For Blair

[Happy Ours]

Hi Blair

I am at Sturgeon Lake Marina next to Bill Neville,been here for 2 yrs. I am looking at a marina at Youngs Point, I have to call the guy tonight, I am not sure which marina it is but will find out tonight, which marina are you at and is youngs point a nice spot to be, will let you know which marina it is when I find out, maybe you can let me kow what your oppinion is of this marna if it is the one you are at and if it is a different marina maybe you have a little info about it. I may be able to get Bill to come with me seeing as they have diesel down that way. Thanks Craig

[blair]

Hi Craig!
It's pretty sweet out here, that's for sure. 36 miles of boating through two lakes, easy access to several other marinas with restaurants, multiple fuel locations, Stoney Lake...we didn't even get a lock pass last year! All less than 30 minutes drive from home.
There are two marinas here, just down from the lock at Young's Point. We are at Young's Point Marina and the owner (Jason Paris is probably one of the best you can have. Just enough "hands on" to keep everyone happy and "hands off" enough so that everyone gets along well. Not at all what you have experienced You can reach him at 705-652-8563 and feel free to tell him I give you and Bill a big thumbs up! Space is limited but he did make room for us, with a 42' private dock...ask Bill...he loved it.
The other marina is called Islandview and you can find their info online. You probably have a better chance of getting in here. The owner's name is Keith and he's pretty easy to get along with. They also have the gas dock right there and are about 200 meters away.from us. I miss Bill and all the stories and information he shared back when we (briefly) shared a slip and would be pleased to do so again! I hope Jason can fit you guys in.
PS: did you see the aerial shot I did of Bill's Mainship? PM me your email...your boat might be in some of the other frames I shot that day!

[blair]

Bill's Mainship. Are you in this frame?
[URL=http://s1273.photobucket.com/user/ ... .jpg[/img][/url]

[Happy Ours]

Hi Blair
Thanks for the reply
No not there my slip is on his starboard side I think Bill said you use to be in it, late spring 2013 you took a picture of the marina, i am in this pic standing next to my f26 just across the finger dock opposite side of where the f32 goes. Islandview is the phone # I have, I will call tonight and call your marina tomorrow, I will go up and look at the marinas friday then go to THE GETAWAY to measure the swim platform, time to replace the wood, sounds like you are really enjoying Youngs Point, I live in Orono it takes 45 minutes to get to the boat, should only be about 50 minutes to Youngs Point so not much difference in time and stony lake is beautifull, have you found any good anchorages for over nighters.

Craig

[Happy Ours]

Well Blair I took the spot at Islandview Marina. Was up there Friday spent about 90 minutes there talking to Keith and looking around, my wife loves the idea of having a decent restaurant in the marina and what a nice protected harbour and no more Bob. Bill is going to stay put for now but him and louis will be down a couple of times this year, he may even leave his boat at your marina or mine for a week or so, then we can all go out and do some rafting. As you know his boat is only 15 minutes from his house and that is convenient but he will see how it goes and if nessecary he will come down to Youngs Point. I am really looking forward to boating on Stony Lake and Clear lake. How did you find navigating HELLS GATE the channel looks well marked, Stony Lake looks very similar to the north channel up on Georgians Bay lots of pink granite islands and nice anchorages. Come on spring

Craig

[blair]

Hi Craig,
I think you're going to like it there. Try to get on the other side of the swim area near the house...lot's of kids on the weekend, splashing and shouting. However, the restaurant isn't that great anymore. the owner leases it out on a seasonal basis, and last year's leasee never really caught on. The previous leasee has moved to the former resort at Burleigh Falls, which is only a quick trip up the lake. We like to moor on the lower lock wall at Burleigh and walk up to the resort or across the highway to Lovesick Lodge. Both are pretty good for snacks, lunch, dinner, whatever. There is a nice restaurant at Harbourtown, but it's more upscale and caters to the Stoney Lake cottage owners set and Viamede is also nice for something more formal, or their pub for a casual bite. Plan on attending the fireworks on Canada Day weekend, put on by the Stoney Lake Cottagers Association...probably 400 boats on the water...spectacular.
Re: Hell's Gate and Hurricane Bend...man, I OBSESSED over these particular sections all winter! We knew we were leaving Bob's place in November, so I had all winter to go over the charts and plan the trip. Just the names were enough to make me cringe, having never operated anything even close to 36' of boat. Took us about 4 hours to transit to the start of Hurricane Bend, after coming out of the lock at Burleigh Falls but we cruised at less than 10 knots all the way. Found there was no need for all that worry. Keep it between the well-marked channel and you'll be fine. Yes, there are some really shallow spots, but between the pipes was pretty good. Traffic is pretty well-behaved and the channel is certainly wide enough for two lanes of transit. Watch the speed zones, too. Considering this was our first "real" cruise, everything went really well.
Re: Stoney Lake...Amazing! we used to have a cabin on the French River, so we came to enjoy that type of view...lot's of islands and coves to pull into. But it's named "Stoney" for a reason...get the charts and plan on getting an app like Navionics or a chart plotter...the marine we're at does a roaring business, repairing the hulls and props of boaters who disrespect this fact.
Here is a picture of a little place called "Swim Rock", out on Stoney. Usually you will see 10 boats rafted together here, especially on weekends. You can pull right into the notch and step out onto the island, which is about 5-7 acres of Crown Land.That's about 8 feet of water under my hull in this picture. And that's my wife, enjoying her version of "boating". We like to put a propane stove and grill on the island and do our thing.Stay overnight or as long as 14 nights...it's Crown Land. We try to keep the noise down, as there are cottage owners about 300 meters away who get pretty upset with boaters, going so far as to point out how much they pay in property tax to enjoy what you get, for "free" Just one of the many, many places on Clear and Stoney where you can moor, for a day or a few nights.
[URL=http://s1273.photobucket.com/user/ ... .jpg[/img][/url]

re: Bill...I hope he comes up through the Summer, and sees what a little extra drive is going to get him. If Bob's place was the last marina for the next 100 miles, I'd give up boating first
Get in touch when you know your transit date. It will be great to have another Trojan, just across the bay!

