Can that actually move this houseboat?

9.9's about to make their last trip of the season - onto the trailer to come out of the water for the winter

I am always surprised when people stop in to take a look at our houseboats. It's the kind of thing I often think about doing as I'm driving along the highway but I never ever do it. I actually enjoy showing our houseboats off and giving a little tour of what's inside. It's so nice to hear people's reactions as they step on board and see what our  boats are like. The one thing that amuses me, I wait for it in fact as the men in the group check out the back deck, is a little question that comes up probably 75% of the time. I don't know how many times I've heard it - "There's just a little 9.9hp on this thing?" "That motor actually moves this houseboat?"
Honestly, we love our little Yamaha 9.9hp four stroke high thrust motors. Yep, that 's a mouthful and for anyone who's not motor savvy I totally understand that it's also nearly incomprehensible. I grew up on a farm so conversations about Massey Ferguson and Chase-International and combines and tractors and balers still have much more meaning to me than outboard motors and fishing boats but I've learned a lot in the last ten years.

Peter working on a motor that's missing a little piece at the bottom:  that would be the part you lose when you hit a really big rock really hard.

I've observed that our Yamaha motors have been very dependable. That's great news for anyone taking a vacation on one of our houseboats. They just don't break down very often. Now mind you we keep them in good repair and replace them regularly but just the same most of our service calls for motor repairs are because someone has hit a rock or had a rope stuck in the prop, not because the motor has failed.
9.9hp means that it's not a big motor. If there is ever a break down we can simply replace the whole motor and you can carry on your way. That means less time stopped when there is a problem and more time enjoying your vacation.

Little motors hard at work

Four stroke is all about fuel efficiency. Your car has a four stroke engine. You don't have to mix fuel and oil. It doesn't use as much gas as a two stroke engine. That means a cheaper vacation for you and no hassle when you need to add fuel to the tank.
High thrust is what makes the 9.9hp work for us. This is the part that surprises people. They have big props on them, much bigger than your average motor of this size. They are made for pushing barges through the water and that's basically what your houseboat is, a fancy barge. You aren't going to go water skiing behind it but that's not what houseboating is all about is it?

Our last hunting trip

For the first six years of our marriage Mike and I went houseboating at the very end of the season when most of the other houseboats were up on shore. It was a time to really relax knowing that another busy year was almost over. We say we went hunting but really we usually did more hiking than hunting. Oh, Mike carried a gun and has a small game license but that doesn't mean we'd come home with our fill of grouse. One year we had fun shooting squirrel for pate at our Chamber of Commerce's Wild Game Dinner because there wasn't a grouse to be seen. It was entertaining to say the least and we did a lot of joking about our big catch!

I don't know if we make too much noise - Mike has tried to train me but perhaps it is useless - or if the grouse are already spooked by the time we get out in the bush but we just don't seem to have that much success. Nevertheless we always have a great time. Autumn is one of my favourite times of the year. The crisp air, the colourful leaves, the frosty nights, the anticipation of my very favourite season - winter, and the winding down of another busy season all combine to make it a special time.

The last chance we had to go hunting was indeed a memorable one. Our houseboat was the very last one in the water and we headed out a week later than usual. I don't think we caught a single grouse but we certainly had a lot of fun hiking in the bush, playing our favourite German board games at night and relaxing. Our big catch that year was a collection of beer cans to cash in at the liquor store to buy us a nice chicken dinner when we arrived home!

We had a friendly squirrel on the small island we were camped at. He visited us regularly as he busily stored whatever he could find to get him through the coming winter months. Our first morning there we woke up to the sound of him dropping pine cones on the roof of the houseboat.We had fun helping him stock his larder with good things and laughing at his antics.

The most memorable thing about that trip however was our last morning on the lake. We woke up to two inches of snow! It had been a bit chilly at night but the heater had kept us comfortable and warm. The snow was perfect for snowmen and we built this one before we left for home. It was such a special return trip: the water was a deep charcoal and perfectly still and calm. The snow laden trees contrasted beautifully with the lake's dark calmness. There wasn't another boat to disturb our trip through the heavy, still water all the way home.

