_{The Willapa in the last years of service for Washington State Ferries. This photo was taken in 1963. Author’s collection.}

CLASS: Single-ended Steel Electric

BUILT: 1927, Bethlehem Shipbuilding Union Yard, San Francisco, CA

PREVIOUS/LATER NAMES: a. Fresno, b. Willapa, c. Fresno

OFFICIAL NUMBER: 226344 CALL SIGN: WB4495

L/B/D: 256 x 65 x 13 GROSS/NET TONS: 1024/696 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: 1500/90

PROPULSION: Diesel, Busch-Sulzer 2800 HP SPEED: 15 knots. 

NAME TRANSLATION: From the extinct Willapa tribe from Southwestern Washington.  Meaning unknown.

FINAL DISPOSITION: Upper works scrapped November 2009; hull scrapped between 2012-14.

HISTORY

Launched as the Fresno in 1927, the Willapa started life as a San Francisco Bay ferry for the Southern Pacific Railroad system.

After plying San Francisco waters for over ten years, the new bridges over the Bay effectively ended ferry service across San Francisco Bay.  The Puget Sound Navigation Company, looking to upgrade its fleet in the 1940’s, purchased all six of the Steel Electric ferries from Southern Pacific to bolster their fleet and improve service. Starting in August of 1940, the ferries began traveling northward in twos.

Traffic on the “Navy Yard Route” had picked up dramatically. Even though the war was a year off, work at the Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton was already ramping up. Black Ball needed additional capacity to meet the demand of the commuting work force at PSNS, and the Steel Electrics as built weren’t large enough or fast enough. The importance of the work at shipyard allowed for a special dispensation for Black Ball to procure two Busch-Sulzer engines for the Santa Rosa and Fresno to replace their diesel-electric power plants, resulting in an increase in cruising speed of four knots, from 12 to 16. With the vessels now single-ended, one rudder was welded into place, and the propeller removed.

To increase their passenger capacity, the cabin was extensively remodeled and expanded. One wheelhouse now redundant, it was removed and replaced with a flush-sided ladies’ lounge at what was now the stern of the ferry. Passenger capacity went up from about 800 to 1500.

With the transfer to Washington State Ferries, the Willapa changed little in appearance. Like the others in the Steel Electric Class (which technically neither the Willapa or Enetai belonged to anymore, having had their power plants changed) the large windows on the car deck were welded in and replaced by open, round portholes.

The conversion to a single-ended ferry by Black Ball was to spell the end of the ferry’s service on Puget Sound. Initially, single-ended ferries were faster, and even with the turnaround time, could still cover the run to Seattle quicker than the slower double-ended boats. By the late 1960’s, that was no longer true, and in addition, the aging Busch-Sulzer diesels were expensive to run and maintain.

With the addition of the (then) gigantic Super Class ferries, the state was able to retire some of the more inefficient vessels. As soon as the Hyak arrived, the Kalakala and Willapa were retired. The Hyak could make ten trips to the Willapa’s five.

The Willapa was sold to a group of San Francisco investors and returned to the Bay area under her old name of Fresno.  Unfortunately, little was done to her.

The Fresno, after decades of neglect, finally sank at her berth in the 1990’s and remained submerged in about 30 feet of water, mid-way up the car deck windows for six months. A salvage company was hired to raise the vessel, patching her hull with concrete. Her hull, according to the Coast Guard report, resembled a slice of Swiss cheese. Constant pumping was maintained to keep her afloat.

Efforts to sell the ferry on Ebay in 2006 failed.  There were no takers.

In October of 2006 her owner stated that if something wasn’t done soon, the Fresno would be sold for scrap. In December the ferry caused a bit of a stir when she showed up moored unexpectedly in Port Costa.  Her new owner, D.D. Parker of Parker Oceanic, had a dispute with the tug operator towing her from Mare Island, and the captain of the tug tied up the boat. The dispute was later settled, and the Fresno was towed away.

The Fresno moored in Stockton for a time, but ended up grounded off of Spud Island alongside the hull of the San Leandro on the San Joaquin River and listed “For Sale.”

No buyers were forthcoming, so in fall of 2009 a contract was awarded to Enterprise Marine Company Inc. to recycle the ferries. The scrapping of the Willapa began in November of 2009, leaving only the hull.  After the hull had been there for a time, both Parker Marine and the scrapping firm were sued for the final removal, as both hulls were parked illegally. The Willapa‘s hull was finally broken up, but as of May 2023, the hull of the San Leandro remains at Spud Island.