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Post by Wolf on Jun 24, 2014 17:29:44 GMT -8
The new shore ramp for the ferry is in place in the water at galena bay. The DEV galena is currently still operating, and is using the new ramp
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Post by Wolf on Jun 26, 2014 11:50:05 GMT -8
I have an announcement to make, i just heard word, the new ferry the MV Columbia is in service as of today.
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Post by Wolf on Jun 26, 2014 16:33:01 GMT -8
MV Columbia, heading to galena bay, approx 3:30. the ferry schedule was abit messed up today. Sorry this is the best i can do for quality, im not a pro photographer nor do i own a good camera. Attachments:
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Post by Wolf on Jun 26, 2014 16:34:51 GMT -8
MV Columbia Attachments:
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Post by kevins on Jun 28, 2014 7:40:50 GMT -8
The new ferry built on the shores of the Upper Arrow Lake near Nakusp, BC. Vessel is to replace the Galena on the Shelter Bay to Galena run that connects Revelstoke to the lower half of the eastern region of BC via Nakusp. Route carries a large amount of commercial traffic, and serves as an alternate route when the highway in and out of Revelstoke is closed due to snow. The ferry is free as part of the inland ferry system of BC. Photos on pbase
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jun 28, 2014 8:18:33 GMT -8
The new ferry built on the shores of the Upper Arrow Lake near Nakusp, BC. Vessel is to replace the Galena on the Shelter Bay to Galena run that connects Revelstoke to the lower half of the eastern region of BC via Nakusp. Route carries a large amount of commercial traffic, and serves as an alternate route when the highway in and out of Revelstoke is closed due to snow. The ferry is free as part of the inland ferry system of BC. Photos on pbaseBig thanks, Kevin ! Awesome photos of the aircraft carrier ferry
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Post by WettCoast on Jun 28, 2014 8:47:28 GMT -8
Yes, Kevin, thanks for the photos. They are the first close ups I have seen of her in service. Depending on the angle of view she looks alright or not so good. Although we can debate whether or not she takes the prize as largest of the BC inland ferries, I think the Osprey 2000 keeps the honour of being the more aesthetically appealing vessel.
Two housekeeping items:
1 - This new thread needs to be rolled into the inland ferries section. Should there be ship-specific threads for the more prominent vessels or do we stay with route-specific threads?
2 - We now have two MV Columbia's in out WCFF region. In order to distinguish between them perhaps the thread titles should be modified to MV Columbia (AMHS) & MV Columbia (Arrow Lakes). This would help especially when one is reviewing recent posts.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jun 28, 2014 8:53:51 GMT -8
Yes, Kevin, thanks for the photos. They are the first close ups I have seen of her in service. Depending on the angle of view she looks alright or not so good. Although we can debate whether or not she takes the prize as largest of the BC inland ferries, I think the Osprey 2000 keeps the honour of being the more aesthetically appealing vessel. Two housekeeping items: 1 - This new thread needs to be rolled into the inland ferries section. Should there be ship-specific threads for the more prominent vessels or do we stay with route-specific threads? 2 - We now have two MV Columbia's in out WCFF region. In order to distinguish between them perhaps the thread titles should be modified to MV Columbia (AMHS) & MV Columbia (Arrow Lakes). This would help especially when one is reviewing recent posts. Thread moved and some merging done, to make this here the new and forevermore Columbia thread. I've retained the old route-thread to now be known as a ship-specific thread for the 2 old ships. In this case, it makes sense to have ship-specific threads (ie. separate for Galena/S-Bay and Columbia) because we had so much active posting re the announcement, design, construction and introduction of the new ship Columbia. So it is easier and cleaner to keep Columbia separate.
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Post by Wolf on Jun 28, 2014 17:31:22 GMT -8
The new ferry built on the shores of the Upper Arrow Lake near Nakusp, BC. Vessel is to replace the Galena on the Shelter Bay to Galena run that connects Revelstoke to the lower half of the eastern region of BC via Nakusp. Route carries a large amount of commercial traffic, and serves as an alternate route when the highway in and out of Revelstoke is closed due to snow. The ferry is free as part of the inland ferry system of BC. Photos on pbaseNext week im heading up to the ferry and hopefully i can get photos of the bridge for you all. And thx for the photos, much appretiated!
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Post by Wolf on Jun 29, 2014 15:02:05 GMT -8
MV Columbia on my trip to Revelstoke, my trip back i may have photos of the bridge. I asked but they aren't letting people up yet, it could've just been the guy didn't want the hassle.
