Kwa-di Tabil Class Design & Construction

Not doing bow doors would sort of negate the whole idea of doing an Island Home Class design to begin with. I think WSF will keep the bow doors. Admiralty Inlet is one of the most exposed stretches of water WSF vessels sail in. Having a completely enclosed car deck might lessen the number of cancelled sailings due to stormy conditions.

Here are a few design changes I think would benefit WSF's version:

1. eliminate the saddle lounges on the sides, thus opening the car deck level all the way up, creating more overheight space. It also makes the passenger cabin area smaller which is a plus in this case.

2. eliminate the platform decks. Although the platforms enable the ferry to carry more vehicles, the complexity and time involved in raising and lowering them will increase vessel turnaround time. Keep it simple with 1 car deck level. It will also be easier to squeeze in additional sailings with a shorter dwell time, which I think would be a greater benefit than the platforms.

3. Go with a central stairwell/mechanical chase with 6 lanes of traffic on the main car deck (3+3), instead of Island Home's twin stairwell/5 lane configuration (1+3+1). I don't know if this one is possible, but such a setup would accommodate more vehicles on the main car deck. Aside from this being a fairly radical design change, another point of contention may be whether 2 egress points from the passenger cabin to the car deck will be acceptable from a regulations standpoint (this was brought up by Barnacle).

As far as the bridge goes, I like the bridge design as it currently exists on Island Home, and as far as security goes, WSF may decide that the upper outside deck should be off limits to passengers entirely, as is the case with most WSF vessels now. It could be that having the two outside bow decks forward of the main passenger cabin,will be enough, especially since Port Townsend-Keystone is light on foot traffic as compared to Island Home's Martha's Vineyard route. I am curious to see what WSF comes up with. Exciting times!

As I've stated elsewhere, it's up to the USCG and the Code of Federal Regulations (CFRs).

Today's Seattle Times article on the Island Home ferry is the first really descriptive thing I have seen in the public media about these new boats.

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Island Home ferries to replace aging boats for Port Townsend runs
By Susan Gilmore
Seattle Times staff reporter

WOODS HOLE, Mass. — When engineers with Washington State Ferries visited this Massachusetts town in February to look at its Island Home ferry, winds were blowing at 40 knots and the seas were 8 feet high.

If those conditions existed on the Keystone-Port Townsend ferry run with the temporary boat now being used, the trip would have been canceled, said Ron Wohlfrom, vessel project engineer for Washington ferries.

But the Island Home did operate. Weather has rarely caused it to skip a run.

This ferry, which operates between Woods Hole and Martha's Vineyard, is the same type of boat the state plans to build to replace the Steel Electric ferries taken out of service in November. The state hopes to have two Island Home boats on the route in 2010.

"The boat is about the same size as the Steel Electrics and has about the same car-carrying capacity," said Wohlfrom. "With the design already in existence, most of the drawings can be quickly changed and we can get it out for bids quickly."

The Island Home, which has been operating for about 18 months in Martha's Vineyard, was designed by Seattle's Elliott Bay Design. It was the winner among four other ferry types, according to Edward Jackson, a ferry captain who was on the design team with Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority.

The sleek ferry is 255 feet long and can carry 60 cars, and up to as many as 76 with an added lift. It can handle 1,200 passengers and travels at about 16 knots. It takes 45 minutes for the 3-½-mile crossing. The Port Townsend-Keystone crossing is about five miles, and state officials say its Island Home boat will carry only about 650 passengers.

Rave reviews
On the Island Home, there are three sun decks, a quiet area for studying and free Wi-Fi — something Washington State Ferries doesn't have. [Washington ferries charge for the service.]

"It's tremendous," said Rick Labrecque, an Edgartown banker who rides the ferry every day. He reads and works on his computer during the 45-minute crossing. "The boat hardly lists at all." He said at $7 for a one-way walk-on ticket — and less for his multiday pass — it's also fairly inexpensive.

"The ferry is one of the best," said Keith Dodson, who has been commuting on it for a year. "It really handles the rough water and it has a huge media center with free Wi-Fi."

Wohlfrom said Washington state's new ferry will be very similar to the Island Home. There will be outdoor seating, though not as much as on the Nantucket ferry.

And unlike the state's other ferries, the new ones will have two 6-foot-high doors on rollers at each end, which help keep water off the deck in rough crossings. The Nantucket ferry has a full-sized door that closes off the ends of the ferry, and Jeff Brown, port engineer with the Nantucket ferry authority, said it saves a lot of cars from being damaged by saltwater. He said that without the doors, one-quarter of all trips would be canceled.

