Re: Multiple groundings and other tricks......

Hello cha62759,
Gee, that is a tough one! I was schooled with books only on
American history and though I found it strange I just assumed that my
neighbors to the south were schooled in Canadian history.Most of what
I know about Canadian history has been scavenged from rainy day
visits to various museums but if you're serious,I can scounge up some
good titles for you.
I'll have them for you after the weekend is over.
Sincerely,
Peter Lenihan

--- In bolger@y..., cha62759@t... wrote:
> Hi Peter,
> Off the trend of this website however in line with my coming to
grips
> with roots so to speak....I have recently read the only book on
> Canadian history available in Traverse City and environs "The
> Illustrated History of Canada" edited by Craig Brown I'm ready for
the
> next level of detail. Any recommendations?
>
>
> --- In bolger@y..., ellengaest@b... wrote:
> > My first nook was the bank of the original canal dug up for
use
> > by the French and British during the fur trade.This little
canal,no
> > more then a glorified trench really,would later become the Lachine
> > canal and serve as the gateway for opening up the rest of
> > Canada.Pointing my bow toward the banks,I idled in toward the
> location
> > of the Hudson Bay Trading companys' fur warehouse.This large
> > fieldstone building served as the"end of the line" for the many
> > coureurs de bois(trappers) as they made their way down the Ottawa
> > River and then down the St.Lawrence(the little stretch known as
Lac
> > St.Louis) with their canoes piled high with beaver pelts.Thanks to
> the
> > efforts of various agencies,the building remains intact pretty
much
> in
> > its' original state and one can easily imagine the relief felt by
> the
> > trappers when they would finally lay eyes on this structure after
> > months of nothing but forests and streams.
> >
> Peter Lenihan,lulled almost into dreamland by the gentle tapping of
> > raindrops on the window,from the shores of the St.Lawrence......

Hi Peter,
Off the trend of this website however in line with my coming to grips
with roots so to speak....I have recently read the only book on
Canadian history available in Traverse City and environs "The
Illustrated History of Canada" edited by Craig Brown I'm ready for the
next level of detail. Any recommendations?

--- In bolger@y..., ellengaest@b... wrote:
> My first nook was the bank of the original canal dug up for use
> by the French and British during the fur trade.This little canal,no
> more then a glorified trench really,would later become the Lachine
> canal and serve as the gateway for opening up the rest of
> Canada.Pointing my bow toward the banks,I idled in toward the
location
> of the Hudson Bay Trading companys' fur warehouse.This large
> fieldstone building served as the"end of the line" for the many
> coureurs de bois(trappers) as they made their way down the Ottawa
> River and then down the St.Lawrence(the little stretch known as Lac
> St.Louis) with their canoes piled high with beaver pelts.Thanks to
the
> efforts of various agencies,the building remains intact pretty much
in
> its' original state and one can easily imagine the relief felt by
the
> trappers when they would finally lay eyes on this structure after
> months of nothing but forests and streams.
>
Peter Lenihan,lulled almost into dreamland by the gentle tapping of
> raindrops on the window,from the shores of the St.Lawrence......

David,
Glad to read that things are moving along smartly with your Micro
FIREFLY.I wish you continued success and look forward to seeing
FIREFLY(finished or not ;-D ) at the LAKE CHAMPLAIN BOLGER MESSABOUT.
Playing around in small boats does encourage us to slow down just
enough to allow more pleasant thoughts to percolate up to our
conscious mind......almost the way they used to arrive spontaneously
when we were swaddled in the innocent cloth of childhood.Good
medicine!!
Go easy with the Karma Sutra,my friend,lest you forget all about
the tasks at hand!
Sincerely,
Peter Lenihan...............

