Lock 39 Portage to Lock 40 - TRENT SEVERN WATERWAY - ON LINE CRUISING GUIDE by CRUISING CANADA

There is very little to say about this section of the waterway. The canal runs dead straight from here to Gamebridge. Lock 39 and Lock 40 are a stones throw apart.

Lock 39 Portage

ID	Mile	Kilometers	lift	length	Sill Depth	Width
# 39	179.6	280	13'	120'	6'	32'

Don't even breath you are there.

Lock 40 Thorah

ID	Mile	Kilometers	lift	length	Sill Depth	Width
# 39	180	289.8	14'	120'	6'	32'

Once again you barley have time to sit before you arrive at Gamebridge.

Lock 41 - Gamebridge

ID	Mile	Kilometers	lift	length	Sill Depth	Width
# 41	180.8	2i1	14'	120'	6'	32'

Gamebridge is a little more sociable than the last locks as you are a bit closer to civilization. The lock is often busy as boat tend to collect in batches as they arrive from lake Simcoe or upstream. You will also find that the lockeepers are gentle with those who are just being to learn how to lock through.

The lock has the usual facilities and is a short walk across the highway to the Railroad restaurant which can be fun. For those just starting their journey east there is a good display explaining the locks.

From her you have no more locks to the north of Lake Couchiching. The canal is straight with heavy woods on either side. The Highway 12 bridge with a clearance of 24 feet is immediately beyond the Gamebridge lock. Followed by a Canadian National railway bridge with the same height above the canal.

At mile 181.5 the Talbot River crosses the canal. The south fork of the river leads to Christine & Brad Griffin's, Trent Talbot Marina (705) 426 7343. The channel in to the marina has 5' of depth with fairly soft bottom so if you stay in the middle you should be fine. The marina has both open and covered slips for boats up to 36' in length and will try to provide a berth for a transient if they call before to check. Only gas is available and they have 15 & 30 amp power, water, washrooms laundry and launch ramp.

The final bridge before Lake Simcoe is the 50 Lakeshore road swing bridge. Allow yourself time to hold on approaching the bridge as traffic often heavy and you may have to wait.

SWING BRIDGE - Lakeshore Road

ID	Mile	Kilometers	Clearance	Channel	Base Pos.
Swing Bridge	182.2	293.3	10'	north of pivot	Closed

The canal opens to a break wall protected basin with considerable wall space.

CAUTION: don't be fooled Simcoe can get downright ugly. Be prepared to tie-up and wait for it to calm down if you have any question. If the winds have been blowing out of the north-east with any amount of force then there will likely be some pretty rough seas out on the lake.

The ends of the jetties turn inwards minimizing the amount of turbulence in the basin.