July 16, Lovesick Lock, Petersborough Lock

July 16,  Petersborough Lift Lock

Ten locks and 27 miles today and we are tired!  The third lock was the Petersborough Lift Lock.  At 65 feet, this is the world’s highest hydraulic lift lock.  It opened in 1904 and was an engineering marvel.  It was a remarkable ride!  We were lifted with two other boats and the ride went way to fast.  The hydraulic lift lock works like a simple balance beam scale. Once the light turned green we entered into the large rectangular chamber.  Parallel to that chamber, but 65 feet up on a huge piston, is another chamber.  There are 330,000 gallons of water that weigh 1,500 tons in each chamber.  When the upper chamber is filled with an extra foot of water, 1 foot equals 130 tons, the increased weight in the upper tank forces it to go down, while the lower tank rises on its piston, boats can be in either chamber.

We toured the visitor center which is also a museum and learned that this structure is made out of concrete without any re-bar.  Walking back to our boat we were lucky enough to catch other boats in the lift and watch the amazing process.

The Otonabee River ended once through the Lakefield Lock and opened to Kawartha Lakes, which means “happy lands and bright waters”.  The further we traveled down the Trent-Severn Waterway, the more scenic she became.  Clear Lake and Stony Lake are beautiful with many red granite islands covered with pine trees.

We got the last spot on the wall at Lovesick Lock and decided to take a dip in the lake.  The first time we have been swimming since we started our loop!  The water was refreshing after being in the sun all day!