Bell Canada Service Boat

[b3tamax11]

I was in Port Carling, Ontario today and I saw this Bell Canada Service Boat docked in the port. I assume it is used to access the many camps in the Muskoka area, never seen one like it before though.

[NorthernElectric]

There are lots of cottages on islands or on the mainland that are only accessible by water.  Presumably some have telephone service.  I wonder if that boat is also used to service ExpressVu (satellite TV) installations or if those are usually done by private contractors.  Port Carling is a good spot for home port for that boat.  It is nicknamed 'the Hub of the Lakes' and from there it can get into all of the big 3 lakes (Muskoka, Rosseau, and Joseph).

Muskoka has a long tradition of water travel dating back to a bit before the cottages and the tourist industry, and before there were many roads in the area.  The big 3 lakes were served by a number of steamboats, and still are.  The picture below is one that I took a few years ago of the Wenonah II at the locks in Port Carling, a replica named after an earlier vessel, the Wenonah.  This is a sister ship to the RMS Segwun, a restored original from the 19th century.  It's really cool to hear these blow their whistles.  One of these days, I mean to take a cruise on the Segwun.