It seems that our hunting days are over for now with little Abby here but the time will come again when we'll be able to go 'hunting' in the fall. I know our little girl will love tramping through the bush and playing in the leaves but I'm sure we won't ever be quiet enough to catch anything, not even squirrels!

Houseboating with baby

It was with much anticipation that we planned for our first houseboating adventure with our little Abby. There were a lot more 'things' to pack and to think about. Should we bring the high chair? How much food will she need? What toys are most important to bring?or should we just bring them all? Before Abby's arrival it seemed like we emptied our entire house into the houseboat for our five days away. This year it seemed even more like it!

Another couple with a baby only four days older than Abby went houseboating not long before us so I asked what they wished they'd brought and what they were glad to have with them. They were very helpful and so I thought I'd share some of the things I learned with anyone else who might be thinking about houseboating with baby.

1. Vacationing with a baby is not relaxing. Don't expect it to be. Most of you are laughing at this because you learned it a long time ago. Somehow this was a revelation to me. We have always looked forward to this time as a getaway to really relax. But the sleepless nights came with us, and the dishes, and the diapers...

I will admit to one morning where I decided that no one in their right mind could possibly houseboat with children for fun. The real problem of course was my expectations not my baby. Our little Abby had a great time and once I changed my expectations I had a lot of fun too.

2. If you have a little one who is eating solids a high chair is very helpful. For most of you space in your vehicle is an issue on this one but it was great to be able to put Abby in the chair to eat. Booster seats can't be attached to the benches so if you hope to use one of them you will want to bring a lawn chair to attach it to.

3. Bring as many of baby's favourite toys as there is room in the car (once you have the essentials packed). You are going to be spending several days on the boat and you will want to have all the favourites handy for your little one to play with. Abby loves her books so we brought them all. She also has a bucket of little animals that she loves to play with so we brought them all. I didn't regret packing a single toy. She played with everything.

4. The pack and play is nice and we used it for nap time but at night I ended up sleeping with Abby most of the time. The different routine and surroundings just made it too difficult for her to get to sleep on her own and she still wakes up often during the night. We all got more sleep when I slept with her. That means you should plan to bring extra blankets for the front bench or other bed. 

The pack and play is also nice for letting baby travel on the front deck to see the sights. It was too cold when we traveled for Abby to really enjoy being on the deck but the other mom I talked to said her little guy loved it.

5. Plan to eat supper early so you can get the dishes done before baby goes to bed. You're living in pretty close quarters and if the dishes don't get done I find it's really hard to get breakfast ready the next morning. In the past we've eaten after fishing in the evening but that really doesn't work with baby unless yours sleeps through anything. Our little girl doesn't want to miss a thing so sleep is hard come by at times.

6. If you enjoy hiking bring a carrier along so you can get out and enjoy the outdoors. We used our carrier in the big boat while we fished. It's a Kelty and stands up so Abby played with some toys and watched us fish. She loved it and was quite excited to see the fishies up close.

7. Choose a spot to park where you can get out and walk around. Our spot was beautiful and very protected but it wasn't at a campsite and had a very steep hill right at shore. We were glad to be so protected when a storm came through but I but because of this I was nervous about taking Abby off the houseboat since it was a bit of a drop if I lost my balance. And there wasn't really anywhere for us to go once we left the boat. 

8. Bring a baby monitor so you can go fishing after baby is asleep. We rigged up our walky talkies so we could monitor Abby in the boat one evening. It was great to be able to get out for an hour or so and fish together. We were never out of sight of the houseboat and we knew Abby was safe so Mike and I were able to relax and enjoy some time together.

9. Make sure you bring a life jacket for baby. We provide one size keyhole life vests but not infant or children's life jackets. You'll definitely want one for swimming. If you are stopped by the safe boating team you need to have life jackets that will fit each person on board.

Highlights of the trip for me were watching Abby learn to stand up by herself at the windows, seeing her excitement over fish and worms and water and having so much time to spend with her. While Mike and I didn't get to have nearly as much together time as other years we made the most of the time we did have and I think we had a great first vacation as a family.

