tom98250
Deckhand
Life doesn't get better than this...
Posts: 85
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Post by tom98250 on Jan 14, 2016 11:16:53 GMT -8
Today is definitely the last day for the E-State; first vessel built for WSF and a mainstay in the San Juans for over 50 years. I truly feel I am losing an old friend.
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Post by EGfleet on Jan 14, 2016 11:25:47 GMT -8
State’s oldest ferry officially decommissionedDate: Thursday, January 14, 2016 Contact: Ian Sterling, WSF communications, 206-714-1556 Broch Bender, WSF communications 206-515-3913 SEATTLE – Built in 1954 when “Mr. Sandman” topped AM radio pop charts, the M/V Evergreen State is now set to sail into history and into the dreams of Washingtonians. Due in part to its status as the state’s oldest ferry, the Evergreen State has been decommissioned and will soon be put up for sale. The 87-car ferry boasts World War II surplus drive motors and has served as a workhorse for tens of thousands of passengers and vehicles in our state for more than six decades. “The recent addition of two modern, larger and faster Olympic Class vessels to the fleet means the Evergreen State is no longer the best solution for moving people and goods across our state’s waters,” said Washington State Ferries Chief of Staff Elizabeth Kosa. “While it’s bittersweet to say goodbye, difficulty locating replacement parts and maintaining a vintage vessel are also factors that make it time for the E-State to retire.” The 62-year-old ferry was originally slated for decommissioning last spring, but was called back into service over the summer while other vessels were out of service for maintenance or repairs. With two additional 144-car Olympic Class ferries under construction, the Evergreen State will soon be offered up for sale. Potential buyers interested in owning a piece of history will be able to bid for the vessel once it’s posted for sale through the state surplus process. The Evergreen State was the largest ferry on the West Coast when it was built to serve on the Seattle/Bainbridge route. However, it spent the majority of its storied career in the San Juan Islands, where it was involved in several rescues at sea. Its crew also saved the life of an overturned kayaker near Fauntleroy in January 2003. www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2016/01/14_WSF.htm
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Post by Kahloke on Jan 14, 2016 12:14:09 GMT -8
State’s oldest ferry officially decommissioned Thanks for posting this. I was wondering when the state was going to make an announcement about Evergreen's status. Now that she is officially retired, I've moved this thread into the Historic Washington State Ferries sub-board.
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Post by Barnacle on Jan 14, 2016 16:09:46 GMT -8
Today is definitely the last day for the E-State; first vessel built for WSF and a mainstay in the San Juans for over 50 years. I truly feel I am losing an old friend. Me too. I sat down and totaled it up a year or so ago; I put in 445 work days on the mighty Evergreen State. I initially thought "it must've been more than that," until I realized that was the third-highest tally in my record (as of October 2014, and yes, I was bored) behind the Elwha and Sealth. At 445 work days, factoring in time off for good behavior, that's just shy of two years of my career. And it's one of two boats where I have worked every position in the deck department, from ordinary up to captain.
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Post by Kahloke on Jan 15, 2016 5:50:52 GMT -8
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tom98250
Deckhand
Life doesn't get better than this...
Posts: 85
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Post by tom98250 on Jan 15, 2016 6:19:16 GMT -8
I'm somewhere in that wide angle pic leaving Lopez--and the one arriving at Friday Harbor. Unable to find myself though...and I don't remember where I was standing.
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Jan 15, 2016 8:12:18 GMT -8
I think we were in the middle I thought! I found myself in the Lopez photo too! That was a fun day! We might of been on the pickle forks arriving in anacortes though!
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Post by paulvanb on Jan 15, 2016 8:50:52 GMT -8
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tom98250
Deckhand
Life doesn't get better than this...
Posts: 85
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Post by tom98250 on Jan 16, 2016 8:09:16 GMT -8
Trying this again to see if we can make it bigger.
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tom98250
Deckhand
Life doesn't get better than this...
Posts: 85
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Post by tom98250 on Jan 16, 2016 8:26:11 GMT -8
Hmmmmm...guess not!
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 16, 2016 9:02:59 GMT -8
Trying this again to see if we can make it bigger. You could take her to Vigor, cut her in half, and install a new midships section. I've heard it's been done on the west coast a few times before.... (but that's not what you meant)
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tom98250
Deckhand
Life doesn't get better than this...
Posts: 85
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Post by tom98250 on Jan 16, 2016 11:02:59 GMT -8
Trying this again to see if we can make it bigger. You could take her to Vigor, cut her in half, and install a new midships section. I've heard it's been done on the west coast a few times before.... (but that's not what you meant) A stretch, and a lift; wouldn't that result in a Superferry...?
