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Post by EGfleet on Jun 18, 2009 18:33:40 GMT -8
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Post by EGfleet on Jun 24, 2009 12:40:27 GMT -8
I wondered why the sudden push to sell the Holy Oly. She's being evicted: Classic Former Washington State Ferry Offered for Recycling as Floating Hostel, Fish Camp or Exotic Private Home by Pacific Marine Foundation
Retired ferry offered by Pacific Marine Foundation for conversionFor Immediate Release SEATTLE/EWORLDWIRE/June 24, 2009 --- A Seattle Marine Foundation is adding a new twist to the concept of recycling. The Pacific Marine Foundation is offering a former Washington State Ferry for conversion into a floating hotel, high-end sport fishing camp or even a unique private floating home. "We believe the M/V Olympic would make a great floating hotel, and could be a unique addition to the waterfront of any seaside town," says Richard Wallace, director of charters and sales for Pacific Marine Foundation. "Some of these retired ferries have actually been turned into floating ballrooms and convention halls with minimal conversion costs," says Wallace, noting that Olympic's passenger deck still is equipped with snack bar and grill. "With construction costs at an all-time high, recycling the ferry's industrial-strength steel structure for conversion to a camp, offices, restaurant or waterfront home will save many thousands for her new owners," Wallace adds. Built in 1937 in Baltimore, Md., the ferry was retired from service in 1997, reportedly not long after her underwater hull had been completely replated. M/V Olympic will lose her current home by mid-summer due to a marina expansion project, so Wallace says the Foundation will entertain purchase or joint venture offers to put some life back into the boat. "CNN recently did a report on a retired Jumbo Jet being turned into a hostel in Stockholm, Sweden," says Wallace. "Why not turn a Jumbo Ferry into a waterfront hostel in one of the Pacific Northwests picturesque towns?" With a capacity of 605 people and 55 autos, the Olympic served various routes connecting Puget Sound locations. Originally serving the waters of Chesapeake Bay under the name M/V Gov. Harry B. Nice in the late 1930s and 1940s, the vessel was purchased by Washington State Ferries in 1954 and renamed M/V Olympic. The vessel currently is on auction on eBay with a Buy Now price of $199,500 USD. The Foundation will consider joint venture proposals and financing. For more information, visit Pacific Marine Foundations web site at www.pacificmarine.org
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Post by EGfleet on Jun 25, 2009 14:15:42 GMT -8
Story in the Seattle Times today about the Olympic...with one of the most laughably incorrect statements about WSF I've ever seen in print in bold.
Seattle foundation puts ferry up for sale on eBay
By Blythe Lawrence
Seattle Times staff
Anybody wanna buy a slightly used ferry?
Seattle's Pacific Marine Foundation is offering the 72-year-old M/V Olympic, one of the state's first vehicle ferries, for $199,500 on eBay.
What would a person do with it? Possibilities abound, said Rich Wallace, director of charters and sales for Pacific Marine. His ideas include turning the vessel into a floating hotel (a group in Stockholm recently did that with a ferry, he noted), using it as a base for a sport-fishing camp.
It also could be an expedition boat, or, for the wealthy or eccentric, a second home.
But whatever happens to the Olympic has to happen soon, Wallace said. The vessel is moored in Eagle Harbor next to the Bainbridge Island ferry terminal, but it will be evicted later this summer when construction begins on a harbor expansion.
The Olympic was built in Baltimore in 1937 and served Chesapeake Bay as the M/V Gov. Harry W. Nice before being bought by the Washington State Ferry System and re-christened Olympic in 1954.
The 207-foot vessel, which has a capacity of 605 passengers and 55 vehicles, served mainly on the Port Townsend-Keystone, Southpoint-Lofall and Clinton-Mukilteo circuits. It was retired in 1997.
In recent years, the Olympic has idled in Eagle Harbor, where it has become a fixture. There was some talk of keeping it in the harbor and converting it for use as offices or as a tourist attraction, but that would require long-term moorage, Wallace explained.
Not to mention money. Wallace estimated that whoever buys the Olympic will have to find financing for about $1 million in conversion work. Pacific Marine has advertised that it would be open to joint-venture offers.
If the Olympic is not sold before the beginning of August, the company will seek a new temporary home for it, closer to Tacoma or elsewhere on Puget Sound. Wallace just hopes to keep the vessel afloat.
"If we can't find someone to convert her and let her live, eventually she'll go to a scrap yard," Wallace said. "Not soon, I hope. Not ever, I hope."
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Post by SS San Mateo on Jun 25, 2009 21:07:05 GMT -8
I was looking at the photo gallery and noticed this: www.pacificmarine.org/boat-listings/ferry-207/photo-gallery/pages/01.htmlThe ferry being launched in that photo appears to be a different ferry. Too many windows on the side, machinery casing looks much skinnier that the one on the Olympic, and there appears to be passenger lounges on each side on the main car deck where the outside lanes would be.
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Post by Barnacle on Jun 26, 2009 8:01:38 GMT -8
Yes, it's a different boat. I've no idea who to write to about that at the Maryland Historical Society, but it is definitely a different boat.