Hike to High Rock

A few years ago my sister and I had a chance to take a trip on one of our houseboats. We have lots of special memories from those few days. We swam and fished and roasted marshmallows and laughed and explored. All in all it was a great weekend.

It was my first experience houseboating without my husband who has grown up on Lake Temagami and driving boats. It was fun to get to be a tourist for once and explore somewhere I had never been.

We decided to go to Cross Bay to a campsite that turned out to be perfect for one houseboat and two sisters to have a weekend getaway. We dubbed it 'Sisters' Sanctuary'. One of the reasons we had chosen that location was because I wanted to hike up High Rock. We towed a 14' boat behind the houseboat so we could easily get to the landing for the hike since I didn't know my way. While we were there someone came along with a pontoon boat so I'm sure we could have driven the houseboat right there. The dock was a bit worse for wear but maybe someone has fixed it up a bit since then.

The hike itself was not too hard. There were a couple of spots that were steep but it wasn't so hard that we couldn't visit as we walked. This is a well traveled trail so you don't need to worry that you might lose your way.

The big boulder was along the trail and left us wondering what had made it stop there instead of continuing down the slope. The other two pictures give you an idea of the view from the top. High Rock is located at the hub of Lake Temagami and in one picture you can see some of Temagami Island and just a few of the many island that dot the lake. I would highly recommend this hike because it doesn't require you to be a great athlete and because of the fantastic view. Bring some water to drink and even a picnic if you want and definitely bring your camera.

Campfires and water levels

It's funny that just last week we were starting to talk about how dry it was. Now it feels like the rain just keeps coming although we certainly haven't had as much as southern Ontario or Manitoba. All this rain is good news for a couple of reasons.

For starters it means there is no fire ban yet this year. So when you are thinking about your houseboat vacation plan to relax around a campfire while enjoying marshmallows and bannock or hobo pies. There are fire pits at most campsites and dead falls and branches which can be cut up for firewood. Make sure your water buckets are ready to put out any flames that may escape. When you have a campfire please be sure you put it out ... and then put it out again so that there are no coals to flare up and cause problems after you have left.

A lot of people have been asking how high the water levels are this year. Lots of rain this spring means that the water levels are normal for this time of year. That is good news since last year was so dry and many shoals were surprisingly close to the surface. For those of you who have been coming for years this means that you can go to all of your favourite haunts without worrying about what surprise rocks might be lurking just below the surface. For those who are new to Lake Temagami this means that the shoal maps are accurate, making navigation easier.

The rain combined with cool nights means that the water has taken longer to warm up and the smallmouth bass spawn is later than usual. The little guys in our boat ramp have just risen up off the nest. So although bass season opened on Saturday it would be wise to not fish the shorelines for them just yet since they are still protecting their little ones from predators.

Of course lots of rain also means that there are some bugs around but bring your bug jackets, citronella and bug spray and you'll still be able to enjoy being outside.

Geocaching in Temagami

I won't lie, I have not as of yet actually been geocaching. Until two weeks ago I had only heard of it but never considered trying it. I guess I didn't think there would be a lot of caches around and we didn't own a handheld GPS the last time I heard about geocaching.

I was very surprised to do a search and discover that there are 29 of them within 20 miles of the town of Temagami! I enjoy doing things outside and hiking through the bush. I've always loved a treasure hunt so this has me quite excited for nice weather and spring to come so I can try finding them. Imagine, a treasure hunt that anyone in the world can find. Someone had a really good idea :)

There is one quite close by on the way up to the fire tower somewhere so I hope to try looking for it this week if the weather cooperates. Unfortunately they are calling for wet cold weather for the next few days so it may have to wait. I'll post my adventure here once it happens and let you know if it really is as much fun as I think it will be.

A lot of the caches are located on Lake Temagami itself and would be a lot of fun to try finding while houseboating. I wish I'd known about this earlier: so many 'treasures' I could have already found!

