The Evergreen State Class

[SS Shasta]

With the three sisters of the Evergreen State Class running together on the Vashon/Southworth run, I find it interesting that although these fine vessels are "sisters", they are certainly not indentical. They differ in many ways. I am wondering why there is so much difference in their passenger capacity. The MV Tilikum currently has a much higher capacity (1200) than the other two. MV Evergreen State (981) follows with MV Klahowya at the bottom with the smallest capacity(800).

Does anyone know the reasons for these differences? I was noting that before their rebuilds, the capacity of MV Tilikum and MV Klahowya was the same (1140) and MV Evergreen State had the lowest (1000). My only recent travels have been on MV Evergreen State in 2006; I can't remember being on the other two after their rebuilds.

There are likely several other differences that folks might like to mention about these interesting vessels .

[EGfleet]

shasta said:

With the three sisters of the Evergreen State Class running together on the Vashon/Southworth run, I find it interesting that although these fine vessels are "sisters", they are certainly not indentical. They differ in many ways. I am wondering why there is so much difference in their passenger capacity. The MV Tilikum currently has a much higher capacity (1200) than the other two. MV Evergreen State (981) follows with MV Klahowya at the bottom with the smallest capacity(800).

Does anyone know the reasons for these differences? I was noting that before their rebuilds, the capacity of MV Tilikum and MV Klahowya was the same (1140) and MV Evergreen State had the lowest (1000). My only recent travels have been on MV Evergreen State in 2006; I can't remember being on the other two after their rebuilds.

There are likely several other differences that folks might like to mention about these interesting vessels .

Well, for starters, the Evergreen State's cabin is smaller than on the other two vessels. In the four years between the Evergreen (1954) and the Klahowya, (1958) they made some changes to the design, including a larger passenger cabin and higher car deck clearance.

[SS Shasta]

The puzzle to me is why there is such a difference in passenger capacity between MV Tilikum at 1200 and MV Klahowya at 800? Both vessels were listed at 1140 before their rebuilds.

[SS San Mateo]

shasta said:

The puzzle to me is why there is such a difference in passenger capacity between MV Tilikum at 1200 and MV Klahowya at 800? Both vessels were listed at 1140 before their rebuilds.

Several years ago, some of the bench seats on the Klahowya were removed to create wheelchair accessible booths. Since life preservers are kept under the seats, the removal of the bench seats resulted in less life preservers (and lower passenger capacity as a result).

[Barnacle]

That might be a factor, but the lifejackets that originally sat under said benches were much bulkier than the ones in use today. The weight of passengers may be a consideration as well.

[zman]

When I was riding the Southworth-Fauntleroy run, I went around and did a general count of preservers according to the labeling.
The Tillikum had more under each bench seat than the Klahowya. The Tillikum also has more bench seats than the Klahowya. It is not just because of the ADA bench removal on the Klahowya. The Tillikum has bench seats surrounding the galley area, while the Klahowya has those movable single seats. The same is true with the other end, where the ADA restroom is. The Tillikum has bench seats lined against the wall, and the Klahowya has the single seats.

M/V Evergreen State






M/V Klahowya





M/V Tillikum

[SS Shasta]

Many thanks for the lovely pics. and information . Has the lower passenger capacity of MV Klahowya ever become an issue during periods of heavy walk on traffic such as the rush hour or with ball games, etc.?

[zman]

I have never been on that run during a game night.

Most of the traffic is auto.

Even during rush hour, there usually chairs to sit in. The 5:00 and 5:40PM from Fauntleroy can get pretty crowded, but I do not think that they even get 50% filled up with passengers.
I do not know the exact numbers, and I may be mistaken, but it seems to be pretty light, Relatively speaking.

[EGfleet]

Very nice photos Zman.

How many out there remember the old interiors of these boats? I can remember many trips on the Tillikum at Kingston, and that very green interior she used to have...one of the best things about the refurb jobs they did on the class is the boats brightened up considerably...My memories of the Tillikum are that of a very dimly-lit vessel.

I do wish they'd left the galley alone on the Evergreen State, though. She had a very cool 50's diner look...well, because it was a 50's kind of diner when built.




These are both of a spanking new Evergreen State. Courtesy of MOHAI, Williamson collection.

[northwesterner]

evergreenfleet said:

Very nice photos Zman.

How many out there remember the old interiors of these boats? I can remember many trips on the Tillikum at Kingston, and that very green interior she used to have...one of the best things about the refurb jobs they did on the class is the boats brightened up considerably...My memories of the Tillikum are that of a very dimly-lit vessel.