--- In bolger@y..., djost@m... wrote:
> Peter,
> That is what I love about sailing. the pace of the activity and
> the silence or at least low DB, allow one to think and ponder great
> or small thoughts.
> After reading your delightful story, I bolted out of the house
> and into the garage to resume work on "Firefly". I now have
> watertight bulkheads at A and D, and a complete keel assembly.
> Climbing in and out of the bow compartment is quite and adventure.
> More Kama Sutra stuff. After the parade tomorrow morning I hope to
> glass the outsides completely. Everything is relatively smooth and
> fair at present.
> You motivated me!
> Thanks,
> David Jost
> "scrubbing off the epoxy with Lava soap. It really works quite
> well, much more tame than solvents."
>
> snip.
>
> iting indeed!
> > Fortunately,they all remained safely ensconced within the
tight
> > quarters of their cabins,far from the dangers,thanks to the
> > overwhelming presence of......................the mayfly!
> > And thanks to a reasonably full and very cold cooler,I can
> remain
> > calm enough to enjoy the luxury of puttering around in my Micro
> > right through hords of those pesky critters!
> > Sincerely,
> > Peter Lenihan,lulled almost into dreamland by the gentle tapping
of
> > raindrops on the window,from the shores of the St.Lawrence......

Peter,
That is what I love about sailing. the pace of the activity and
the silence or at least low DB, allow one to think and ponder great
or small thoughts.
After reading your delightful story, I bolted out of the house
and into the garage to resume work on "Firefly". I now have
watertight bulkheads at A and D, and a complete keel assembly.
Climbing in and out of the bow compartment is quite and adventure.
More Kama Sutra stuff. After the parade tomorrow morning I hope to
glass the outsides completely. Everything is relatively smooth and
fair at present.
You motivated me!
Thanks,
David Jost
"scrubbing off the epoxy with Lava soap. It really works quite
well, much more tame than solvents."

snip.

iting indeed!

> Fortunately,they all remained safely ensconced within the tight
> quarters of their cabins,far from the dangers,thanks to the
> overwhelming presence of......................the mayfly!
> And thanks to a reasonably full and very cold cooler,I can

remain

> calm enough to enjoy the luxury of puttering around in my Micro
> right through hords of those pesky critters!
> Sincerely,
> Peter Lenihan,lulled almost into dreamland by the gentle tapping of
> raindrops on the window,from the shores of the St.Lawrence......

