The Differences between SOBC and the SOVI

[ferryes]

Public Service Announcement re this thread:

If you're responding to the content in this originating-post, please realise that you're likely responding to a 10-year-old "Troll".

Therefore, you're waisting your time, and the post's originator (in either of his 2 different posting names) won't be given the opportunity to respond on this forum.

Re any legitimate discussion that evolves out of the original useless post: go ahead, threads do evolve, and this might turn into something interesting.

But please don't waste your time responding to the original poster. [/b]

ferryes said:

Now before anyone asks,i will add pics to back what i am about to say....and Fugel Horn is judging and swaring at me in his mind as he reads this.Anyways the good things about the SOBC:
-better garbage system
-better sewage system
-you can barley tell but the SOBC has a little bigger cafeteria
Negative things
-slower that SOVI
-More popular ship= more people= more work
-during a storm, it boblles around more than the SOVI

Good things about the SOVI
-faster by1.5 knots in max speed
-can fit 10 more cars than the SOBC if they really squish it in
-does not boble around much during a storm
Negative about the SOVI
-not a good garbage system
not a good sewage system
-can carry less commercial vehicles
-carries 20 less people than the SOBC


please let me know if theres something false...this info is from my secret source that nobody but the ferries, me and 100 other people in the world know about

[Scott]

I'm looking forward to you pictures to back this up; like the better sewage and garbage system, the bobbling up and down in a storm, the max speed, and the 20 less people on the SoBC;)

Anyways, what would there be physically about the SoVI that would give it a lower passenger capacity. Does it simply have fewer seats or one less life raft? Same for the commercial vehicle capacity.. what physical difference is there that limits the SoVI? And who says the SoBC is more popular?

[ferryes]

sadly i have no pics of the sewage system, and yes there are fewer seats on the SOVI, and if u seen all the advertisements and commercials, they all include or only have the SOBC... SOVI 2nd popular

[ferryes]

oh yeah the lanes are a little skinnier in the lower car deck so sometimes commercial vehicles use up 2 lanes(rarely)

[Scott]

What I like about ships is that even though they may be almost identical when they're built, over the years they take on a character of their own - physically and ... non-physically;) [can't come up with a word right now;)] But I'm thinking that some ships seem to have way more problems or are for whatever reason more accident-prone than their sisters ships. And in the course of refits and rebuilds, they begin to look at least slightly different as well.


P.S. to new members - Just a suggestion to avoid posting two times in a row within a short period of time (I'm guilty of doing it too sometimes). But since you are now a member, you can go back to your messages and edit them if you just have another thought to add on to what you've already said. It makes your messages and the forum easier to read.

This is the third time I've done it in this post;) But just to add, if it's another day and another thought and "everyone" has already read your original posting, then it's okay to follow with another one if you want to.

[ferryes]

k thanks for the tip

[Low Light Mike]

ferryes said:

Now before anyone asks,i will add pics to back what i am about to say....and Fugel Horn is judging and swaring at me in his mind as he reads this.

I've always wanted to try to learn to sware, but I've never had the guts to try. Maybe I will sometime.

But out of curiosity, mr."yes", what would I be judging you about? (as I wonder about the reputation that I have).
- your style of inglish?
- or the actual content of the post?

In any case, your post was interesting to read. Most of us here don't really care how "secret" the info is, we just like to read about things that are new to us, and so this type of comparison is really fun to read. So thanks.

[Mike C]

flugelhorn said:

In any case, your post was interesting to read. Most of us here don't really care how "secret" the info is, we just like to read about things that are new to us, and so this type of comparison is really fun to read. So thanks.

What can I say... Material is material. What's confidential is no longer, the instant you post it on this forum.

As for Swaring, I don't reccomend it on this forum - whatever it may be

[DENelson83]

mainlander101 said:

As for Swaring, I don't reccomend it on this forum - whatever it may be

Yeah, and who's Fugel Horn? ;D

[Curtis]

On the topic of what John was saying about how Sister Ships seem completly Different from each other I bring back that quote from somewhere in the Bannerman Book about the Queen of Victoria with it's wild service life and the Vancouver with it's quiet life... "Have you Ever Made Love to Two Identical Twins?"

[Neil]

Questions for 'ferryes':

BC Ferries lists the horsepower and service speed of the two Spirits as exactly the same. Could you explain your claim for a discrepancy?

The hull dimensions for the two are identical. Why are the vehicle lanes a different width?

Again, with the two being constructed identically, what work has been done since to make one more stable than the other?

Why would one carry fewer commercial vehicles?

What is your meaning of one being more 'popular' than the other?

Thanks in advance for satisfying my curiosity, and don't pay any attention to that nasty ol' 'Fugel Horn' with his 'judging and swaring'. He's a big fan of the Spanish Inquisition, but he's not nearly so imposing when you see him in person in his Tilley hat.

[D'Elete BC in NJ]

denelson83 said:

mainlander101 said:

As for Swaring, I don't reccomend it on this forum - whatever it may be

Yeah, and who's Fugel Horn? ;D

I don't know, but I'd say if he was "Frugal" Horn, he might be budget minded. ;D

[Hardy]

ferryes said:

oh yeah the lanes are a little skinnier in the lower car deck so sometimes commercial vehicles use up 2 lanes(rarely)

You mean the PAINTED lane markings? The actual interior dimensions of the MCD are the same for both vessels, unless my information is correct.

As a professional truck driver, I can safely say, that we IGNORE painted lane markings a lot of the time, as we already know we are wider than pax vehicles. Haven't been on EITHER Spirit in quite a while, but the other boats have dual lane markings on the MCD, designating commercial (orange I think), and pax (yellow) lane markings. Usually you get 4 yellows or 3 oranges on the centre MCD.

