Sail boat along the Trent-Severn Waterway

[Mike Aston]

I want to take my Catalina 350 throught the Trent-Severn Waterway from Lake Ontario to Georgian Bay and I am interested in other sailers experiences taking a similar sized boat on this journey.The mast comes down at the beginning of the trip and as I see it does not go up until you are in Georgian Bay.So what did you do with the mast? How did you store it on the boat? Did have have any particular problems locking through with extensions sticking out at the front and back of the boat?You have to cross Lake Simcoe, which can produce some difficult conditions when the wind blows. How did you cope crossing Lake Simcoe with the mast down?Again how was the trip from the end of the waterway to the first place you can step the mast.Would you do it again?

 

[Mike S]

Decided to go via Erie!

I looked into travelling from Trenton to Georgian Bay via the Trent. I have a Catalina 42 that draws about 5 feet of water. I was told by the Trent Severn Waterway Authority that they only maintain the Trent to a depth of 5 feet and that the bottom is rock in many places. I figured that it would take about 7 days and there was a lot of uncertainty about mooring it at night. Don't want to discourage you, but I thought that trucking it might be a better option. I have seen many sailboats making the trip. Their masts are usually tied to the sternrail and the forward pulpit. Another alternative and one that we chose is to go through the Welland Canal, Lake Erie, Detroit River, Lake Huron and then Georgian Bay. You don't have to take the mast down, it takes about the same time and you get to sail when not becalmed on the Great Lakes.

 

[HenryV]

L Simcoe exposure is limited

The trip from the entrance point of the Trent to the narrows at Orillia is relatively short and several ports to escape a storm are nearby so I would not worry about the crossing.

 

[Derek]

Simcoe not a problem but go Erie

Trent is too boring plus you have too many locks. I have done it on a 30 foot boat. Took my 42 Toronto to Georgian Bay 3 years ago via the Welland much better trip plus you leave the mast up. A couple of 24 hour sails and we were there.

 

[Malcolm Young]

Trent Severn worth a trip

I have been through the Trent Severn twice. The last time was my 'circumnavigation' in a 32' sail boat from Kincardine on Lake Huron through Lake St. Clair, Detroit River, Lake Erie, Welland Canal, Lake Ontario, Trent Severn, Georgian Bay and back to Kincardine. It was a great trip and for the family the Trent Severn was one of the highlights.The main concern as already mentioned is that you want to draw less than 5' - do you have the shoal draft version of the 35? In order to assure headroom in the cockpit, I made mast supports from plywood and 2x4s and clamped them to the pulpits with U bolts and used ropes amidships to provide stability. The length of the mast wasn't a problem although you will have 10' more than I did and you do have to find a dock space that long. The mast should be no problem in the locks. The marine railway was great fun - they know how to handle sail boats.With the C35, you will have absolutely no problem with Lake Simcoe or the little bit of water where you come out at the Georgian Bay end. The first time we went through we did it in a 14' outboard runabout that I had made while in high school and we didn't have a problem with that water. We enjoyed the Trent Severn - tieing up at the locks was in General not a problem for our 32 footer except at very popular locations, anchoring is possible and the scenery is nice as you pass through a lot of Ontario vacationland areas. When you come out at Midland you then have the 30,000 Islands to cruise on your way to the North Channel and it is a great area to cruise.Having said all that, this year I will be taking my new C36 from Toronto to Kincardine on Lake Huron via Lake Erie etc. The reason I am doing it that way is that it does take perhaps 1/2 a day at both ends to deal with the mast, fold and store the sails. lines, spreaders, set up the supports etc. and it is further through Georgian Bay around to Kincardine via the Trent (and I have done the Trent Severn twice).Your main challenge will be your draft and make sure you have up to date charts so that you know where the channel is. we kept an eagle eye on the buoy numbers and always knew where we were going next.