Name: Iceman46
Vessel Make/Model: Sea Ray Sundancer 400
Hailing Port: Ecarte Marime , Port Lambton , Ontario, Canada
Crew: Wayne Franklin and Lori Tratnjek
About: yearly cruising of between 1000 & 2000 kt miles thru Lakes Huron & Georgian Bay and/or Lake Erie and/or the Eire Canal , Hudson River , Lake Champlain, St. Lawrence River , Ottawa River, Rideau , and/or Trent-Severn Canal systems
Recent Blog Posts
07 January 2021

October 21st & forward

I returned to the boat on the October 21st and with Gerald's help the batteries were removed and I cleaned under the battery cases and applied a layer of gel coat. I also looked for a way to run power from the new to be installed inverter to the power panel in the boat cabin. It took quite a while but [...]

31 December 2020

September 14th to September 21st

We left at sunrise for Kincardine and had good seas and were able to cut straight south instead of following the shore line for protection as we had done last year. We visited with Rick and Cheryl and left before sun up in order to miss an early afternoon wind direction change that never happened !! You've got to love weather forecasts !! We were in Sarnia before noon and stayed for a week. I rented a car and we drove to Ingersoll for Lori's car and visited friends a bit before heading to Ecarte Marine for winter storage.

29 December 2020

August 27th to September 13th

We got an early start crossing Rice Lake and up the Otonabee River to Peterborough by 1pm. We plan to stay a week as we enjoyed our stay before and were always on the move. Shopping , walking , dinghy rides and of course wings at Riley's on Tuesday night. The local boaters were always on the dock in [...]

26 December 2020

August 23 to August 27th

On the 23rd we headed for Napanee for a couple of nights and hoped to see boaters we met last year. Not much going on here , few boats and the town was not busy . We walked a bit both days.

26 December 2020

August 19th to August 22nd

We up early and left for Kingston Mills Locks in order to arrive for the first lock . We had to wait about an hour and then locked down through the 4 locks and into Lake Ontario basin at Kingston and we headed for Picton arriving at 2pm and Marianne picked us up and took us to their place. We were there [...]

October 21st & forward

07 January 2021
Wayne Franklin
I returned to the boat on the October 21st and with Gerald's help the batteries were removed and I cleaned under the battery cases and applied a layer of gel coat. I also looked for a way to run power from the new to be installed inverter to the power panel in the boat cabin. It took quite a while but a way was found which involve tearing apart the steps and cabin seating - great and finally time to drive home to end a 16 hr day.
I also returned to the boat another day and completed the planning for running the wire and reinstalled 3 of the battery cases and ran a line to pull the wires needed for the new inverter.

Also, arrangements have been made to get the keel repaired after hitting a rock in Georgian Bay. The work will be completed over the winter.

September 22nd to September 14th

31 December 2020
Wayne Franklin
Hi ,
On September 22nd I took the boat via the St Clair River and the Ecarte Channel to Ecarte Marine where I store the boat for the winter and Lori drove her car and met me there. We spent the best part of eight days getting to boat ready for storage cleaning as much as we can and I did some checking and repair work mostly in the motor compartment and trying to figure out how to manage the dinghy better so we would use it more as we enjoy exploring places along our travels. Cleaning included washing fenders, carpets, the deck area inside the boat and as much of the outside of the boats that we could reach.
We drove to Ingersoll on the 29th and were home for 8 days catching up on things that were left over the summer months. On the October 8th we drove back to the boat to continue storage preparations.
I had planned to change the oil in the motors and generator but a switch would not work so a new one was ordered.
On the 12th we drove home and I returned on the 13th with a new switch and changed the oil and filters.
The boat went into storage on the 14th. This was the end of a very different boating season where there were fewer boaters and everyone kept their distance ( except the Quebecers who didn't seem to care about covid and most refused to respect social distancing ). We enjoyed ourselves but were not able entertain with docktails as we were used to doing. We are looking forward to a better next year.
I am looking at installing a 6kw lithium battery in the boat so we will have power when we are not plugged into power or running the generator. New toy !!!!