BTW: you tell a bunch of truckers to squeeze their trucks in tight so the other trucks can get on, and you'll have bumpers 3/32" apart with mirrors almost touching if need be....

[Hardy]

mainlander101 said:

flugelhorn said:

In any case, your post was interesting to read. Most of us here don't really care how "secret" the info is, we just like to read about things that are new to us, and so this type of comparison is really fun to read. So thanks.

What can I say... Material is material. What's confidential is no longer, the instant you post it on this forum.

As for Swaring, I don't reccomend it on this forum - whatever it may be

While I swear that I don't know what SWARING is, I would highly recommend that you not do it in my least favourite room - the DINNING room (one of my own personal pet peeves in the moving industry, that people mis-spell DINING) -- I keep wandering around with cartons of fine crystal looking for the NOISIEST room in the house!!!

[Low Light Mike]

Public Service Announcement re this thread:

If you're responding to the content in the originating-post, please realise that you're likely responding to a 10-year-old "Troll".

Therefore, you're waisting your time, and the post's originator (in either of his 2 different posting names) won't be given the opportunity to respond on this forum.

Re any legitimate discussion that evolves out of the original useless post: go ahead, threads do evolve, and this might turn into something interesting.

But please don't waste your time responding to the original poster.

[WettCoast]

My impression is that the two Spirit vessels are about as 'identical' as any two vessels in the fleet can be. I know of a few minor differences such as the SoVI has a door at the rear of the Seawest Lounge that her sister does not have. Also the SoVI has two marine satellite TV dishes; her sister just one.

Of the two, I like the SoVI better just because she carries the name of 'God's Country', and she is based on the good side also.

I am looking forward to traveling on the new Coastals so that I can compare them to the now 15 year old Spirits. I have always considered the Spirits as the best and most comfortable ships in the fleet. I expect the Coastals to perhaps be better yet, but not by a large margin. The Spirits are fine ships built well and built proudly right here in British Columbia.

[Queen of Vancouver]

wetcoastkidjst said:

My impression is that the two Spirit vessels are about as 'identical' as any two vessels in the fleet can be. I know of a few minor differences such as the SoVI has a door at the rear of the Seawest Lounge that her sister does not have. Also the SoVI has two marine satellite TV dishes; her sister just one.

Of the two, I like the SoVI better just because she carries the name of 'God's Country', and she is based on the good side also.

I am looking forward to traveling on the new Coastals so that I can compare them to the now 15 year old Spirits. I have always considered the Spirits as the best and most comfortable ships in the fleet. I expect the Coastals to perhaps be better yet, but not by a large margin. The Spirits are fine ships built well and built proudly right here in British Columbia.

I would have to say the same.

[Northern Exploration]

I used to like the Lantern Cafe or whatever they called it. Once you boarded you could nip up there quick, get a giant steaming latte and make it outside on the decks before the ferry left the dock. One day I boarded the ferry and charged up there to get my coffee only to find it was just another seating area. That was my first clue that there were some differences in the two Spirits. They must be a bit closer now that it is now the private lounge for both ferries.

[Mill Bay]

The most obvious difference I noticed recently between these two is in the outside seeting areas on the top aft passenger area. One has sort round tables and chairs, and the other has long rectangular benches almost like life-jacket lockers. Also the SOBC has a pop-machine on the aft deck, and the SOVI doesn't. I don't know if it's enough to affect the apparent service speed or stability in heavy weather , but it just really disturbed me that you can't escape those change gobbling monters even on the outside viewing areas of a ferry.

[Dane]

The BC also had substantially more wiring than the Van Isl, substantially enough so that it was at the begining noted in some trg documents. I learned that when I did my High School go to work with a arent day o the SOBC in Grades 10-12... Not sure if refits have changed that. It was because of efficiencies found with the experience of building the BC before than Van Isl.

[Dane]

pnwtraveler said:

I used to like the Lantern Cafe or whatever they called it. Once you boarded you could nip up there quick, get a giant steaming latte and make it outside on the decks before the ferry left the dock. One day I boarded the ferry and charged up there to get my coffee only to find it was just another seating area. That was my first clue that there were some differences in the two Spirits. They must be a bit closer now that it is now the private lounge for both ferries.

Any idea why one got the Lantern and one did not?

[Nick]

They both had the lantern cafe, but the SOVI lost hers to the Seawest lounge a year before the same happened to the SOBC. It confused a lot of passengers, if I recall correctly.

[Dane]

I hadn't realized that; thought it was just on the Van Isl!

[Retrovision]

coxnnick said:

They both had the lantern cafe, but the SOVI lost hers to the Seawest lounge a year before the same happened to the SOBC. It confused a lot of passengers, if I recall correctly.

I'm a little confused right now myself; The SoBC went in for major upgrades a year before the SoVI and had no Lantern Cafe for atleast quite some time before that refit. The SoVI went in for major upgrades the next refit season, 05/06, and lost her Lantern Cafe to the SeaWest Lounge as the SoBC had lost the same lounge minus the cafe similarly to a SeaWest Lounge the year before. Though I was younger and not as much of a ferry fan for most trips in my life aboard the "super ferries", as my family referred to them, I seem to remember that one had a cafe at aft on the upper deck and one didn't. Is my memory fooling me and did the SoBC have a Lantern Cafe that was removed in a refit before the major one that added the SeaWest Lounge?

[PCL Driver]

The SOVI (pre-midlife refit) had the Lantern Cafe, the SOBC did not, she just had a seating area. When the SOBC went in for her MLU, the seating area was changed to SeaWest lounge, and the SOVI's Lantern Cafe was changed to SeaWest Lounge in her MLU the following year.