To diesel or not to diesel… That is the question. While the Seattle Times editorial board and even several of the candidates for governor are calling for at least two diesel Olympic Class ferries to be built while we wait for the first hybrid electric ferries to appear, there’s a real problem with that, as the new head of the ferry system points out. The previous providers of the propulsion system for the Olympics, seemingly Read more…
Indianapolis, the smallest of the three Great Lakes steamers was the first to arrive on Puget Sound, arriving at Port Townsend 10 February 1906. She has been fitted with temporary sails to assist her trip via the Strait of Magellan, as there was no Panama Canal to utilize. The Puget Sound Navigation Company, owner of the steamer, put her on the Seattle-Port Townsend-Victioria run, but with the arrival of her larger near sisters, the Indianapolis Read more…
No vessel went through such transformation as the Iroquois. With a career that lasted 83 years, that’s probably not a surprise, but the various guises the vessel took on over the years ranged from one boxy, somewhat inelegant rebuild to a transfiguration into one of the weirdest looking vessels on Puget Sound–or anywhere, for that matter. The Puget Sound Navigation Company, not yet having reclaimed the “Black Ball Line” name, purchased three Great Lakes steamers Read more…
…or de-evolution depending on how you view the metamorphosis from the Napa Valley to the ferry Malahat. Built as the flagship vessel for the Monticello Steamship company, the Napa Valley went into service in 1910 on the thirty-mile trip between San Francisco and Vallejo. She was to be a modern and forward-thinking vessel for the time, for in addition to the 1,500 passengers she was designed to carry, the steamer also had room for about Read more…
I’ve always been fond of this little ferry.She started life in 1923 as the steam powered ferry Whidby for the Whidby Island Transit company, then a subsidiary of PSN, and soon to be totally absorbed by the company, for routes on and around Whidbey Island. She worked in this capacity for nearly a decade before Black Ball pulled her out of service with a very definite idea for upgrading the little vessel in 1931 for Read more…
So, this made the news all over the world. These are stills from the video WSF tweeted out of the Issaquah on its way up to Anacortes during a boat move. Not exactly sure why WSF decided to go ahead with the move (it had been on the news for days about the potential high winds, there was a gale warning up from NOAA that was in place until 10 PM the evening of the Read more…
WSF’s bulletin this week included drawing of the new hybrid Olympic Class ferries. At the same time, the RIF was released, which included some very interesting information. All Olympic Class ferries are not going to be alike: WSF contracted with a naval architecture firm, Elliott Bay Design Group, to refine the functional design that has been in development over the past two years and attain USCG approval. These refinements will significantly improve vessel performance and Read more…
Wenatchee, Sealth, Issaquah, Puyallup, Chimacum, Walla Walla, Kennewick. These are the ferries out of service for routine or unplanned maintenance at the end of November. Were it not for some quick work, the Tillikum wouldn’t have made back in time to take over duty on the inter-island run. As it stands, the 64-year-old ferry was delayed getting back due to additional work needed to keep the vessel built in the Eisenhour administration running. The Yakima, Read more…
OUCH! So, that’s what it looks like when a propeller blade snaps off. WSF posted this photo back on 28 September when the Walla Walla was moved into drydock. “Throwing a blade” was not all that uncommon back in the day, but that was with propellers where the blades were bolted to a center hub. It’s very unusual for this to happen to a “solid state” prop. However, it should be noted that this was Read more…