Orillia to Kirkfield

We began the day a little slowly as it was raining as it had been for most of the night.  A good sign however as we were going to transit the shallowest water on the trip.  Getting away around 9:30 we crossed Lake Simcoe to the beginning of the very narrow, shallow section of the Trent.  As soon as you enter you have to wait for a swing bridge then you come upon the first of 3 locks close together: Gamebridge

Gamebridge lock approach

We had to be patient, and go slow.  We saw a lot of 0’s and .3’s on the depth sounder but only hit once in Canal Lake so overall a success.  It did come at a price however as we arrived at Kirkfield lock at 3:35.  The lock closes at 4 and they said the lockage must be completed by then so we are spending the evening at the bottom of the lock.  No problem - but if we had gotten through we could have started earlier tomorrow than the 10:00 am schedule.

Our view for the evening: Kirkfield lock

Kirkfield is one of the two “Lift Locks” on the system.  For those of you who do not boat,  a lift lock is basically two tubs of water mounted on hydraulic cylinders.

View of one of the massive hydraulic cylinders with the "Tub" on top

When one tub gets to the bottom they let out a foot of water and add a foot of water to the top one.  This makes one tub heavier than the other.  When they open a valve between the two cylinders the heavier (top) one pushes the other up as it goes down.  Simple isn’t it.

Schematic of a lift lock