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Post by Olympic Ferries on Jan 16, 2016 11:26:20 GMT -8
You could take her to Vigor, cut her in half, and install a new midships section. I've heard it's been done on the west coast a few times before.... (but that's not what you meant) A stretch, and a lift; wouldn't that result in a Superferry...? If it was stretched 70' then it would be the length of a Super-class ferry.
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Post by Barnacle on Jan 16, 2016 13:57:09 GMT -8
A stretch, and a lift; wouldn't that result in a Superferry...? If it was stretched 70' then it would be the length of a Super-class ferry. And the majority of the boat would still be 60+ years old. Time to let go, alas.
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Post by rwbsparks on Jan 18, 2016 0:59:59 GMT -8
What are the chances she stays in the Pacific Northwest? It's wishful thinking, given that not even the iconic Kalakala could find a respectable retirement. I'd just hate to see E-State be beached on a river bank or slowly sink at her new mooring wherever it may be. I know I can't get my hopes up. Sad time for wsf enthusiasts.
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Post by Barnacle on Jan 18, 2016 5:07:25 GMT -8
What are the chances she stays in the Pacific Northwest? It's wishful thinking, given that not even the iconic Kalakala could find a respectable retirement. I'd just hate to see E-State be beached on a river bank or slowly sink at her new mooring wherever it may be. I know I can't get my hopes up. Sad time for wsf enthusiasts. I think the most likely outcome is, unfortunately, "recycling." There's very little market for auto ferries to start with, and a venerable antique such as the Evergreen even less so.
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Post by rwbsparks on Jan 18, 2016 18:45:52 GMT -8
What are the chances she stays in the Pacific Northwest? It's wishful thinking, given that not even the iconic Kalakala could find a respectable retirement. I'd just hate to see E-State be beached on a river bank or slowly sink at her new mooring wherever it may be. I know I can't get my hopes up. Sad time for wsf enthusiasts. I think the most likely outcome is, unfortunately, "recycling." There's very little market for auto ferries to start with, and a venerable antique such as the Evergreen even less so. I think recycling would be a much better fate than that of Sidney, San Mateo, Willapa and Kalakala however. Is there anything from her that could be reused, maybe use some of her interior for Chinmacum?
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Post by Barnacle on Jan 18, 2016 19:27:11 GMT -8
I think the most likely outcome is, unfortunately, "recycling." There's very little market for auto ferries to start with, and a venerable antique such as the Evergreen even less so. I think recycling would be a much better fate than that of Sidney, San Mateo, Willapa and Kalakala however. Is there anything from her that could be reused, maybe use some of her interior for Chinmacum? Such as? There's precious little interior to re-use, and the artwork (the most transferable part of it) is badly faded and in generally poor condition. Though I was always fond of the photo of the "tulips" in the Skagit Valley, which were daffodils... I hear some scuttlebutt that some gear may be transferred to other boats... I'm hoping a couple of pieces of furniture end up on mine. It'd be like transferring good boat karma.
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Post by Kahloke on Jan 18, 2016 19:54:45 GMT -8
I think recycling would be a much better fate than that of Sidney, San Mateo, Willapa and Kalakala however. Is there anything from her that could be reused, maybe use some of her interior for Chinmacum? Such as? There's precious little interior to re-use, and the artwork (the most transferable part of it) is badly faded and in generally poor condition. Though I was always fond of the photo of the "tulips" in the Skagit Valley, which were daffodils... I hear some scuttlebutt that some gear may be transferred to other boats... I'm hoping a couple of pieces of furniture end up on mine. It'd be like transferring good boat karma. Memorabilia? Like the wheel and telegraph from Olympic displayed on Cathlamet? Or, maybe something like Klickitat's stool on the bridge of Salish I have no idea what Evergreen may have that would be useful as a historic artifact, but those types of items are the only thing I can think of that would be worth keeping, and/or transferring to another vessel.
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Post by rwbsparks on Jan 19, 2016 2:16:06 GMT -8
Such as? There's precious little interior to re-use, and the artwork (the most transferable part of it) is badly faded and in generally poor condition. Though I was always fond of the photo of the "tulips" in the Skagit Valley, which were daffodils... I hear some scuttlebutt that some gear may be transferred to other boats... I'm hoping a couple of pieces of furniture end up on mine. It'd be like transferring good boat karma. Memorabilia? Like the wheel and telegraph from Olympic displayed on Cathlamet? Or, maybe something like Klickitat's stool on the bridge of Salish I have no idea what Evergreen may have that would be useful as a historic artifact, but those types of items are the only thing I can think of that would be worth keeping, and/or transferring to another vessel. Cathlamet is exactly what I was thinking when I wrote that, I just couldn't remember Kittitas or Cathlamet, it's been years since I've ridden on either one. I always end up on Tokitae for Whidbey and Tilikum or Issaquah for Vashon. Also I had no idea about the Klickitat's stool on the Salish.