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Post by WettCoast on Jun 29, 2014 15:50:42 GMT -8
Wolf,
What do they have on this vessel in the way of foot passenger facilities? I assume that there are m/w washrooms, what about a foot passenger lounge? Can the public access any level higher than the car deck?
Are you aware of any 'teething' problems so far? Most new ferries have some 'issues' (sometimes serious ones) that become apparent when they first go into service.
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Post by Wolf on Jun 29, 2014 18:16:01 GMT -8
Wolf, What do they have on this vessel in the way of foot passenger facilities? I assume that there are m/w washrooms, what about a foot passenger lounge? Can the public access any level higher than the car deck? Are you aware of any 'teething' problems so far? Most new ferries have some 'issues' (sometimes serious ones) that become apparent when they first go into service. There are walkways on each side of the car deck with anti-slip grip, as far as lounges go i didn't see anything, just washrooms, and they also have a wheelchair accessible bathroom. The upper deck is officers/crew only and the bridge i was told is off limits for awhile. One neat thing I've never seen before is the side of the vessel that has the two exhaust ports, there are 4 escape hatches that you can open and jump through the deck to the water (the deck hangs way out over the hull) which was really cool. The only issue i have is the fact they wind down about a km out from the landing and it takes too long to dock and let traffic go. The galena was faster to land and unload. There was a strong current pushing the vessel around when it landed. And they wind up the vessel just like the osprey. In fact while walking around it felt like i was on the osprey. They are both very similar in terms of speed and the way it acts in the water
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Post by Wolf on Jun 29, 2014 19:16:03 GMT -8
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Post by WettCoast on Jun 29, 2014 19:53:50 GMT -8
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Post by WettCoast on Jun 29, 2014 20:26:16 GMT -8
The only issue i have is the fact they wind down about a km out from the landing and it takes too long to dock and let traffic go. I expect that this is due to new boat caution (they are still getting used to handling her) & that with time they will pick up speed. I gather that the Columbia can load/unload two lanes of vehicles simultaneously. Did you see that happening?
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Post by Wolf on Jun 29, 2014 22:28:27 GMT -8
The only issue i have is the fact they wind down about a km out from the landing and it takes too long to dock and let traffic go. I expect that this is due to new boat caution (they are still getting used to handling her) & that with time they will pick up speed. I gather that the Columbia can load/unload two lanes of vehicles simultaneously. Did you see that happening? Only once but not when i was on it. The shelter bay terminal has been overhauled with two lanes and lane stop lights, and two lanes for unloading. The galena bay side is yet to be upgraded. Its expected to be completed by september. Other than that, I'm quite impressed with the ship so far. All they need to work on is landing and keeping their speed to max until they're close to the landings. A ship can be brought from max speed to a dead stop if you give it enough power in reverse, and this ship can do that if they tried it. I have no complaints about performance of the ship except the landing procedures.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,175
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Post by Neil on Jun 29, 2014 23:03:52 GMT -8
I expect that this is due to new boat caution (they are still getting used to handling her) & that with time they will pick up speed. I gather that the Columbia can load/unload two lanes of vehicles simultaneously. Did you see that happening? Only once but not when i was on it. The shelter bay terminal has been overhauled with two lanes and lane stop lights, and two lanes for unloading. The galena bay side is yet to be upgraded. Its expected to be completed by september. Other than that, I'm quite impressed with the ship so far. All they need to work on is landing and keeping their speed to max until they're close to the landings. A ship can be brought from max speed to a dead stop if you give it enough power in reverse, and this ship can do that if they tried it. I have no complaints about performance of the ship except the landing procedures. It may be that the slow approach is another fuel saving measure, such as what we see with the Powell River to Comox run now listed as ninety minutes long. The Hornby and Denman vessels run very slow, and crawl into the docks as well. I think that wherever it can be done, it will be.