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Post by EGfleet on Jul 22, 2009 12:30:52 GMT -8
Future uncertain for ferry Olympic
Bainbridge Island Review By TAD SOOTER Bainbridge Island Review Reporter Jul 16 2009, 4:24 PM · UPDATED Once a crown jewel of the Washington State Ferry system, the 207-foot Olympic has gathered rust in a slip on Eagle Harbor’s south shore for more than a decade. But the 72-year-old ferry’s fortunes could soon be changing – for better or worse. The boat is being offered for sale to Seattle’s Pacific Marine Foundation, which is hoping it will be bought for conversion to a hotel or home. But if no workable offers are received by the ferry could be sold for scrap, according to Rich Wallace, Pacific Marine’s director of charters and sales. Wallace also said the foundation plans to relocate Olympic by the end of the summer to make way for an expansion of the Bainbridge Island Marina and Yacht Club, which has long been planned but has yet to be approved by the city. In June, the ferry was listed on eBay for a “Buy Now” price of $199,500. Several offers were made, but according to Wallace none has been accepted. The ferry is still advertised on the foundation’s website, where it is billed as an “excellent opportunity for conversion to floating hotel or private home!” One thing Olympic will likely never be again is a working ferry. Olympic’s U.S. Coast Guard Certificate of Inspection has expired, and it would require a costly overhaul to return to service. “Recertification for carrying passengers in U.S. waters is thought to be prohibitively expensive,” Wallace said. “But she is an excellent platform for conversion for a number of uses.” Wallace notes that other former WSF boats have been converted into shoreside ballrooms and other commercial ventures. But Olympic would also not be the first ferry condemned to a scrap yard. Last month, WSF sealed a deal that will send four retired steel electric ferries to a recycling yard for a price of $200,000. The boats also failed to sell on eBay. Like the steel electrics, Olympic once played an integral role in the state ferry system. Along with sister-ship Rhododendron, Olympic was purchased from a Chesapeake Bay, Md., company to help meet growing demand for service on Puget Sound in the 1950s. Olympic was capable of carrying 55 vehicles and 605 passengers. It served several routes over its 40-year career, spending most of its time on the Port Townsend-Keystone and Clinton-Mukilteo runs. The Olympic was forced into retirement in 1997 over safety concerns and was subsequently sold for just over $70,000 at auction to Bainbridge Island Marina Owner Darrell McNabb. McNabb said he purchased the boat with plans to create a museum. The plans never came to fruition, and the Olympic was turned over to Pacific Marine several years ago. McNabb said WSF has now set a poor precedent, selling its steel electric ferries for a low scrap price. “The story is, the state is throwing away the taxpayer’s money,” McNabb said. “That’s the story.” **** Translation: The state is embarrassing McNabb by showing he is asking far too much for the Olympic. Also... "crown jewel?" That's just a slight overstatement.
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Post by whidbeyislandguy on Oct 30, 2009 18:35:59 GMT -8
Anything new about the Olympic? She hasn't been moved yet even has she?
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Post by Kahloke on Oct 30, 2009 19:03:08 GMT -8
Nope. Olympic is still moored at her usual spot in Eagle Harbor.
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Jody
Chief Steward
Ferry Foamer
Posts: 152
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Post by Jody on Dec 16, 2009 15:36:54 GMT -8
I was up there again on Dec. 5 and made the same notation. Doesn't look like she's moved recently, and if so, not darned far.
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Post by SS San Mateo on Apr 26, 2010 9:36:35 GMT -8
Is the Olympic still there? There was a mention in the Ruston Blog about a ferry that was parked along the shoreline in Ruston yesterday before being moved to its new home at Ketron Island , but did not mention which one it was (it's not the Point Ruston (former Steilacoom)). Source: rustonhome.blogspot.com/2010/04/no-new-ferry.html
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Post by Barnacle on Apr 26, 2010 15:51:34 GMT -8
One respondent thinks it's the Olympic, but I'm still more inclined to suspect it's the... oh, nuts. Ocean City? Still, if it is the Holy Oly, maybe it's finally going to someone who cares.
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Post by Kahloke on Apr 26, 2010 15:57:21 GMT -8
I think Olympic is still in Eagle Harbor, but I must confess, I haven't been paying attention lately. I'll take a look tonight on my way home, and will report back.
Update as of 18:45: Well, this just shows you how much I've been paying attention to what's been going on in Eagle Harbor (not much) - "Holy-Oly" is, indeed, gone.
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FNS
Voyager
The Empire Builder train of yesteryear in HO scale
Posts: 4,948
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Post by FNS on Apr 26, 2010 21:30:35 GMT -8
Here's the latest from this blog: I guess that the OLYMPIC is heading to Ketron Island. Hope she's visible from Amtrak.
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Post by SS San Mateo on Apr 27, 2010 6:39:40 GMT -8
I guess that the OLYMPIC is heading to Ketron Island. Hope she's visible from Amtrak. When the Ocean City was docked at Ketron before being moved over to Orr Bay at Anderson Island, she was parked near the Ketron Island terminal and was visible from Amtrak. Hopefully the Olympic will be parked there as well.