If anyone is reading this who has never tried geocaching and thinks it sounds fun check out www.geocaching.com. You can create a free membership and find the coordinates and clues for caches in the area of the lake you are interested in traveling while on vacation.

If it really is fun I hope that we'll be able to do a bit of caching when we go houseboating in June. Abby loves being outside so as long as the bugs aren't too bad I know she will love the walk in the bush even if she is too young to know what we are doing.

We're tossing around the idea of creating a series of caches for our customers to find in 2012. If enough people are interested we'll put something together. We're thinking of making it a series of puzzle caches where you need to find all of the caches to get the pieces to the puzzle. If you return to base with the puzzle solved then you get a prize. Does this sound interesting to anyone? Let us know!

What a lovely little houseboat!

I just wanted to share these photos of a gift we were given this summer.

Milt and Gisele Patey were very creative and made a houseboat Kleenex holder for us out of plastic cross stitch. They finished it while houseboating and took these pictures on the front deck of their houseboat.

It looks just about ready to head off on an adventure on Lake Temagami!

Thank you Milt and Gisele! It is sitting on a shelf in our office and we've had quite a few comments and compliments on it.

Snapping turtles

This one's for you Cheryl! You got me thinking about our turtle friends. I grew up just an hour north of Temagami but as far as I know we do not have snappers up there.

We are always entertained by these turtles when we go houseboating in Cross Lake. They seem to know the sound of the houseboat motor and that it could mean food for them. It usually doesn't take long for them to show up and make themselves right at home under our houseboat.

It's fascinating to watch them eat the leftovers from Mike cleaning our fish. Apparently snappers need to eat underwater because their tongues are fixed, making it difficult to swallow when they are

out of the water. It's amazing how long they can stay down there chewing and tearing away at the skins and carcasses.

Once again I read that they rarely bite when in the water so swimming should be safe while they are around. You'll have to decide for yourself how much you want to believe what you

read...especially on the internet :) I know that I have swam quite close to them before without realizing it and not come to any harm. However when they are on land it is quite a different story. The snapping turtle cannot fully pull its head, tail and limbs into its shell. That may be why they are so aggressive when they feel threatened on land. I've heard stories about a snapper getting so upset it stood on its back legs and rocked back and forth hissing. I don't recommend aggravating a snapper this much. Besides it being unkind they have very long necks and could surprise you by how far they can reach to bite you in self-defense.

This June a group of guys on one of our houseboats got to watch a female snapper digging holes in which to lay her eggs. Apparently she dug most of the campsite up trying to find an appropriate place to lay them. Snapping turtles normally lay 20-30 eggs that will hatch in 50-60 days. Many of these nests are discovered by predators and the little ones eaten before they ever reach the water. Interestingly enough the weather affects the sex of the baby turtles! If it's a cool spring most of the hatchlings will be male. If it's warm most of the little ones will be female. Who knew!

It takes snapping turtles 15-20 years to reach maturity. That is one of the reasons why these

turtles have been designated a special concern species by the Ontario Endangered Species Act, 2007. Many females are killed on the road as they search for an appropriate place to lay their eggs. As a result the females may only lay a few nests of eggs in their lives. Many nests are destroyed: we have seen little evidence over the last few years of baby turtles having hatched from the nests around our campsite on Cross Lake. There seem to be many creatures who enjoy a snack of turtle eggs.

If you have any turtle stories to share I'd love to hear them!Here's a video Mike took of our snapper swimming by...

I found my facts on the following websites:

http://www.kawarthaturtle.org/species.html

http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@mnr/@species/documents/document/276686.pdf

www.borealforest.org/reptiles/snapping_turtle.html

Our week houseboating

July 3-8 was our week to enjoy some time on the lake. I don't think we've ever been out when it was so warm. In fact the weather was HOT: but the lake was great for swimming. Mike always likes to go to Cross Lake to 'his' campsite. It's a nice spot but in the past I've been cautious about swimming there because there are some big snapping turtles around. This week Mike didn't try to lure them in with fish remains until later in the week and we didn't see them (although I'm sure they were there) so I told myself it would be fine to swim. I still have all my toes and 'apparently' the turtles are not normally aggressive when in the water.

