Golden Triangle cruise plus 1000 Islands

Spent 17 days on the boat earlier this month and had an awesome time. Did the first three days in 1000 Islands with my wife and some another couple, the next nine days cruising the Rideau Canal, Ottawa River and St. Lawrence River in a 450ish mile loop with just my wife, and the last five days back at 1000 Islands, also with just my wife. I posted the best photos from the trip here: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10214060446017133&type=1&l=0ed1e8c2d7 There are a ton of photos, but I tried to make them all interesting.

I'd take any of those little shacks you took photos of!!!! Great photos all. Thanks for taking us along with you on your trip.

Very nice trip. Was following you along on FB.

Thanks. I only posted photos of the houses I found interesting, there were thousands of others that were as impressive or more so, but lacked the little things that caught my eye. I really like the places that look a bit cluttered with stuff (especially if it's colorful stuff) that really shows the homes are being enjoyed. In my travels by boat, I see SO many amazing waterfront mansions with no evidence of anyone there to enjoy them. That said, if I were rich enough to have a waterfront mansion, I'd probably never use it since I'd rather be traveling; perhaps that what's happening with the unused mansions I see all the time.

What amazing scenery. Looks like a great trip. Out of curiosity how much fuel did you use?

We used 220 gallons for the loop, and another 120 or so cruising around 1000 Islands. We started the loop with a full tank and only bought fuel twice in Canada, once for $1.36 CN per liter, ($3.70 a galllon, I filled up) and once for $1.69 CN per liter ($4.63 a gallon, bought just enough to get to US...). I bought fuel once at a US gas dock, for $3.70 a gallon. There was a launch ramp right near our transient slip, the truck and trailer were also nearby, AND there are several gas stations quite near the marina, thus, the rest of the fill ups were on the trailer in Clayton for around $3 a gallon. Since we trailer everywhere, we are very practiced at launching and retrieving, so it was no big deal to pop the boat on and off the trailer. I went home with less than 8 gallons on board.

How many hours of running time did you manage to put on?

Did you only stay on the boat or did you also stay at some hotels?

My wife and I stayed solely on the boat and are quite comfortable/happy doing so. We have a lot of experience living on it and really have a nice routine that works great for us. The friends that joined us at the start of the trip camped in a tent at the marina/campground where we stayed in Clayton, they went home before we departed for the Rideau.

We put a little over 30 hours on the boat on this trip. We are over 100 hours for the year, so far, which is already a record for us. We'll probably put another 6 or 7 hours on the boat this weekend; we are headed to Champlain for three nights right after work today.

If you ever wish to try the Rideau, please undesrtand that camping is encouraged at all the locks and it's very cheap. Thus, you can easily explore it with a bowrider or pontoon boat, you don't need a cruiser.

Awesome pictures, Dave! The Rideau Canal looks to be every bit as picturesque as people say it is. I recognize a lot of the scenery in the 1000 Islands. You didn’t happen to find my wallet that I lost on the grounds of the Rock Island Lighthouse??

I did not find your wallet. Thought of you while I was in NY though. You are quite near Clayton, right? The only complaint I have about the Rideau is the aquatic weeds. Man, they are thick and give credence to the nickname "weedo canal". When I get a live-aboard boat and do this loop again, I will have a battery powered string trimmer on board to clean off the anchor.

We sold our camp that was in Fisher’s Landing (halfway between Clayton and Alex Bay) about a decade ago, when our newly started business was fledgling. Now we rent a house on the water in Alex Bay for a week almost yearly. After we sell the business, we hope to buy another place up there somewhere.

I didn’t realize the canal was a weed haven. Maybe earlier in the season wouldn’t be so bad?

Not sure. I was amazed at the thickness of the weeds in French Bay in Clayton, compared to the last time I was there, too. Maybe it's just a bad year for weeds. Every time I left French Creek Marina (and went through French Bay), I stopped once the water was more than 10 feet deep, and backed up to get the weeds off my drive. The clumps were pretty impressive.

Good luck getting another place up there, it's the nicest place I've ever boated. The only thing the area needs (from what I can tell) is more and nicer sand bars/beaches where you can anchor and wade. Potters Beach is OK, but it's small, crowded, exposed to waves, and kind of rocky. A place like Thayer Beach on Lake Champlain would be ideal. If you know of a nice sandbar as described, feel free to share...