We pushed off from Hastings on Sunday morning, July 16. 0830 hrs, an early start for this cruise itinerary! Our destination, Peterborough Marina. Slow going, lots of current on the nose, but we made 33 miles, arriving at the marina at 1500 hrs. The marina is situated on the main branch of the river that bypasses the locks, so significant current. Our slip was on the end of a T-head, and the dockhands were standing by to catch lines after giving us fair warning about the current that pushed us against the pier, our biggest fenders squashed flat, but we made a safe and damage-free landing!
We decided to book 3 days to catch up on wash, see some of Peterborough, and make some inquiries into the engine issues. More on that further down!
Peterborough is one of the largest urban centers along the Trent-Severn Waterway. It’s still pretty much “small town”, but it’s a big small town! The marina has laundry facilities, and is close to stores and a grocery. So we decided to re-provision and catch up. We got our bikes out, and explored the area a bit, visiting the Canoe Museum on Monday, and biking around the area. The Canoe Museum has a huge collection of all sorts of canoes and related watercraft, detailing the evolution of the canoe from earliest recorded history into the settlement of Canada. The canoe was the chief mode of transport for early exploration and settlement of central Canada. The Hudson Bay Company established trading posts that evolved into settlements and over the period of a century had posts all over Canada, and particularly around the Hudson Bay. The workhorse of the Hudson Bay traders was a 31 foot canoe that was capable of hauling over two tons of goods. What a way to move freight! The museum is a must-see for Peterborough!
We had walked to downtown on Sunday, and found plenty of interesting sights. A walking trail parallels a rail line and follows the canal out to the lift lock. We walked the trail with Molly to lock 20, and on the return, stopped at a park for her to swim. Her absolute favorite activity! Just the mention of “swim?” gets her immediate attention and an excitement that is second only to seeing a small child coming her way! She’s loving the canal cruising, since there’s daily opportunity for swimming. At nine, her stamina isn’t what it was just a short year or two ago, but she loves it, and charges ahead with all the energy of a 3 year old! It’s just in shorter periods, with some relaxing in between!
Problems with the main engine persist, and although I suspect the problems are minor, my disposition demands a path of action. My focus has been the fuel injection pump, so I did a bit of research and located a local diesel shop. I called Monday morning and spoke with them about the problem. They were very attentive, and said they’d be happy to put my pump on the test stand despite being super busy, but instead suggested I call a local diesel guy with a reputation for being a great troubleshooter. I made the call to David Wells, who it turns out is transitioning his business to a new owner. I received a call from Danielle, the young woman who bought his business. After we covered some background, she agreed to come by Tuesday morning and have a look, and she would have David meet her as well, since he’s more experienced on Cummins. They both arrived on time, and were very pleasant, and equally as sharp. We reviewed background, they inspected the fuel system, and we ran the engine. Since they wanted to witness performance under load, we went for a short run. Upon returning, both agreed the engine isn’t exhibiting any symptoms that would prompt them to dig deeper. The clear tube is key, and since there was air present after the 33 mile run the day before, they seemed to think that the only problem is air being injested by the fuel system, and that alone can cause the symptoms the engine’s been experiencing. They said the engine as well as the boat is obviously meticulously maintained, and it sounds good to them, it’s performing as it should, it is producing it’s rated power, and believe that eliminating the air ingress will improve the smoothness. It was a worthwhile use of the morning, and money well spent to have experienced pros give a thumbs up diagnosis. So, we keep on, and I’ll be able to rest a bit easier knowing the problems are minor and that a solution is in the works.
Since our test run involved departure from the dock against that formidable current, rather than fight with it, we decided to return to the pumpout dock where the current is manageable, pump out, then depart from there since we had no compelling reason to stay longer. On to Lock 20 and then the Lift Lock