In 18 months, maybe one trip has been aborted, Brown said.

The boat's snack bar was designed after those on Washington State Ferries, he said.

"It's a very quiet boat," said Wohlfrom. "There's not a lot of vibration and it has a very smooth operation."

Money budgeted
He said the state was surprised to learn the Island Home has the same engines as the state has already purchased for the yet-to-be-built 144-car ferries.

The Legislature this year appropriated $84.5 million to replace the 80-year-old Steel Electric Class vessels that were pulled out of service because of damaged hulls.

The state initially planned to build one boat identical to the Steilacoom II, which has been leased by Pierce County to the state for the Port Townsend run. But when bids for that boat came in $9 million over the estimate, the state decided to abandon that effort and instead build just two Island Home boats.

The Nantucket Island Home boat was built in Mississippi for $33 million.

I think you read it wrong (I do that sometimes especially when I haven't had my coffee) I stated in the article "And unlike the state's other ferries, the new ones will have two 6-foot-high doors on rollers at each end, which help keep water off the deck in rough crossings." So it looks like we will finally have some ferries that have some doors on them here in Puget Sound.

Wow! If the doors were only 6 feet tall then they wouldn't be able to carry trucks or any other over heights on the route. I took it as they are each 6 feet wide. I am 6'3" so I would have to duck under them if they were only 6 feet tall. Just my thoughts.

I hadn't thought about pickle forks, but that makes a bit of sense. I did, however, think about the ventilation issue, and more-or-less came to the same conclusion as you did in terms of natural ventilation being a reason for installing shorter doors. Now I'm curious, more than ever, what the final design is going to look like.

...And, here is a peek at the new MV QUILLAYUTE and MV QUILCENE!



I am right. The "pickle forks" are being used along with foot passenger boarding gates. I think these will be well geared for other runs that use upper passenger ramps and one of these would do well on the Sidney run after the two vessel season is over on the Keystone run until after the holidays. Then, these two take turns in maintenance until the two vessel season starts up again on the Keystone run in the spring.

I am also right that the Main Deck will be naturally ventilated. That means no forced ventilation and sealed deck. We will see wave breakers instead of full doors.

Looks like the Tween Deck lounges are still in the design. These act as access to the Saloon Deck. If you look at the square hole, that's an MES Station. The stowable platforms are off the drawing table for now.

I am happy to see the Sun Deck being retained in the design. Keystone riders will find this fun. The End Number One elevator serves this deck. But, this is not the first time Port Townsend will see this feature on any WSF ferries serving their city. Back in 1979, after the sinking of the Hood Canal Bridge, WSF used Supers and Jumbos (each taking turns) on the Edmonds-Port Townsend run. These have a Sun Deck.

Another thing, these will be slightly longer than the MV ISLAND HOME. A wee bit more usable Main Deck space will be added. Six frames will be added to the base hull design. The bows will be extended out about a foot or two at each end and will be set to WSF standards with the typical bevel that will be placed ahead of the "wave breakers". My guesstimate is that the overall length of these new Keystone ferries will be about 272 feet compared to 255 for the MV ISLAND HOME.

To be continued...

Based on this design it seems that WSF is remaining firmly dedicated to their pickleforks.

Here is an update from WSF on what is on the slate of features aboard the new Keystone ferries:

BIKERS TO GET ROOMY STORAGE SPACE!

One of the Tween Deck lounges you see in the design of the SSA's MV ISLAND HOME will be designated a Bike Deck aboard the new Keystone ferries. I think this will most likely be the starboard side. Bikers will be taking their two wheelers up the stairway and will have a deck all of their own.

A report to WSF also suggests that four of these 273 (estimated) footers be built. In addition of what's slated for the Keystone run, one would be placed on the Tahlequah run and the other serving among the San Juans. The port Tween Deck lounge can be closed off on the Tahlequah run, as we see in the ISLAND HOME's original design. A good set of identical ferries that can do interchangeable work besides their designated services. We'll see what kind of actual acts WSF will take on this idea.

Here are the links:

www.wsdot.wa.gov/Projects/Ferries/NewVessel/ptk.htm

www.leg.wa.gov/documents/LTC/jtc/Ferries/SteelElectricsUpdate070808.pdf

You'd think seven more supers would've just gotten boring after a little while, but they probably thought ferries that were all identical would economize costs for maintenance and parts.