Click for Mag Bay Click for Cross Click for Walker Click for YF Listing Service Click for Mulder

Welland Canal

Discussion in 'Marinas & Waypoints' started by Rodger, Jun 28, 2011.

You need to be registered and signed in to view this content.
  1. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2005
    Messages:
    7,388
    Location:
    My Office
  2. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2013
    Messages:
    7,132
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Great site and perhaps I missed it but didn't see the answer to my question there.
  3. K1W1

    K1W1 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 30, 2005
    Messages:
    7,388
    Location:
    My Office
  4. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2013
    Messages:
    7,132
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
  5. Rodger

    Rodger Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2005
    Messages:
    832
    Location:
    St.Catharines
  6. Rodger

    Rodger Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2005
    Messages:
    832
    Location:
    St.Catharines
    Welland Canal Maintenance

    Every winter when canal is closed for 11 weeks the seaway spends around 12 million dollars on repairs, contractors work 24 hour days 7 days a week to complete work.
    Attached are some of the repairs.
    Rankin Construction portfolio replacing lock walls
    Staring this year they will replace all tie up walls over the next few years.
    INJECT ALMOST $100 MILLION INTO REGIONAL ECONOMY

    St. Catharines, Ontario (September 30, 2013) - The St. Lawrence Seaway Management Corporation (SLSMC) announced today that Oakville based Dufferin Construction has been awarded a contract to replace a series of ship tie-up walls on the Welland Canal. The contract, which entails the removal of the present timber tie-up walls and the construction of new tie-up walls using steel and concrete, is valued at $86 million. The balance of the funding envelope is dedicated to engineering, the purchase of various supplies, and inspection activity.

    “We anticipate that a substantial amount of this investment will directly benefit the regional economy” said Luc Boisclair, General Manager Operations – Welland Canal. “Dufferin has completed work of a similar nature in the past for the Seaway, and was selected after a thorough tendering process”.

    The tie-up walls to be replaced are located alongside Lock 1 (in the vicinity of Lakeshore Road), Lock 2 (in the vicinity of Carlton Street) and Lock 3 (in the vicinity of the St. Catharines Museum). The work will take place over the next four years, and is slated to begin in early October of this year and conclude in the spring of 2017.

    To permit the construction work to proceed, portions of the Welland Canal Parkway Trail (WCPT) that runs alongside the tie-up walls will be closed for periods of time. In addition, portions of the Welland Canals Parkway (commonly referred to as “Canal Road”) will also be closed for periods of time. Signs will be erected along the Canal, to keep the public informed about the activity and the resulting detours.

    Under the current outlook, the project will not impact the flow of traffic crossing any of the bridges that span the Welland Canal.

    The Welland Canal is a vital transportation artery within the St. Lawrence Seaway, which serves to connect the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. The rebuilding of the tie-up walls is one component of a $395 million asset renewal program that the SLSMC is undertaking over the next five years to ensure the continued reliability of the Seaway. Over 227,000 jobs and $35 billion in economic activity are supported by the movement of goods within the Great Lakes / Seaway System.
  7. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2013
    Messages:
    7,132
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Thanks for posting that information, Rodger. Very unique situation.
  8. captaintilt

    captaintilt Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 4, 2012
    Messages:
    219
    Location:
    Great Lakes / Florida
    I was just up in the Welland the week leading up to Christmas. I was there assisting with the launch and inspection of the new Hornblower boat that will be taking tours near the base of the falls. It was awfully cold and launching the boat with sheets of ice in the marina was definitely interesting.
  9. Rodger

    Rodger Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2005
    Messages:
    832
    Location:
    St.Catharines
    Horn Blower

    I took a few pictures the other day with my phone, I will take a few more with my camera in a few days and will post them.

    Attached Files:

  10. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 11, 2005
    Messages:
    14,432
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Standard equipment. Hatteras has for a decade or so used 6 or 7 blade wheels and a 3:1 gear reduction and they rely on a ton of pitch to make up for the reduction. Their theory is that with the wheels turning so slowly (if engine speed is 2100 rpms, the propellors are only turn 700rpms) cuts down on vibration.
  11. Rodger

    Rodger Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2005
    Messages:
    832
    Location:
    St.Catharines
    Horn Blower

    Capt. Tilt it is a good thing you did sea trials a few weeks ago as you will now need an ice breaker to get you out of the marina now.
    As you can see the bubbler system is doing a good job.
    I was wondering why she was left in the water for the winter as I assume she will have to be trucked to Niagara Falls.

    Attached Files:

  12. Rodger

    Rodger Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2005
    Messages:
    832
    Location:
    St.Catharines
    Winter 2014

    Here are a few pictures of the Marina two miles west of the canal in Port Dalhousie, a lot of Florida captains have spent the night there.
    It has been many years since Lake Ontario has had this much ice as she is a deep lake. The only thing going on there now is ice fisher men.
    The picture of snow bank is in Orillia Ontario about 80 miles north of Toronto on the Trent Canal.

    Attached Files:

  13. Rodger

    Rodger Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2005
    Messages:
    832
    Location:
    St.Catharines
    Lake Erie

    Today was a nice day -8 C no wind to go for a walk out onto Lake Erie.
    Lake Erie is now 100% frozen over.

    Attached Files:

  14. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

    Joined:
    Sep 2, 2013
    Messages:
    7,132
    Location:
    Fort Lauderdale
    Cool here today too with high only 75 degrees. I've never seen such as your photos in person. Thanks for sharing.
  15. Perlmudder

    Perlmudder Member

    Joined:
    Aug 7, 2007
    Messages:
    76
    Location:
    Toronto/Crystal Beach
    Rodger, are your pics from crystal beach? I have not been to my cottage since new years, but it looks like the ice has piled up on the beach.
  16. discokachina

    discokachina Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 21, 2010
    Messages:
    1,289
    Location:
    Ft. Lauderdale
    Thanks of reminding me of why I live in Florida!!

    So what if the Weather Channel says if mostly cloudy!

    weather channle.PNG

    At least I can go outside in shorts and bare feet!
  17. Old Phart

    Old Phart Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 14, 2011
    Messages:
    1,332
    Location:
    I dunno
  18. ScotL

    ScotL Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 29, 2009
    Messages:
    511
    Location:
    Green Bay/Milwaukee,WI
    I "could" too. But, I would probably need medical attention afterward.

    My current temp in Green Bay, WI is -8f with the windchill at -24f. Sill better than it was a couple weeks ago with temps around -20 and windchills around -50.

    For those unfamiliar with the windchill concept:
    Wind-chill or windchill, is the perceived decrease in air temperature felt by the body on exposed skin due to the flow of air. It's the reverse of a heat index temp
  19. Rodger

    Rodger Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 23, 2005
    Messages:
    832
    Location:
    St.Catharines
    Hands Free Mooring

    The Seaway announced this week they are going ahead with the Hands Free Mooring Project.
    They will install these machines over the next five winters. Five years from now they will not require linesmen on the locks.
    Automated mooring at the St Lawrence Seaway - YouTube
  20. Savasa

    Savasa Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    Messages:
    167
    Location:
    Iqaluit, Nunavit, Canada
    Morning all,
    RE: Hands Free Mooring. Looks like a viable system for the lakers but what about smaller recreational vessels?