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Post by Wolf on Jun 30, 2014 0:01:03 GMT -8
Only once but not when i was on it. The shelter bay terminal has been overhauled with two lanes and lane stop lights, and two lanes for unloading. The galena bay side is yet to be upgraded. Its expected to be completed by september. Other than that, I'm quite impressed with the ship so far. All they need to work on is landing and keeping their speed to max until they're close to the landings. A ship can be brought from max speed to a dead stop if you give it enough power in reverse, and this ship can do that if they tried it. I have no complaints about performance of the ship except the landing procedures. It may be that the slow approach is another fuel saving measure, such as what we see with the Powell River to Comox run now listed as ninety minutes long. The Hornby and Denman vessels run very slow, and crawl into the docks as well. I think that wherever it can be done, it will be. The whole idea of this new ferry was to increase traffic flow, reduce wait times and still maintain the schedule. They make less trips in a day than the old ones, however, in order to keep traffic moving they need to keep their speed, even on the approach. They can throw it into reverse very easily with the VSP propellors it has. VSP's act way differently to traditional RAD thrusters.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jun 30, 2014 8:17:16 GMT -8
All they need to work on is landing and keeping their speed to max until they're close to the landings. A ship can be brought from max speed to a dead stop if you give it enough power in reverse, and this ship can do that if they tried it. That's what was thought of Coastal Inspiration landing at Duke Point.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jun 30, 2014 11:32:21 GMT -8
All they need to work on is landing and keeping their speed to max until they're close to the landings. A ship can be brought from max speed to a dead stop if you give it enough power in reverse, and this ship can do that if they tried it. That's what was thought of Coastal Inspiration landing at Duke Point. Any ship can be brought to a full stop by going astern. What varies is how long it takes for it to stop. Jamming the engines in reverse at the last minute is hard on them and also consumes more fuel. Not to mention the increased risk of a crash landing (read about the Coastal Inspiration at Duke Point like Mr. Horn said). A slow approach may seem annoying, but it's just unsafe & silly to come in hot and go full astern at the last minute (essentially a crash-stop).
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Post by Wolf on Jun 30, 2014 12:56:13 GMT -8
That's what was thought of Coastal Inspiration landing at Duke Point. Any ship can be brought to a full stop by going astern. What varies is how long it takes for it to stop. Jamming the engines in reverse at the last minute is hard on them and also consumes more fuel. Not to mention the increased risk of a crash landing (read about the Coastal Inspiration at Duke Point like Mr. Horn said). A slow approach may seem annoying, but it's just unsafe & silly to come in hot and go full astern at the last minute (essentially a crash-stop). Ya but the propellors are turning one way all the time, all they do is change the pitch from forward to reverse without doing any harm to the engines or propellors. The idea of a VSP is to consume less fuel than a RAD, and have more manoeuvrability than a RAD. Look up VSP propellors, they are quite a feat in engineering by an Austrian guy named Schneider.
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Post by Ferryman on Jun 30, 2014 13:38:49 GMT -8
The days where you see Cowboy Captains making hot landings, are almost gone. On passenger vessels especially, due to liabilities and lawsuit potential. As soon as anything happens where someone falls down because the ship hit the dock harder than normal, not only are lawyers going to be tuning in to find out what happened, but also the media will show up and ask all kinds of crazy questions that nobody is willing to answer. Immediately everyone is looking for criminal activity and/or negligence. I experienced this one day, on one of the BC Ferries that hit the dock one day due to mechanical issues. It was a day of near chaos I'll never forget, and hopefully I'll never have to experience that ever again. I'm still haunted of that incident every once and a while when the news brings up footage of the incident.
I can understand the faster landings on the smaller vessels that have been tried and true on the route for many years. The Captain and Crew will know those ship's inside and out, and what their limitations are. A lot of additional factors have to be taken into account with a newer ship. The handling of it is obviously something they're still getting used to, but there could be a lot of other unknowns that usually aren't discovered until later on. Another big factor is likely the fact that it's a bigger/heavier ship, which means it needs to slow down a lot sooner in order to be safely docked. One thing I notice in new ships these days, is that they rely heavily on computer systems to function, and less so with simple mechanical systems. The Engineer's on here can elaborate more on that.
But as someone who is aspiring to one day be Captain, (I'm actually on a ship right now as I write this) there's always the same thing that's always being said by all Captains, and that is "don't rush". Every Captain is trained to take things slow in case something was to happen so you hopefully have a way out to avoid disaster. Some precautions are: having the anchor(s) ready to be released, slowing down well enough in advance to allow more time to react in case something happens such as a black out, having the Engineers ready to take control of the engines from the Engine Room or even ready to react to any sort of system malfunction, and having a bridge team cross checking each movement on the engines/helm to ensure things are going the way it should. The amount of equipment needed to have a ship function the way it does is absolutely phenomenal, and the idea is to never take it for granted and to prepare for the worst but always hope for the best. But most obviously, I wouldn't blame any of the Captains up there for taking it slow, because I'm sure none of them want to be the first to put that first dent in her. On some ships, I've seen Engineers calling the wheelhouse telling the Captain to be easy on the engines, or not to accelerate too fast, or to give more notice before adjusting the speed. It's certainly nothing like driving your regular pleasure craft on a summer afternoon. The fact is, sh*t happens, and you just never know when it will happen, so you always have to be ready. I'm not entirely sold on the reliability of Voith Schneider/cycloidal drives. While yes, they're a dream when they're working perfectly. But there are so many opportunities for failure with the amount of moving parts in one of those units.