[Happy Ours]

Hi Blair

Keith has got a new person to rent the restaurant, the new owners are also running a restaurant down in Niagara Falls, so hopefully the restaurant is better, still nice to have it so close, the new hours will be Thursday, Friday,Saturday and Sunday lunch and dinner only no breakfast is fine with me, no 6 a.m. fishermen coming in to early, Keith said that usually come evening the park is pretty quiet, I have to go on the gas side, the docks are not long enough on the other side we like to pull bow in, I looked at some pictures and the docks are short on the other side, mostly runabouts from cottagers. Hells gate should be fine I have been to Lovesick lake went to the top off Burleigh Falls but did not lock through some of the passages are narrow on lovesick as you know, upbound boats need to give right of way in a couple of spots to down bound boats but like you said, stay in the marked channel and it will be fine. Can't wait to find some nice islands to tie up to, my GPS has depth, fish finder, shows prefered channels all the bouys port and startboard, and chart plotter works well I have a micro chip in it for the Trent Canal System, also have all the up to date maps from trenton to Georgian Bay, so I feel pretty prepaired and after having the F32 for a year now on Sturgeon Lake I am confident in my boat handling, after having the F26 with a single screw for 2 seasons it really helped in learning about boat handling, the two screws are amazing any time I am 850 to 900 Rpm's or lower I never use the steering wheel even when docking just the motors, as you and most boaters know steering just does not work efficiently at low speeds, the two screws make it possible to turn the boat in it's own length, what a difference two motors makes. I am hoping to put the boat in first week of May. Take it up to Birch Point Marina about a six mile cruise leave it there and have a bimini top (no sides) over the back deck put on. The guy doing the work won't come down and work at Sturgeon Lake Marina and you know why "BOB", then when the locks open May long weekend cruise down to Youngs Point. So we are hoping to be there May long weekend or sometime the following week if the top is finished. Great picture of your boat, nice spot. We are not noisey people so there should be no issues with the cottagers but that said they do not own the lake and we also like you and all the other boats pay to enjoy the lakes and waterways and yes there are some real assholes out on the lakes and noisey people that do not understand people come to these places for some R & R but there will always be a few. Any how looking forward to enjoying the new marina and surrounding area. Bill will come down for sure or we will meet in Deer Bay and tie up, I will let you know when and where, and yes it will be nice to have another trojan near by.

Talk To You Soon
Craig

[blair]

Re:Bob...oh yeah...even after I got clearance from him for my carpenter to come into the marina boat storage area to do work he wasn't capable of, he ran my carpenter off. That was a defining moment for us. For others reading this thread this particular marina is NOT one of those high-end marinas that don't allow you or anyone else to work on your boat. The owner is sometimes hard to get along with. One day everything is cool and the next day it's the opposite. We just decided that the Trent canal system had no shortage of marinas and found a great one at Young's Point.Night and day of difference and the total annual costs are actually lower! Craig I think you'll like Island view just as much...Keith has a nice operation over there and you get to see every boat that transits the canal system as they have to go right past our docks! Check out Island view on YouTube. ..there's a few videos.We met a couple with an Ocean Alexander who came up from Florida just to spend a few nights there.
See you in the Spring!

[Happy Ours]

You are right on the money about Bob, last year he told Bill and I we can't barbecue on our boats but never said anything to a few others that were and there are other stories but enough about Bob, when I am at Youngs Point we can have a beer and share a few stories and have a good laugh. I have those videos on youtube saved to favorites, I watch them regularly, I am really looking forward to seeing all the cruisers and yachts pass the back of the boat all within 150 feet good thing it is a speed controlled zone, last year at Bobcaygeon Lock I met 2 boats from N.C., Texas, and Berkley California all doing the great loop, there is some impressive boats that travel the Trent Canal, the man from Texas is 80 yrs old and doing the loop by himself, very impressive, can't wait to get there, and enjoy the 7 hour journey also.

the name of our F32

2 021 (640x480).jpg (216.9 KiB) Viewed 9210 times

[adrewoh]

Great looking boat!!

[adrewoh]

Here is a picture of a little place called "Swim Rock", out on Stoney. Usually you will see 10 boats rafted together here, especially on weekends. You can pull right into the notch and step out onto the island, which is about 5-7 acres of Crown Land.That's about 8 feet of water under my hull in this picture. And that's my wife, enjoying her version of "boating".



What a great spot!! Amen to charts and apps. Your boat looks great too!

[blair]

Thanks!
She's an oldie, but we really enjoy her. I love the lines and the looks of your F32's but the space and layout of the Tricabin suits our needs better. It's very nice to have two solid wood doors and a big salon between the cabins and the moulded seating up front combined with the huge bridge allow us to entertain up to 8 people, quite comfortably. When my wife says "Can't wait to launch her" for our third season, I know i picked the right one....boat AND wife

[P-Dogg]

two solid wood doors and a big salon between the cabins

Why would you need that on a boat??????

who get pretty upset with boaters, going so far as to point out how much they pay in property tax to enjoy what you get, for "free"

Well, they get to look at that nice boat!

We too are entering our third season with our tricab. An added advantage of the tricab helm is that it is high enough for decent sightlines, yet not so high that motion in heavier seas is bad. Also, unlike true flybridges, it is easier for the skipper to keep track of the coming and going of guests when underway, because they have to come right by you as they leave the cabin.