Pacificats

[Shane]

Do you guys think Bc ferries should of kept the fast cats?

[Shane]

I think they should of kept the fast cats.
They were neat ships, I really liked them.

[Ferryman]

I thought they were neat ships, and had a real sleek look to them cutting though the water, and could really make people look to see what that big ship was ripping along the Strait was all about. But they costed so much to run, it wasn't really worth it. It was annoying having to pay more when you just happened to get on a Fastcat instead of one of the C-Class just so you could get to Nanaimo 15 mins sooner and finding a seat in the upper cafe with no view and comfort at all.

[Curtis]

They were okay just there were problems such as the cost to get on, the Wake/Wash, the Capacity, and the Fact of getting there 15 minutes faster than the Cowichan Class vessels get there it would have been worth it if it was the Victoria Class vessels on Dep Bay but not the C Class (Info on V and C Class names from the Ships of British Columbia)

[NMcKay]

They needed to be thier original designs, not the edited version we used. they were originally supposed to be rear loading/Rear unloading, where you would drive on, Make the turn, and be ready to leave by the ster, which is how Austal does it now. and then put high speed diesels like the austal vessels, and then they would burn 1600L fuel per hour (same as the Vic Clipper 4) and would be able to carry as many cars as the C class. BCF Just screwed up thats all

[Political Incorrectness]

well the NDP was in control at the time and now cause it is private now they make the calls not the government the only thing I liked about the dogwood days is that they would post traffic on the routes if it was down or up

[Dane]

the fast cats were re engined right before their disposal from public hands, they are considerably more fuel efficient and slightly faster as well. It was done a warranty work

[Doug]

The Super "C"s are just another try at what the fast cats were INTENDED to do: retire the "V"s. In many ways I believe BCF should of kept them, but most of all, no.

[NMcKay]

i thnk the cats could have worked as replacements, they just would be more to Small cars, Just like the Alberni and New West are more to trucks.

[Koastal Karl]

No I have a better idea! The fast cats should be converted to passenger only ferries and run from Kelowna to Penticton on Okanagan lake doing cruises up and down the lake in the summer! The wake wouldent matter to the residence along there as they would be cruises so they wouldent be going at full speed! They would be slow cruises! I thought of that when I was up there this past week that it might be kind of neat to have lake cruises!

[Scott (Former Account)]

For the price BC Ferries sold them at ($19 Million), it would have been better to keep them as spares... They could have been used with two engines to help alleviate congestion on Route 2 during the summer months...

[NMcKay]

or on Route 30. they would make good time on that route

[Quinsam]

I think they should have kept 1 for an extra or replacement vessel, for when another vessel breaks down.
But they are just sitting there at North Van, next to the
Seabus terminal doing nothing, then of course they are not even in Seaspan's fleet list yet!

[Koastal Karl]

actually if they had one or two replacements we might not have this problem of finding ships when one breaks down like the New West right now!

[NMcKay]

But they wouldn't be able to help, they have this little problem of only being able to carry 100 Tonnes Total Car/Pax, which means approx 100 cars or 8 12 Tonne Trucks

[Koastal Karl]

yeah, better than nothing though!

[NMcKay]

8 trucks at a time would not help.

[Fenklebaum]

UGLIEST BOATS IN CHRISTENDOM. I hated every moment of my trip aboard the 'Explorer'. No ship worth a spit has no open deck space worth mentioning (And before you counter, HL Teen, I happen to like the Lynx). The car deck was a house of mirrors, and the upper deck was tackier than Metrotown during 'cheerleader days'.

I pity Glen Clark. They won't rust, so three of his failures will always be there on the other side of the harbour, mocking him...

[Political Incorrectness]

very well said fneklebaum

[NMcKay]

Yeah. I didn't like then either. especially when you used to the spacious C Class. they could have arranged the space a little better. But they didn;t i think i could make it work. if they gave me the chance to make them work.

[Koastal Karl]

I dident like them either! There was a few sailings we tried to avoid when we took route two while they were doing extras on the run cause we dident want to get on of them. I have only been on the Explorer but I never went on them when they were in service on route 2! I went to an open house they had for the Explorer when they docked her here in the Inner Harbour in Victoria! Too crowded and dident like the interior look either! No deckspace, and so on what all you guys said before! I agree too!

[NMcKay]

yeah. they didn't build them corrently but that doesn't mean they can't be fixed. iv'e had solutions that work on making the vessels more seaworthy, and they would be able to handle the specific load of cars and 4 Buses. They need work. probably 10,000,000$ worth. but they would be worth alot more in the long run.