Bolgerados,
The rain never arrived yesterday although the sky did sneeze a
couple of times which had me reaching for my rain gear...false alarms!
With the winds very very light(too light to make headway against
the current),I decided to motor around and take advantage of the
relative tranquility afforded by the almost eery absense of the
plastic powerboat gang.It appears that they take weather forcasts more
seriously then I.
As I slowly puttered along past the rows of silent quaies all
boxed in by these plastic powerboats my thoughts drifted around until
finally coming to rest on the awareness of the extremely low water
being experienced up in this neck of the woods.Wishing to explore
further the implications of this low water state,I eased my Micro out
of the channel and headed toward some interesting nooks.
Now,normally our water levels in springtime would be about a
meter and a half over chart datum and boaters can safely go just about
anywhere without charts right up to a beachhead.Not such a bad thing
however an awful lot of boaters seem to forget that the water level
generally goes down as the summer wears on and this leads to some
expensive repair work to propellers and lower units for those not
carrying charts!Today,the water level is a scant 39cms(15 1/2") over
datum and the big boys better not leave the channel!
My first nook was the bank of the original canal dug up for use
by the French and British during the fur trade.This little canal,no
more then a glorified trench really,would later become the Lachine
canal and serve as the gateway for opening up the rest of
Canada.Pointing my bow toward the banks,I idled in toward the location
of the Hudson Bay Trading companys' fur warehouse.This large
fieldstone building served as the"end of the line" for the many
coureurs de bois(trappers) as they made their way down the Ottawa
River and then down the St.Lawrence(the little stretch known as Lac
St.Louis) with their canoes piled high with beaver pelts.Thanks to the
efforts of various agencies,the building remains intact pretty much in
its' original state and one can easily imagine the relief felt by the
trappers when they would finally lay eyes on this structure after
months of nothing but forests and streams.
I was a mere 20 feet from the shore when the first dull thud
announced the arrival of the bottom.With virtually little headway
on,my Micro came to a gentle halt.Looking over the sides,the rock
strewn bottom was wonderfully visible through the knee-deep
water.Thanks to the early time of season,the weeds have yet to grow to
obstruct ones view!Thanks also to the fact that the boat draws more
then the engine,no harm occurs to the propeller!
Finding myself temporarily"anchored",I reached into the cooler
for something wet,cracked it open and sat down to enjoy the
view.With little effort,my thoughts were filled with imaginary scenes
of the banks crowded with large canoes and men shouting as they
hustled their pelts into the warehouse to be sorted.It must have been
an exciting moment with the air filled with the busy sounds of
French,English and Iroquois voices!Unfortunately,the air must have
also been filled with the ubiquitous mayfly and though the coureurs de
bois have long since vanished into the mists of history,the mayfly
lives on to pester romantic fools drawn to the rivers edge.As I take
my last gulp of wet and the boat becomes covered in lusty mayflies,I
decide to"weigh anchor".Starting the motor,I put the gear into
reverse.Then,as I make my way forward,the boat slowly sinks by the
head,the keel kisses the rocky bottom goodbye and we slowly proceed
backward toward deeper water.
This particular maneuver is one which I have used time and again
when I have accidently or intentionally embraced the bottom.It has
never failed me and is due to the pronounced rocker of the Micro
bottom combined with the full lenght keel that rises up to almost zero
at the bow.The robust constuction of my keel( ;-) ) gives me the
confidence to do so with impunity.
Once back in deeper water,I head off toward the newly restored
lock gates of the later Lachine canal.This is the canal built to
handle commercial shipping headed toward the Great Lakes and built to
circumvent the nasty Lachine Rapids.Last used in the very early
'70s,its' demise was singled with the opening of the St.Lawrence
Seaway in 1958.Today,thanks to the financial support of three levels
of government ie;public funds,it is undergoing a major refit and will
see use again as a pleasure boat canal.
As I approach the lock walls,I am at first impressed with the
attempts to re-create the style of construction through the use of cut
rock blocks.No poured concrete here!Inching further into the lock
chamber,I notice that the gates themselves however,have been made from
huge bits of pressure treated lumber.No sickly sweet aroma of creosote
to tickle the memory!Pity really,
although I suppose the environmentalists applaud the absence of
creosote leaching into the water.........
In short time I have come to the very end of the lock chamber and find
myself staring up at the huge gates which effectively block my way.Not
wishing to linger any longer then neccessary(there may be construction
men about and the canal is not yet"officially" open!) and slowly going
deaf from the echoing rattle of my motor on the rock walls,I put both
the motor and helm hard over.As if pivoting on a pinhead,my Micro
spins a neat 180 within her own lenght and we point our noses right
back out the way we came in.A very handy technigue!
As the walls slide by, my eyes see the ever broadening vista
afforded by the approaching opening to the canal.What a treat!This
must have represented an exciting vision for the earlier passengers as
they made their way Westward.What adventures and wide open sceneries
awaited those weary European eyes as they were carried ever deeper
into the heart of this vast land yet unspoiled by the busy activities
of industry and commerce.With their thoughts filled with stories about
the"wild savages" who live in animal skin tents and wait in the thick
underbrush to ambush the whiteman,it must have been exciting indeed!
Fortunately,they all remained safely ensconced within the tight
quarters of their cabins,far from the dangers,thanks to the
overwhelming presence of......................the mayfly!
And thanks to a reasonably full and very cold cooler,I can remain
calm enough to enjoy the luxury of puttering around in my Micro
right through hords of those pesky critters!
Sincerely,
Peter Lenihan,lulled almost into dreamland by the gentle tapping of
raindrops on the window,from the shores of the St.Lawrence......