_{Last of the Jumbo Mark II class, the Puyallup under a orange sunrise on the Kingston-Edmonds run. Photo by the author.}

CLASS: Jumbo Mark II

BUILT: 1999, Todd Shipyard, Seattle, WA

OFFICIAL NUMBER: D1061310 CALL SIGN: WCY7938

L/B/D: 460 x 90 x 17 GROSS/NET TONS: 6184/2066 PASSENGERS/AUTOS: 2499/202

PROPULSION:  4 EMD 16-710 G7 diesels, 13200 HP SPEED:  18 knots

NAME TRANSLATION: From the Puyallup language: “generous people.” The Puyallup tribe had a reputation for generosity in dealing with traders and travelers. Early settler Ezra Meeker

renamed his town from Franklin in 1877 looking for something unique. Besides the tribe and town, the name “Puyallup” is also used for a river and a glacier on Mount Rainier.

FINAL DISPOSITION:  In service, 2024.

HISTORY

The last of the Mark II trio was finished early and went into service in 1999 as planned.  The M/V Puyallup was sent to the Kingston-Edmonds route where the larger car carrying capacity was greatly needed.

Still under construction when the vibration problem was uncovered with her sisters, the Puyallup benefited from having the problem corrected while still being built instead of retrofitted like the other two.  As a result, the Puyallup is the quietest, smoothest running ferry of the three.

The name Puyallup is not one that readily slips off the tongue. Pronounced   PEW-AL-UP, and while certainly of noble meaning and an accurate reflection of the tribe, it does manage to cross-up tourists who do not routinely speak the numerous Native American names in Washington State. (And as a result, can be quite entertaining to those of us who grew up around here and have been hearing names like Puyallup, Twisp, Sol Duc and geoduck all our lives.)

The Puyallup has been on the Kingston-Edmonds run for most of her career, though she will move south when one of her sisters is “in the shop” for annual maintenance. The vessel is the largest ever to work the Kingston-Edmonds route and for a short time she made short work of full parking lots and backups on either side of the run. However, it was short-lived.  Traffic quickly caught up.  The Kingston-Edmonds route not only gets a lot of traffic from the north end of Kitsap County but practically all of the north end of the Olympic Peninsula as well.

Plans for a fourth Mark II were brought up in the state legislature, but never made it.  A fourth Mark II couldn’t readily be justified as the boats are really only capable of working two routes.   In the reassessment of the fleet, it was determined that ferries carrying about 145 cars and 2,500 passengers would fit readily in to nearly any route, from the San Juans to Vashon Island.  The idea of a fourth Mark II was quietly dropped.

There were some collective sighs of relief. Allegedly the fourth Mark II that was going to be named Sequim—a name that still sparks arguments by its own residents on how to pronounce correctly.

Just shy of her 10th birthday the Puyallup went in for a much-needed painting.  With security systems and Wi-fi updated, the ferry went back to work on the Kingston-Edmonds route where her absence had been greatly missed for many months. As of 2024 she’s still holding down the Kingston-Edmonds run.