Anyways, just a little insight into what's probably going through everyone's minds on the Columbia. If any other Seafarers are on here, please feel free to add.
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Post by WettCoast on Jun 30, 2014 19:44:21 GMT -8
When the BC Ferry 'Coastal class' ships were new I remember watching them bring the Coastal Renaissance into its berth in Horseshoe Bay. I thought it was going to take them forever... They were being very cautious with the new equipment. They were still getting used to handling her. By contrast I remember being on the WSF Chelan and being impressed by how quickly they approached the dock and how much braking power (i.e. forward propeller giving max thrust opposite to the direction the ferry was moving in) was used close in to bring the ship in for a gentle landing.
I also think that Neil's point about operating vessels in a manner so as to conserve fuel is valid. I know that fuel conservation is very important to the operation of coastal 'BC ferries'. I would think that the same ought to be the case in the operation of inland BC ferries.
Lastly, once in a while I get to be the 'Captain' of my own boat, a 17 & 1/2 foot canoe. I always let the canoe coast into shore prior to landing, paddling only to steer, and to gently brake the canoe. Not only does this lessen the chance of damaging the canoe with a hard landing, but it also allows you the chance to take corrective action should you suddenly spot an obstacle (e.g. rock) you did not notice earlier. Ferries are a lot like canoes, just bigger and with an engine or two.
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Post by Wolf on Jul 1, 2014 12:50:02 GMT -8
The days where you see Cowboy Captains making hot landings, are almost gone. On passenger vessels especially, due to liabilities and lawsuit potential. As soon as anything happens where someone falls down because the ship hit the dock harder than normal, not only are lawyers going to be tuning in to find out what happened, but also the media will show up and ask all kinds of crazy questions that nobody is willing to answer. Immediately everyone is looking for criminal activity and/or negligence. I experienced this one day, on one of the BC Ferries that hit the dock one day due to mechanical issues. It was a day of near chaos I'll never forget, and hopefully I'll never have to experience that ever again. I'm still haunted of that incident every once and a while when the news brings up footage of the incident. I can understand the faster landings on the smaller vessels that have been tried and true on the route for many years. The Captain and Crew will know those ship's inside and out, and what their limitations are. A lot of additional factors have to be taken into account with a newer ship. The handling of it is obviously something they're still getting used to, but there could be a lot of other unknowns that usually aren't discovered until later on. Another big factor is likely the fact that it's a bigger/heavier ship, which means it needs to slow down a lot sooner in order to be safely docked. One thing I notice in new ships these days, is that they rely heavily on computer systems to function, and less so with simple mechanical systems. The Engineer's on here can elaborate more on that. But as someone who is aspiring to one day be Captain, (I'm actually on a ship right now as I write this) there's always the same thing that's always being said by all Captains, and that is "don't rush". Every Captain is trained to take things slow in case something was to happen so you hopefully have a way out to avoid disaster. Some precautions are: having the anchor(s) ready to be released, slowing down well enough in advance to allow more time to react in case something happens such as a black out, having the Engineers ready to take control of the engines from the Engine Room or even ready to react to any sort of system malfunction, and having a bridge team cross checking each movement on the engines/helm to ensure things are going the way it should. The amount of equipment needed to have a ship function the way it does is absolutely phenomenal, and the idea is to never take it for granted and to prepare for the worst but always hope for the best. But most obviously, I wouldn't blame any of the Captains up there for taking it slow, because I'm sure none of them want to be the first to put that first dent in her. On some ships, I've seen Engineers calling the wheelhouse telling the Captain to be easy on the engines, or not to accelerate too fast, or to give more notice before adjusting the speed. It's certainly nothing like driving your regular pleasure craft on a summer afternoon. The fact is, sh*t happens, and you just never know when it will happen, so you always have to be ready. I'm not entirely sold on the reliability of Voith Schneider/cycloidal drives. While yes, they're a dream when they're working perfectly. But there are so many opportunities for failure with the amount of moving parts in one of those units. Anyways, just a little insight into what's probably going through everyone's minds on the Columbia. If any other Seafarers are on here, please feel free to add. I understand everything you said and i agree. Btw, whats it take to become a captain? Ive had an interest in that profession for a long time just didn't know how to go about it or what it costs for training or where you'd train. I wouldnt tackle a coastal vessel but maybe one of the interior ships, possibly even the new Columbia.
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Post by Wolf on Jul 1, 2014 18:39:50 GMT -8
A short clip from my trip on the new ferry. Im not the best at filming so forgive my terrible job, it just felt awkward for me acting like tourist to the area who's never been there before yet im a local haha. Anyways enjoy, feel free to subscribe if you want to. I may post some other videos next trip
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