Queen of Alberni What to do about it

[Curtis]

Yeah im surprised Sannich is being retired before the Rust Bucket Esquimalt. What about the Sannich's refit in the 90's the Sannich sould be on for longer DougUbell

[Doug]

Don't look at me. I didn't make the plans.

[Curtis]

Back to the topic of the Alberni out of evrything a
passenger deck extension and a new indoor passenger area on sundeck would be the best to me ;D.

Any other suggestions?

[Doug]

To answer your question about moving the "S" Class ferries, Harbourlynx Kid, they are not to be moved. They are to be regular vessels out of Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay while two new Super "C" Class ferries are to be relief vessels on the route.

[Doug]

Back to the main subject.... Yes, if they are going to add new passenger space, build it on the sun deck. Agreed.

[NMcKay]

no. That would create more superstructure. which would create more instability

[Curtis]

(Main Topic) what if they got rid of the alberni's Snack Bar All ships (mostly) need at least one eating facility

[Ian]

The people buying cold food go to the snack bar because more people eat the hot food.

[Koastal Karl]

yeah and another thing it would make the line ups in the Cafeterias longer without the snack bars. Would you wait like a half hour in a line just to get a snack or a drink??? I wouldent if it was really busy. But maybe they dont need the snack bar on the Alberni cause the two times I have been on her it is never open. so maybe they dont need it.

[Curtis]

Yeah aparently its rarely open

[NMcKay]

yeah. i remember that when i used to ride on her.

[kylefossett]

snack bar openings is based on crew numbers. if they have the crew ie. summertime then the snack bar will be open

[Curtis]

Very interesting fact about the snackbar.
getting back to the topic of a new passenger area on the sun deck. Maybe put outdoor solariums on the corners of the sun deck or somewhere else, and the passenger deck would go from both bridges (maybe a outside deck on top around the smokestack) that could be possible

[The Ferry Man]

I was looking through the link for the Queen of Alberni on the first page and I noticed there was an index of alot of other ferries and I went to the Langdale Queen Pics and it apears to be getting towed by a tug through Vancouver Harbour and the Pic was in black and white so it must be old and you can still sorta make out the original BC Ferries Stripes on the side and then I looked further down the page and it looked like it was sinking at a dock. Whats that all about? Isnt the hull of that ship getting used for a dock somewhere and there it is in that pic with holes in it and they say the superstructure wasn't good but most certainly the hull wasnt either could somebody tell me what hapened there because Ive never noticed anybody saying it sank.

[The Ferry Man]

Oh and the link was on the first page of this forum in the britishcolumbiaferrycorperation site.

[Curtis]

Got a new one for the snack bar how about taking it out of its original area and putting it on the passenger deck i was thinking of on the sun deck

[Balfour]

That wouldn't be a bad idea. It could add a bit more more room to deck 5, but how would I know, I never travel on the Queen of Alberni, but I totally agree, it's something to consider. The solariums up top could be turned into a comfy seating area, like on the V class after lifting.

[nolonger]

The Langdale Queen was moored at a dock at the foot of Bute St. in Vancouver when she sank. At the time she was known as Lady Grace. I think in the pic you can see a rather new paint job. One of the pictures shows her moored at Brittania Beach in Howe Sound.

[nolonger]

Having worked on the Alberni for the last 14 years and 16 years in all, perhaps i can shed some light on a few things. Firstly she is scheduled for mid-life refit in 2006/2007. There is some debate about weather or not to extend her accomodation. While it's true that her passenger deck gets quite crowded under full load conditions, tell me which major vessel doesn't. I was aboard the Cowichan on Thanksgiving and people were sitting in the aisles. Indeed it was very hard to even move around.
In truth the Alberni only gets loads like this during weekends in the summer, and only for the 2 middle round trips during the day. The 1st and last round trips are as a rule, fairly quiet. Therefore is it feasible to spend the money to extend the passenger deck fore and aft? Especially when one considers that adding more weight up top will be a detriment to her load carrying capacity. At times now with a full commercial load, she is often close to the marks. Makes no sense to make more room only to have to leave vehicles behind. My feeling is that it won't be done due to $$$. Apparently the Oak Bay's mid life crisis was cancelled due to money, only to be rescheduled just days prior to the start.

The Alberni ran aground on Collinson rock in Active Pass. Apparently she was southbound and was passing the Queen of Tsawwassen who was northbound and she got too far into the bay and the tide pushed her onto the reef. I think small craft in the area may have played a role in causing her to have to go so deep into the bay.

[jcachristian2000]

The Queen of ALberni ran aground on Collingson reef which is that rock with the Light thingy on it at the South end of Active Pass.

When you enter Active pass from Tsawwassen you normally Pass another ferry on the left side. Now go to the right hand side of the vessle and you will see a rock with some sort of light on top of it. That is Collingson reef where the Alberni ranagaround.

It is very easy to see as it is in the Bay directly across from Helen Point.

[Curtis]

PR said:

Very interesting fact about the snackbar.
getting back to the topic of a new passenger area on the sun deck. Maybe put outdoor solariums on the corners of the sun deck or somewhere else, and the passenger deck would go from both bridges (maybe a outside deck on top around the smokestack) that could be possible

Getting back to what i was saying awihle ago the Alberni (above) just get rid of the solariums and keep the passenger deck idea.

[Doug]

Guest-Dane said:

The Super Cs are to be built for HSB-DB... moving them to Tsawwassen-SB would be a waste of resources and even BCFC isn't dense enough to not realize that. (Sorry for the double negative)

Dane wrote this a while back. One vessel is for HB-DB. If all three were moved to the route, they would have to move "C" Class vessels to Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay, which just won't do because they can't transit Active Pass properly. If you search around the "Newbuild Program" page on BC Ferries, you'll find out that the Super "C" Class vessels are going to be built specially to transit Active Pass.

[Doug]

And now, back to the Queen of Alberni. The Queen of Alberni's (I must say) exterior look is an outrage! They've removed so many windows, it looks so plain. Hopefully they can put them back in during its mid-life refit....

And adding on to it...I doubt it will happen but we might as well keep thinking of ideas anyways. Adding some passenger deck fore and aft of the bridges may result in a lack of good navigation...I suggest building it beween the bridges. But, like someone mentioned before, removing the snack bar for seating is also a good idea. I have so much doubt in add-ons of the Alberni....

[Ferryman]

There really isn't that much space between the bridges on her. The area around the funnel is storage for lifejacket I think and staircases to the passenger deck but I can't quite remember because it has been at least 2 years since I've been on her and I'm just assuming since her other C-Class sisters have that type of layout. But if not they could move the solariums, not completely remove them off the ship and make the space where they are now quiet seating lounges like the V-Class. Then put some small covered areas in front of both bridges..maybe the same type of idea the Chilliwack has because Alberni has two large spaces below her bridges. But they would have to be close to the bridges so the captains can see the bow for docking reasons and navigational reasons.

[Dane]

"Dane wrote this a while back. One vessel is for HB-DB. If all three were moved to the route, they would have to move "C" Class vessels to Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay, which just won't do because they can't transit Active Pass properly. If you search around the "Newbuild Program" page on BC Ferries, you'll find out that the Super "C" Class vessels are going to be built specially to transit Active Pass. "

The Oak Bay and Surrey ran the route for a few years, they never seemed to run aground... Even the Captain of the Albernia said it was his own poor judgement that lead to the incident.