I also remember Tillikum's old interior. It was dark, and very very green. And its larger size than the Evergreen State's was much appreciated. I'd love to see her in the islands again, just to get pictures of her up there, because Tillikum and Klahowya are very nice looking boats.

I rode her a couple of times up in the San Juans. My memory seems to recall that in the early 90s she was the vessel assigned in the summer to many of the Anacortes - Friday Harbor direct trips.

Can you imagine - traffic 15 years ago in the summer in the San Juans was sufficiently low that Tillikum, Evergreen State, Kaleetan, Nisqually, and Kittitas? (or other Issaquah) was enough to handle the loads.

[zman]

Those are awesome pics of the old interior...I have never seen those before.

I think that the green looks pretty darn nice, it seems to fit the name of the vessels very well. I like the Klahowya's current configuration, as she has some comfy seats. The Tillikum has the chairs in the middle areas, as oppose to the Klahowya's plush seats (I do not know what those are called...they are the big seats with armrests that are usually in groups of 2-4.).

The Evergreen's bench seats are very comfortable as well. Despite the fact that she has no ceiling panels, and the galley is horribly dirty, it is a wonderful boat.

I also would love to see the Tillikum in the islands...with a gold stripe on the stack

[SS Shasta]

zman said:

Those are awesome pics of the old interior...I have never seen those before.

I think that the green looks pretty darn nice, it seems to fit the name of the vessels very well. I like the Klahowya's current configuration, as she has some comfy seats. The Tillikum has the chairs in the middle areas, as oppose to the Klahowya's plush seats (I do not know what those are called...they are the big seats with armrests that are usually in groups of 2-4.).

The Evergreen's bench seats are very comfortable as well. Despite the fact that she has no ceiling panels, and the galley is horribly dirty, it is a wonderful boat.

I think the green colours represented the "official colour" of the new WSF System. They were also displayed on the stacks, a solid green with a small white band (later gold for 50 year vessels) at the top. In my opinion something was lost when the stack design was changed. I too like the traditional green inside the cabin!

In reference to MV Evergreen State, I cannot understand why the galley cannot be cleaned up. It would not be a costly task and would make it easier to open up by a new food service vendor, even if new equipment was needed. There is no good reason for it being so messy/dirty even if it is not being used

[Barnacle]

I concur. The galley is an embarassment to the fleet, and really needs to be cleaned up. Contract it out if need be... but get it functional so that at least a coffee-soda-and-doughnut service can be offered.

[zman]

Maybe WSF does not see it worthwile to make the fix. Usually, she is only in service for a week or less.
It would be interesting to find out exactly what is wrong, and how much the estimated repair is (NOT a state estimate, which would most likely be the cost to rebuild the galley...and add the waffle makers ;D...just an estimate on what it would take to make the bare minimum).

[SS Shasta]

I was wondering why a Evergreen State Class vessel is not used more often for the inner-island service in the San Juans during the summer. Wouldn't the extra capacity be useful especially on busy week-ends? Do the Evergreens require larger crews than the Steel Electric vessels? That might be the answer??

[zman]

I was thinking the same thing...It seems like there is much more space to turn around onboard, it has more vertical clearance, the vessel is slightly faster, and there is better space for wide loads.

There has gotta be a real good reason for not swapping them

[Barnacle]

Yes, there is.

The Evergreen State is, at 90 cars capacity, the largest unassigned vessel we have available for service (the Hiyu is the only other boat that has been available since 2004).

Since a Steel-Electric (read: Illahee) wouldn't be a practical relief boat anywhere but in the islands, Port Townsend, and Tahlequah, the Evergreen is kept in reserve.

ONCE THE MILLENIUM CLASS IS BUILT...

Look for an Evergreen-class in the islands, year-round. I vote for the Evergreen State because she has the smaller passenger cabin, and that is less of a handicap in the islands than anywhere else.

That, and we up here in the northland want our baby to come home.

[zman]

I have not been up to see how heavy interisland traffic is, but what about the possibility of adding a second S/E to the route. Is there enough traffic to warrant that?

With the Nisqually back in service, WSF would have the boat.

[Barnacle]

No, it really doesn't merit a second boat, especially this time of year. In fact the interisland boat ties up on weekends during Winter schedule. It would be a lot more economic to operate an Evergreen class than a Steel-Electric, which has the highest operating cost in the viable auto-carrying fleet.