Rideau Canal Waterway - Boater's Trip Planner


		Boater's Trip Planner

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Boater's Trip Planner Planning your trip can be almost as much fun as taking the trip. Sitting down on a cold winter day, poring over the tourist literature, the maps, the charts, thinking about those lazy summer days cruising the Rideau. Accordingly, the first thing you want to do is to get all this stuff. This website contains a great deal of information, but you should also contact some of the agencies listed at the end of this web page.

On this page you will find information about:	Other pages on this website of trip planning interest:
General Planning Boating Equipment Navigation & Safety Reading Material Information Contacts	Guide to the Rideau Paddlers Trip Planner Rideau FAQ Camping at a Lock	Marinas Lockstation Services Town Maps & Services American Boaters

General Planning

I am assuming that you have a fully equipped boat and know how to use it. In addition I assume that you will bring along all the necessities of boating (bathing suits, suntan lotion, sunglasses, etc.). The Rideau is a recreational waterway and caters to the tourist. Much of the information below can be found in my Guide to the Rideau which you can print out and take with you on your trip. In terms of specific planning:

Groceries: There are lots of grocery stores along the route in waterway towns such as Seeleys Bay, Newboro, Westport, Portland, Smiths Falls, Merrickville and Manotick. For a listing of services each community offers, have a look at the various Town Maps.

Ice: - for those who don't have a powered cooler/fridge, you can pick up ice at the towns listed above. In addition many marinas supply ice.

Fuel: There are many marinas along the Rideau, most offering gas, a few also offering diesel. A complete list of these can be found on the marinas page.

Pump-Out - many marinas also offer a pump-out service. See the marinas page for a listing.

Washrooms - for those without an on-board head, all the lockstations have public washrooms available as well as many of the marinas.

Dockage - between the marinas and the lockstations, there is lots of overnight docking available.

Camping - for those in boats without overnight facilities, tenting is available at local campgrounds (including 2 Provincial Parks) or at most of lockstations.

What to do - I actually get asked this question more that I think I should. It's probably because anytime I go out on the Rideau I'm always busy taking in the lovely scenery, exploring the rich history of the waterway, photographing local wildlife, stopping for a swim, enjoying a picnic or just generally having a great time relaxing on the open water. If you can do it in a boat (relax, sightsee, swim, ski, tube, fish, sunbathe, plane, putter, etc.) - you can do it on the Rideau. Those not completely into boats will appreciate being dropped off in places such as Newboro, Portland, Westport or Merrickville for a bit of shopping. Those into adventure hiking, might want to take a hike in Smiths Falls to the Hershey's Chocolate Factory. For more ideas have a look at the attractions page.

Timing - To do the entire Rideau in a power boat will take a minimum of 3 days (if you just go, go, go) or if you actually want to sightsee and relax, you should plan for at least 5 days, preferably allow yourself a week. A general rule of thumb is 30 minutes for each lock and an average speed of 10 kph (plus sightsee, swim, fish, visit, shop, etc time). The Rideau is 202 kilometres long with 45 locks if you don't visit Perth (2 more locks) - you do the math.

For more information about taking a trip to the Rideau have a look at the Rideau FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions).

Boating Equipment

Your boat must carry mandatory safety equipment, which depends on the length of your boat. A listing of this equipment is detailed in the "Safe Boating Guide" put out by the Canadian Coast Guard. For an on-line listing of this equipment visit the Office of Boating Safety

In addition to the required safety equipment, it is advised that boats carry a full set of boat fenders (for both sides of the boat), two boat hooks, and at least two good quality ropes for securing the bow and stern of the boat to the canal drop cables (full locking through procedures can be found on the Boating Page). The ropes should be supple and about twenty feet in length. A good quality mooring line is best. In small boats, plastic/metal paddles with a hooked top make good substitute boat hooks.

A note for those really expensive bigger boats, where the hull gracefully flares up to the deck. A set of small fenders, that will hang from your hand rail down against the deckline of your boat, are recommended. The big fenders these boats carry are great for docking, but I've seen boats get scraped along the deck edge in a lock because the main fenders hung too low and their thickness when pressed against the hull doesn't extend past the deckline (so the deckline hit the lock wall before the fender did). From an audience perspective, it is fun to watch the panicked owners of that $450,000 boat trying to keep the boat pushed away from the lock wall using boat hooks, while at the same time holding it against the lock wall with mooring lines, while the Parks Canada staff rush to their rescue. Most boaters though don't really want to put on such a show.

Navigation and Safety

For safe navigation of the Rideau, you should have the Canadian hydrographic charts that cover the length of the waterway. These are Charts 1512 and 1513, both of which you can order on-line from Friends of the Rideau (www.rideaufriends.com/sales/ ). Depending on where you are coming from, and where you plan to go, you many require other charts. A more complete list of maps and charts can be found on the maps, maps, maps web page. For a complete listing of hydrographic charts, check out the Canadian Hydrographic Service Web Site.

The Parks Canada publication Boating Safely contains information about navigation, locking instructions and more. You can download or view a PDF file of this pamphlet (399K). Much of this information, including lock sizes, navigation channel size, available water depth, bridge clearances, and maximum vessel size is available on the Rideau Statistics Page.

A VHF radio is good thing to have. Weatheradio Canada broadcasts on VHF bands 162.400, 162.475 and 162.550 MHz. In addition, the Canadian Coast Guard monitors VHF Marine Channel 16 (156.8 MHz) on a 24 hour basis (safety and emergencies only). The Coast Guard monitors channel 22A (157.1 MHz) for regular calls. Most marinas monitor VHF channel 68 and most pleasure boats use channels 68 and 71.