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Post by Barnacle on Apr 28, 2010 6:34:10 GMT -8
Now that is a much happier picture for today. It's nice to see the Olympic and Rhododendron together again. LB, did anyone mention whether she got there under her own power?
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Post by SS San Mateo on Apr 28, 2010 7:16:18 GMT -8
Now that is a much happier picture for today. It's nice to see the Olympic and Rhododendron together again. LB, did anyone mention whether she got there under her own power? Nothing's been mentioned about how she arrived. I just posted a question in the comments section concerning that. I suspect she was towed (would the owner be allowed to operate her under her own power if she didn't have radar?).
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Post by Barnacle on Apr 28, 2010 8:03:14 GMT -8
Sure. Nothing in the Rules of the Road states that a radar is required; only that, if it is present, it must be operational.
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Post by Barnacle on Apr 28, 2010 15:38:51 GMT -8
It cheered me up a great deal. My only beef was that the Olympic was entitled to her gold stripe in 1988 and never got it.
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FNS
Voyager
The Empire Builder train of yesteryear in HO scale
Posts: 4,948
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Post by FNS on Apr 30, 2010 21:51:41 GMT -8
Greetings, again, after a long trip. I took a train ride today. This was from Portland to Seattle. Yes, I did see the OLYMPIC from the track! I took many pictures and am presenting nine of them this evening. Ketron Island is coming up. The OLYMPIC will be viewable around the other side. And, there she is! MV OLYMPIC at Ketron Island. MV OLYMPIC at Ketron Island. MV OLYMPIC at Ketron Island. Her galley end is facing north. Wider angle. MV OLYMPIC at Ketron Island. MV OLYMPIC at Ketron Island. Leaving her behind. This trip I took was a company trip to Pasco, WA, for a function Wednesday. Went by company van that morning. Yesterday (Thursday), I boarded Amtrak Train 27 to Portland for a connection to Seattle. Unfortunately, as some of you have read in the media, this train hit a van at a private crossing some thirty miles east of Wishram. We were about 90 minutes late and would have been at Wishram at around 0900PDT. We hit shortly after 0830PDT. With locomotive P42 number 12 out of service due to damage, we sat at Bates siding alongside the wind swept whitecap topped Columbia River until BNSF locomotive C44-9W number 4661 arrived at 1500PDT to pull us back four miles to a siding where buses would take us to Portland. Amtrak put us up at a hotel for the night as most connections were missed. These photos of the OLYMPIC would have been taken and posted yesterday evening (Thursday) had we not hit that van, which resulted in one injury and one passing. Enjoy these new photos of the OLYMPIC!
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lifc
Voyager
Posts: 471
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Post by lifc on May 3, 2010 19:00:39 GMT -8
I imagine when the tide comes in, she'll float off just fine. Tug time.
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Post by Barnacle on May 3, 2010 19:31:55 GMT -8
Let's hope. I'd hate to see another cute little boat die unceremoniously.
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Post by steamfan on May 3, 2010 21:42:27 GMT -8
The tide in the photo looks fairly low. Today's Tacoma Narrows tide table says the morning high was 10.0' at 0830 and the afternoon low was -.6' at 1522. Tonight's high is 12.2' which will hopefully help float her off.
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Post by SS Shasta on May 4, 2010 19:14:05 GMT -8
Is this the hex of the MV Vashon reappearing?
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lifc
Voyager
Posts: 471
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Post by lifc on May 4, 2010 21:04:31 GMT -8
With a high tide and a tug, it ought to come off fairly easily by pulling from the end toward the dock. Another way would be to pull the floating end into deep water and then brutally pull it off the beach as the only part that would still be grounded would be the rudder shoe. In worst case an excavator could be brought in and gravel removed seaward on the "up" end. Then with a pull toward the water and goodly wake, the keel will rock into the dug out area and then the boat can be pullled off. It is likely the only area that would have to be dug out would be near the prop and rudder shoe.
Been there before, done this, this one's just a "bit" larger.
Jim
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FNS
Voyager
The Empire Builder train of yesteryear in HO scale
Posts: 4,948
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Post by FNS on May 4, 2010 22:09:28 GMT -8
Another photo, taken at 6:30 this morning. The storm did push her ashore yesterday. Quite a neat photo of the OLYMPIC. I imagine that many things have come off her shelves by now. At least I didn't see her like this when I passed by on the train last Friday. At first, I would be thinking that her new owners would be "crabbing" the vessel up the beach to a land locked resting place. Hulls on ferries are neat to look at. For those who've been gossiping on how she got there, I would think she would have been towed. I've read something that WSF took all the navigation equipment off her. One set is aboard the CATHLAMET on the Mukilteo run, where the OLYMPIC spent most of her career. She was like a "rattle trap" as there were so much different kinds of noises in her cabin, some vibration, and the exhaust noise on her stack from her service generator was really loud like a tractor working on a project. Sounded similar to a Class 37 "Growler" British Railways locomotive. Many thanks for the photo update.
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