We went out with my parents and they parked just across the bay at their own special spot where it's deep enough to catch smallmouth bass off the back of the houseboat. We had a nice time, sharing suppers together, playing some games, fishing and even my parents went in the water.

The fishing was good although it was windy at times. We caught a little bit of everything: some lake trout, some smallmouth bass, some northern pike, some pickerel and a whitefish.

It was great weather for resting and reading. The bugs were not bad at all...until the sun went down that is! Then you had better hope you were inside because the mosquitos were hungry after not being able to eat most of the day ... poor little things.

On the way home we stopped at the opening to the Tetapaga River. Even though it was windy I really wanted to put my kayak to use and travel at least part way up the river. I've been up it by boat but there's something about travelling by kayak: you get to see so much more. I saw what could have been a black duck with six ducklings. They were a little way off as I was entering the Tetapaga so it's hard to be sure exactly what kind of duck they were. I followed a great blue heron for a while. I'm sure he thought I was chasing him but really he just kept flying a little way ahead of me. I also saw a muskrat minding his own business. I was downwind from him so I'm not sure he ever noticed me. He took a small 'stream' off the main course through the wild rice. I also saw the cutest little flowers. They looked like they were growing in a patch of grass on rocks that would have been covered by water last year at this time. They were yellow and probably less than a centimeter across. I wish I'd been able to take a camera with me but even though I've never tipped the kayak I didn't want to chance getting the camera waterlogged!

Prize Laker: caught and released

One of our private houseboat customers came back Monday from an exciting week of fishing. They caught this beautiful lake trout while wire lining on the bottom of Lake Temagami with a big silver spoon. It weighed in at 31.2 lbs. They spent about 45 minutes reviving the laker after his ordeal and watched him swim away to live another day. Pictured below is another nice catch by the same group of guys. All in all it seems to have been a good week of fishing!

All this week our customers have been having good luck catching lake trout. Early in the week they were catching them in as shallow as 15 feet of water but this warm weather has caused the water to warm up quickly and the trout are retreating to cooler places.

May 15: Opening day for fishing... and houseboating!

The weather network is promising warm weather for opening week with only a bit of rain - if you can trust what they say. If they're right it sounds like perfect weather for houseboating and for fishing.

Since the ice went out so early this year I was curious how warm the water is and if the pickerel would spawn early. So I checked the water temperature this cool, rainy morning. (Yes, we finally received some real rain!) The water is currently 56 degrees Fahrenheit.

That still didn't mean a whole lot to me since I've never checked the water temperature at this time of year before so I turned to the internet. Now I know you can't rely on everything you read online but I checked out a few sites. I discovered that pickerel feed the most between 55-75 degrees Fahrenheit. One site said their feeding peaks at 64 degrees. Another site said that it all depends on your latitude - how helpful...

Another said that their feeding was 'most voracious' just after spawning. So I visited the folks at TAFIP (Temagami Area Fish Improvement Program), our local fish hatchery to see whether the pickerel have finished spawning. I was told that they have finished and that the first batch of eggs will be hatching next week. I've included pictures that were taken a few years ago at TAFIP of both the eggs and the little guys just after hatching.

So the conclusion is that the pickerel fishing on Lake Temagami should be great opening week even though it is earlier than usual. Now I can't promise that there won't be snow. And I can't promise that you'll catch fish. I can only say that it looks hopeful and I wish you all the best!

First boat in the water!

It has been a beautiful month of April. That means all the painting has been finished ahead of schedule and the boats are ready to go. It's always exciting to see the first one slide into the water and drive to its parking space.

This year the water is exceptionally low and the boats can't pull right up to the dock so it could create some challenges for the cleaning girls! It could also create some challenges for those of you renting our houseboats this spring. There may be some campsites you won't be able to get to because of rocks that were not visible before being very close to the surface... or above the surface! We don't usually pray for rain at this time of year but we could certainly use some with a fire ban already on and water levels being so low. We'll see what the next couple of weeks bring.