Those with cellular telephones can call *16 to contact the nearest coast guard radio station or *OPP (*677) to contact the nearest Ontario Provincial Police communications centre. A cellphone can sometimes come in handy to call ahead to a lock to see what part of the cycle they are in. Visit the Rideau Canal Lockstation Numbers Page for a complete listing. Although there is full cellular telephone coverage the whole length of the Rideau, there are a few "dead zone" pockets. Those using extension antennas and transportable cellulars should experience few problems.

Although not required, a depthfinder is a very handy thing to have, particularly if you like to wander off the beaten path. This little electronic device could save you from scraping off $1,000 worth of expensive gelcoat from your keel or putting a kink in that shiny new stainless steel prop.

Another handy device to have is a GPS (Global Positioning System) unit. It's not a required item on the Rideau because if you pay attention to the charts, it is very hard to get lost. However a GPS is handy so that you can immediately locate yourself at any given instance, or make quick note of the exact location of favourite spots (good mooring, swimming, fishing, etc.). In addition, if you are boating here from places like the St. Lawrence or Lake Ontario, then a GPS is a must have item. Have a look at the Rideau Canal GPS Waypoints Page for the GPS position of several of the lockstations.

Reading Material

The tourist agencies will send you a selection of material based on your interests. However the boater should make sure that they specifically request the following publications to make sure they get them. The Parks Canada publications will always be available through the Rideau Canal Office. In addition, the Canal Office usually has on hand those publications below marked with an asterisk (*).

Boating Safely, Trent-Severn Waterway -- Rideau Canal by Parks Canada
(you can also download or view a PDF file of this pamphlet - 399K)
Historic Canals, Hours of Operation and Fees by Parks Canada
(you can also download or view a PDF file of this pamphlet - 192K)
Rideau Canal Brochure (writeup with map) by Parks Canada
(you can also download or view a PDF file of this brochure - 928K)
Safe Boating Guide by the Canadian Coast Guard *
Vacation Travel Guide & Atlas by the Brockville Recorder and Times Ltd.*
Ontario East Travel Guide by the Ontario East Tourist Association*
Boating East by Kathrine Christensen *
Marinas by the Ontario Marina Operators Association *
Kingston Tourist Literature (various brochures)
Ottawa Tourist Literature (various brochures)

You can also view or download various brochures in PDF file format by visiting my Document Centre.

In addition to the free stuff, it is well worth having a travel guide or two. The two most popular are the Rideau, Boating and Road Guide (2007), published by Ontario Travel Guides, and Sailing Directions: Rideau Canal and Ottawa River (2003) a navigation guide published by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Both can be ordered from the Friends of the Rideau.

In my opinion, no trip is complete without a couple of good books on the region to read. It is best to read these books as you drift along the Waterway, so that you can get a sense of the history and see first hand the places that are mentioned in the books. There are quite a few books to choose from. My personal favourite is A History of the Rideau Lockstations, a visitor's guide to the history of each of the Rideau lockstations. I may be a little bias since I'm the author of that book. I don't make any money from it though, all proceeds from sales go to Friends of the Rideau.

For the full story of how the Rideau was built, the definitive work about the Rideau, Robert Legget's Rideau Waterway, is a must-read. Another great Rideau book is Robert Passfield's Building the Rideau Canal: A Pictorial History which features beautiful colour plates of period illustrations (1826-1850) of the Rideau. Both these books have recently been brought back into print by Friends of the Rideau. These books and many more can be found on the Friends of the Rideau Book Page (www.rideaufriends.com/sales/books.html).

Contact Addresses and Phone Numbers

Parks Canada - Rideau Canal Office 34a Beckwith Street South Smiths Falls, ON K7A 2A8 Tel: 613-283-5170 Toll Free: 1-888-773-8888 (North America) Fax: 613-283-0677 email: RideauCanal-info@pc.gc.ca Website: www.pc.gc.ca/rideaucanal	Friends of the Rideau 1 Jasper Avenue Smiths Falls, ON K7A 4B5 Tel 613-283-5810 Fax 613-283-2884 email: info@rideaufriends.com Website: www.rideaufriends.com
TraveLinx Ontario c/o Ontario Ministry of Tourism 77 Bloor St. W, 6th Floor Toronto, ON M7A 2R9 Tel: (416) 314-0944 Toll Free 1-800-668-2746 (English - Canada/USA/Hawaii) Toll Free 1-800-268-3736 (en français) Website: www.travelinx.com/	Rideau Heritage Route Tourism Association P.O. Box 816, Smiths Falls, Ontario K7A 4W7 Tel: 613-389-4783 Email: info@rideauheritageroute.ca Website: www.rideauheritageroute.ca
Canada Customs Information Unit P.O. Box 10, Station "A" 1 Front Street West Toronto, ON M5W 1A3 Toll Free 1-800-461-9999 Fax: (416) 954-0787 Website: www.cra-arc.gc.ca	Transport Canada Office of Boating Safety 330 Sparks Street, 11th Floor Ottawa, ON K1A 0N5 Tel: 613-990-3105 Fax: 613-996-8902 Toll Free 1-800-267-6687 (Safe Boating Hotline) Office of Boating Safety: www.tc.gc.ca/BoatingSafety
Ontario Marina Operators Association Suite 49, 2 Poyntz St. Village Square Mall, Penetanguishene Ontario, L9M 1M2 Tel: (888) 547-6662 email: omoa@omoa.com Website: www.omoa.com	Ministry of Natural Resources Information Centre Room M1-73, Macdonald Block, 900 Bay Street Toronto, ON M7A 2C1 Tel: (416) 314-2000 Fax: (416) 314-1593

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