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Post by Barnacle on Jan 19, 2016 5:21:32 GMT -8
Such as? There's precious little interior to re-use, and the artwork (the most transferable part of it) is badly faded and in generally poor condition. Though I was always fond of the photo of the "tulips" in the Skagit Valley, which were daffodils... I hear some scuttlebutt that some gear may be transferred to other boats... I'm hoping a couple of pieces of furniture end up on mine. It'd be like transferring good boat karma. Memorabilia? Like the wheel and telegraph from Olympic displayed on Cathlamet? Or, maybe something like Klickitat's stool on the bridge of Salish I have no idea what Evergreen may have that would be useful as a historic artifact, but those types of items are the only thing I can think of that would be worth keeping, and/or transferring to another vessel. The telegraph and wheel from the Evergreen were removed not quite 30 years ago; I have a hunch where they might be, but they were gone long before I got to work on her. Pilothouse furniture would be nice to transfer, if only for sentimental reasons (and the chairs were really comfortable).
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Post by Olympic Ferries on Jan 28, 2016 18:41:03 GMT -8
Exactly why is the Evergreen retired just now? If theres any boat that should be retired now it should be Hiyu. I definitely agree that the Hiyu should've been retired instead of the Evergreen State. It is going to be crazy this summer since (I think) the only backup ferry is the Hiyu. The boats will all be assigned except for a few (correct me if I'm wrong).
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Post by Kahloke on Jan 28, 2016 19:15:11 GMT -8
I definitely agree that the Hiyu should've been retired instead of the Evergreen State. It is going to be crazy this summer since (I think) the only backup ferry is the Hiyu. The boats will all be assigned except for a few (correct me if I'm wrong).
Here is a link to the vessel lay-up schedule for Fiscal Year 2015-2016, which ends June 30th. www.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/Business/Contracts/upcomingprojectsThey haven't posted next year's layup schedule yet, but it looks like almost all of the vessels will have their scheduled maintenance completed by the time the summer schedule starts in mid June. Tacoma is the only vessel listed as having work that spills over into the next fiscal year. She is currently scheduled to be out of service from June 9th thru July 3rd. The big caveat, as always, is which vessel will break down and need emergency repairs. Barring that, we should be OK this summer, vessel-wise, even with Evergreen gone.
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Post by Olympic Ferries on Jan 28, 2016 19:42:25 GMT -8
It is going to be crazy this summer since (I think) the only backup ferry is the Hiyu. The boats will all be assigned except for a few (correct me if I'm wrong).
Here is a link to the vessel lay-up schedule for Fiscal Year 2015-2016, which ends June 30th. www.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/Business/Contracts/upcomingprojectsThey haven't posted next year's layup schedule yet, but it looks like almost all of the vessels will have their scheduled maintenance completed by the time the summer schedule starts in mid June. Tacoma is the only vessel listed as having work that spills over into the next fiscal year. She is currently scheduled to be out of service from June 9th thru July 3rd. The big caveat, as always, is which vessel will break down and need emergency repairs. Barring that, we should be OK this summer, vessel-wise, even with Evergreen gone. Then, if you could make a guess, which boats will be available as spaces in case of an issue?
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Post by Kahloke on Jan 28, 2016 20:01:17 GMT -8
Here is a link to the vessel lay-up schedule for Fiscal Year 2015-2016, which ends June 30th. www.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/Business/Contracts/upcomingprojectsThey haven't posted next year's layup schedule yet, but it looks like almost all of the vessels will have their scheduled maintenance completed by the time the summer schedule starts in mid June. Tacoma is the only vessel listed as having work that spills over into the next fiscal year. She is currently scheduled to be out of service from June 9th thru July 3rd. The big caveat, as always, is which vessel will break down and need emergency repairs. Barring that, we should be OK this summer, vessel-wise, even with Evergreen gone. Then, if you could make a guess, which boats will be available as spaces in case of an issue? Depending on how WSF assigns the fleet for the summer schedule, there could be as many as 3 spare vessels, but that assumes no unexpected breakdowns, and minimal scheduled vessel maintenance during the summer season. We won't have that information until the FY 2016-2017 Layup schedule gets released. Now, here's the caveat to the above statements: we know from past experience that there is a good chance of a vessel breakdown somewhere along the line, and karma for such an event typically kicks in right around the 4th of July weekend, but I guess I am being a bit pessimistic here. We also know that vessel maintenance is a year-round activity because of yard schedules. They get the ferries in when there is a slot available, and sometimes that right in the middle of summer. So, not much of an answer for you, but such is the way of things when trying to predict future vessel deployments. Check back with me on the first day of the summer schedule - then I can give you an answer
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