September 14th to September 21st

31 December 2020
Wayne Franklin
We left at sunrise for Kincardine and had good seas and were able to cut straight south instead of following the shore line for protection as we had done last year. We visited with Rick and Cheryl and left before sun up in order to miss an early afternoon wind direction change that never happened !! You've got to love weather forecasts !! We were in Sarnia before noon and stayed for a week. I rented a car and we drove to Ingersoll for Lori's car and visited friends a bit before heading to Ecarte Marine for winter storage.

August 27th to September 13th

29 December 2020
Wayne Franklin
We got an early start crossing Rice Lake and up the Otonabee River to Peterborough by 1pm. We plan to stay a week as we enjoyed our stay before and were always on the move. Shopping , walking , dinghy rides and of course wings at Riley's on Tuesday night. The local boaters were always on the dock in their groups and some transients were a bit social but always at a distance. Great marina staff.
On the 4th we left Peterborough and after 8 locks and a swing bridge we arrived at Young's Point for the night After speaking to the lock master we decided to stay for 2 nights and explore the local area. It was the first time staying here and we will plan a stay here next year. On the 6th we left on a cool fall morning for Buckhorn for a 2 night stay as 1 day was a rainy day and it is a great place to watch boating and boats. Former boating friends Dale and Cindy were driving by and saw the flowers on the boat and stopped for a short visit. We were then off to Bobcaygeon where we met friends Randy and Audrey on their return trip from Georgian Bay. We had a great visit , the girls went shopping and Randy and I talked boats and boating mostly about solar and lithium ion batteries. We just stayed 1 night as we were trying to time our crossing of Georgian Bay on a good day. We stayed at Portage lock, Big Chute lock and Midland.
That didn't work so well as the weather changed and we had a following sea which was uncomfortable when combined with a fuel filter problem on the port engine !!! We arrived in Tobermory on the 12th and weather delayed us for another day. There is not much going on in Tobermory on a cool , windy fall day.

August 23 to August 27th

26 December 2020
Wayne Franklin
On the 23rd we headed for Napanee for a couple of nights and hoped to see boaters we met last year. Not much going on here , few boats and the town was not busy . We walked a bit both days.
We left for Frankford , stopping to fuel up at Trenton, and after 6 locks we tied up and had an early supper as Mark Dobson was coming to the boat for his yearly visit. We had a great time and visited until about 9pm.
On the 26th we were away early on a cool fall morning and locked all the way to Campbellford by ourselves so we made good time and were there by a little after 1pm. Lori went to NoFrills and I tended to the boat.
It was raining so we left later around 9:50am. I had been trying to call the lock since 9am but no answer. When we got to the lock we waited and called and finally honked the horn for a while before anyone came to see us there and then they had to lower the water.
The lock master here is french and likes to exert her authority. As luck goes her boss showed up while we were in the lock and I expressed concerns about no one answering the phone and not being to come up the steps. The supervisor started questioning the lock master and she was forced to defend her inaction and the fact that she had not reported the problem with the phone which had been ongoing. Looked good on her !!! We arrived at Hastings and stayed on the wall above the lock to get an early start for Peterborough in the morning.

August 19th to August 22nd

26 December 2020
Wayne Franklin
We up early and left for Kingston Mills Locks in order to arrive for the first lock . We had to wait about an hour and then locked down through the 4 locks and into Lake Ontario basin at Kingston and we headed for Picton arriving at 2pm and Marianne picked us up and took us to their place. We were there to help them pour concrete footings for the new garage and visit . Geoff and I framed the footings on the 20th while Lori and Marianne talked and went to town. On the 21st we mixed and hauled and poured concrete all day and were about 2/3 done. by 5:30pm and they decided to call it a day.
In the morning Geoff and I hit the garden. Lori and I had a great haul of veggies for the boat. Geoff and Marianne bought us breakfast at the Harbour Inn dock and we continues our visit and said our goodbyes as they had company coming in the afternoon.
We did laundry and walked up town to Giant Tiger and a look about town.

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