Great Loop Cruise Video

Underway again

After a bit of a delay due to some medical issues we're set to pull out tomorrow morning. After fueling we'll cast off across Lake Ontario to Alexandria Bay. The Bow cam should be back on starting about 0800. This is new territory for me.

We expect to finish this leg up in the Detroit area in about 2 weeks after cruising Lakes Ontario, the Welland Canal and Lake Erie.

On a different subject, does anybody know of a decent Detroit diesel mechanic in the Detroit area? We'll want to have some work done during our next layover. I used to have a good guy, but he passed away last year. So any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks cap.

It was an absolutely beautiful cruise up (down?) Lake Ontario to Alexandria Bay.
As I look out off my bow tonight I'm looking at Bolt Castle all lit up. The town is a bit of a tourist trap, but enjoyable short term. The view is outstanding. We'll be hanging here until Sunday to do some of the tourist thing.

BTW, we're back in the land of 175V to 190V again which forces us to go back to using both 50 amp cords and splitting the load. At least we're now properly set up to do it (as opposed to our situation last summer). For the life of me though I can't figure out why the utilities are cheaping out here. On the way in we passed a nuclear power plant and a wind farm. Down at Niagra they have a hydro plant. It's not like they're burning oil or coal. What's the story with the utilities in the N.E.? WE NEED 220V, love 240V and can get by on 208V. 175V or 190v doesn't cut it.

You could be right, but when we were having this problem last year I did some reading, and had learned that the utilities have voltage parameters that they have to meet (220 allows for 208 etc), and that's set by the state's PSC. When we were down south I continually saw 220v or 240v. Hard to believe that it's only northern marinas cheaping out.

No, the marina's age isn't a factor, just the area. We've found it in big marinas & small. Where we're at right now is a first rate hotel, with smallish but fairly newly rebuilt marina. I dare say that most people probably just plug in and if they show voltage they're good. This boat is a truth machine. I have to check the voltage or I'll be running to the dock all night resetting the breakers.

BTW, we plan to cast off tomorrow heading for a short run to Kingston, On. Ca. , going back down the American Straits. It was a beautiful ride on the way up. So enjoy the camera views.

You know more about electric than I do. What I know is what I see on my gauges (which have been verified). No we didn't, and I no longer even need to use the ones installed on the boat (which leaves you at risk of too much voltage if you forget to turn them off when you have proper voltage from the source). Why spend 3K and lug something like that around when it wasn't the problem. The boat's systems are set up so we can split the load, except whichever previous owner had the cablemasters installed had them both hooked up to the same source on the panel. You'd be amazed how many "experts" couldn't figure that out. I (who knows very little about electric) figured it out while brainstorming with the guys down at Bennett Bros. We pulled off the panel and found exactly what I suspected. The installer had saved 1 foot of wire, leaving both cablemasters feeding the same side of the panel. We took a further step as well, and separated out one of the air conditioning units to balance the load better. Now, if we encounter low amps or voltage we just run out the second cord. I've only had one breaker pop since, and I assume that was due to a momentary voltage drop at the marina while we were on a single cord. (most times a single cord now works fine because of separating out that one a/c.)

I'd rather split the load. For one thing the meters are behind wood doors and not visible unless you specifically check. It'd be an easy thing to forget when casting off. I ran into this problem downstate NY and now here, but not up the Hudson, Erie Canal nor down south. Also found it in D.C. and a couple of other ports, but it's not widespread. So it'd be easy to use the transformers in the odd situation and forget to shut them, and I'm not about to decorate the helm with sticky notes. Also the transformers are located in the generator room which is inconvenient and unnecessary to check daily. Plus they're 30 years old. Can't say I'd trust them 100%. When we first encountered the issue I did a bit of studying and found that there is very little chance of damage from the low voltage, however that's not the case with too much. Splitting the load is much safer and more convenient than using the transformers unless absolutely necessary. By setting the boat up properly our system works now very well. Just wish the utilities would supply what they're supposed to.

Bow Cam

Heard from Verizon today. Shutting down the bow cam. May bring it back up for the Welland Canal. It's mostly just open water cruising from here to there anyway. Not much to see.

Couldn't find dockage in Kingston, so we're in Portsmith. Decent place although not much in walking distance and the WiFi signal is weak. So is the electric. Hooked up the first cord and got 190v. Hooked the 2nd cord to the next pedestal down the dock and got 175v from that. So this one is a combination of the utility and the marina. Couldn't keep the breakers from popping. So for the first time since last summer we had to also engage the voltage boosters.

Welcome to Canada.

Thanks Roger. We're scheduled for Toronto July 17/18. Believe the Reservation are set, but alerted the boss just in case.