Post by EGfleet on Dec 15, 2006 12:38:13 GMT -8
Last-minute buyer saves old ferries from scrapyard fate
By Chris G. Denina, Times-Herald staff writer
Article Launched:12/15/2006 07:04:53 AM PST
A pair of ferries mothballed at Mare Island in Vallejo have been saved from the scrap heap, its former owner said.
A buyer who's keeping a low profile hauled away the 1920s-era Fresno ferry, and what's left of the scavenged San Leandro ferry, former owner Philip Wright of Healdsburg said.
Wright said he was about to junk the boats this month when the 11th-hour buyer called and transported the ferries to their new home in Stockton. Wright had kept the boats at Mare Island for more than a year after his father, who sought to convert the relics into floating office and retail space in San Francisco, died in 2004.
"I'm both relieved and happy we didn't have to scrap them and that there's still one more chance for them to be restored, which was my dad's wishes," Wright said.
The buyer, whose name Wright won't release, took the ferries off his hands a couple weeks ago. Wright declined to discuss details of the deal.
But in an interview in October, Wright told the Times-Herald he had spent $6,000 a month to retain the ferries and would rather give a group $100,000 to save the ships. That's the same amount he expected to spend on dismantling the vessels,
"It was never my intention to scrap them," Wright said. "It was
just us running out of money and having no where else to turn."
The unnamed buyer plans to save the ferries, though Wright said he was unsure how the Fresno and San Leandro would be used.
Wright's father, entrepreneur Arnold Gridley, had drafted an ambitious plan to create floating office and retail space at the Port of San Francisco. But his plan died with him in 2004.
For more than a year, the boats have become a familiar sight along Mare Island. Bob Young of Vallejo said he'd gotten used to seeing the old ferries tied up at the former military base. Young recently noticed the boats were gone.
When told they were bought, Young said he was glad to hear they won't end up scrapped.
"I certainly would like to see them saved," said Young, a former marine electrician at the former shipyard. "I think they represent a part in engineering history."
The 1920s-era ships were among the first to use diesel-powered engines, which were new at the time, Young said. Before then, most ships were steam-powered, he said.
The Fresno and San Leandro were built in the 1920s and served multiple duties over the years, including ferrying people, transporting World War II materials and even, by some accounts, housing rock musicians.
By Chris G. Denina, Times-Herald staff writer
Article Launched:12/15/2006 07:04:53 AM PST
A pair of ferries mothballed at Mare Island in Vallejo have been saved from the scrap heap, its former owner said.
A buyer who's keeping a low profile hauled away the 1920s-era Fresno ferry, and what's left of the scavenged San Leandro ferry, former owner Philip Wright of Healdsburg said.
Wright said he was about to junk the boats this month when the 11th-hour buyer called and transported the ferries to their new home in Stockton. Wright had kept the boats at Mare Island for more than a year after his father, who sought to convert the relics into floating office and retail space in San Francisco, died in 2004.
"I'm both relieved and happy we didn't have to scrap them and that there's still one more chance for them to be restored, which was my dad's wishes," Wright said.
The buyer, whose name Wright won't release, took the ferries off his hands a couple weeks ago. Wright declined to discuss details of the deal.
But in an interview in October, Wright told the Times-Herald he had spent $6,000 a month to retain the ferries and would rather give a group $100,000 to save the ships. That's the same amount he expected to spend on dismantling the vessels,
"It was never my intention to scrap them," Wright said. "It was
just us running out of money and having no where else to turn."
The unnamed buyer plans to save the ferries, though Wright said he was unsure how the Fresno and San Leandro would be used.
Wright's father, entrepreneur Arnold Gridley, had drafted an ambitious plan to create floating office and retail space at the Port of San Francisco. But his plan died with him in 2004.
For more than a year, the boats have become a familiar sight along Mare Island. Bob Young of Vallejo said he'd gotten used to seeing the old ferries tied up at the former military base. Young recently noticed the boats were gone.
When told they were bought, Young said he was glad to hear they won't end up scrapped.
"I certainly would like to see them saved," said Young, a former marine electrician at the former shipyard. "I think they represent a part in engineering history."
The 1920s-era ships were among the first to use diesel-powered engines, which were new at the time, Young said. Before then, most ships were steam-powered, he said.
The Fresno and San Leandro were built in the 1920s and served multiple duties over the years, including ferrying people, transporting World War II materials and even, by some accounts, housing rock musicians.
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