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Post by EGfleet on Oct 28, 2007 13:06:27 GMT -8
One of the Alaska Marine Highway's ferries is up for bid on Ebay: tinyurl.com/2dfeysShe was a cute little ferry, but has obviously seen better days. |
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Post by Mike C on Oct 28, 2007 17:49:38 GMT -8
That's the cheapest ferry I've ever seen. 75 grand gets you the whole shebang - all 50 years of it.
I like how they set up a basket ball net in the car deck
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Post by SS Shasta on Oct 31, 2007 10:55:02 GMT -8
MV Chilkat was always a "fun" ship to ride. I rode her many times when she was assigned to the Ketchikan/Metlakatla route and the Ketchikan/Hollis (Prince of Wales) route. She was actually a good sea boat and could ride out most SE Alaska weather. Her little galley was shared by passengers and crew and usually offered free coffee. In addition to her quaint passenger cabin, there was a bench in the wheel-house where passengers could also ride.
Perhaps the most unique feature of MV Chilkat was that she did not require a ferry dock to load and unload. The beach worked just fine ;D. She would use the ferry dock in Ketchikan and the beach in Metlakatla and Hollis. Vehicles would back in to her car deck and then drive out. The front end of the car deck was raised so that she could actually handle a van.
Many of us were sad the day she was retired from AMHS service and will always fondly remember her.
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Mill Bay
Voyager 
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886 
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Post by Mill Bay on Nov 1, 2007 13:30:11 GMT -8
I was just thinking, in regards to the Chilkat, since the Tsawwassen isn't available yet, we might consider purchasing this one as a group to use for special forum field trips, private ferry cruises and a mobile photography post.
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M/V LeConte
Chief Steward
~ I believe in Ferries! ~
Posts: 147
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Post by M/V LeConte on Nov 4, 2007 21:56:09 GMT -8
I like your idea MV Mill Bay. What we could do with unlimited resources! She used to be for sale for only $50,000. Looks like she is in pretty bad shape though. I think she has gone through 3 owners in as many years. It is a shame to see such an important part of AMHS history falling apart like this. Anyways, here is the link to the site where she was being sold. There are some good photos there. Check it out. www.alaskaboat.com/tn012.htm |
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M/V LeConte
Chief Steward
~ I believe in Ferries! ~
Posts: 147
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Post by M/V LeConte on Oct 30, 2008 11:23:37 GMT -8
Does anybody know what happened to her? Last time my wife was in Seldovia she was gone. She would make a great AMHS History Museum!
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M/V LeConte
Chief Steward
~ I believe in Ferries! ~
Posts: 147
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Post by M/V LeConte on Sept 22, 2009 23:24:58 GMT -8
Just found this post again. Does anyone have any new info?
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M/V LeConte
Chief Steward
~ I believe in Ferries! ~
Posts: 147
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Post by M/V LeConte on Sept 23, 2009 1:27:48 GMT -8
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Mill Bay
Voyager
Long Suffering Bosun
Posts: 2,886
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Post by Mill Bay on Sept 23, 2009 9:14:58 GMT -8
Wow! The Chilkat just looks small when you look at these photos. Almost hard to believe she was once a car ferry. It would sure be hard to get lost on that ship. I think she definitely fits into the category of unique coastal vessels and is probably right up there with the QPR in terms of having a very recognizable personality.
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Post by SS Shasta on Sept 23, 2009 18:10:28 GMT -8
She was definitely a unique and fun ferry to ride. She was like a roller-coaster in rough seas. For sure, one would never forget riding out a storm on MV Chilkat. Nice photos of her later years!!
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Post by plansea on Dec 19, 2009 15:38:06 GMT -8
M/V Chilkat photo on display at the Ketchikan terminal, sorry about the reflections: oops and I forgot to resize  |
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Post by plansea on Dec 20, 2009 22:16:19 GMT -8
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Post by alaskanmohican on Aug 20, 2011 21:10:18 GMT -8
Resurrected this thread to post a recent article on the Chilkat. The article is titled "After Years of Service, Chilkat's Future Uncertain" and is from August 17, 2011, this past Wednesday. Link: homernews.com/stories/081711/news_ayoscf.shtml |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 3, 2011 20:50:11 GMT -8
I was born and raised in Juneau and remember the Chilkat well. Or was it the Chilkoot. They were either sister ships or the name was changed. A previous poster stated that it was a roller-coaster in high waters. I whole heartedly agree. Short and of shallow draft, it could make the most seaworthy sailor a bit green under the gills. But it was a plucky craft and a lot of fun to ride.
At that time it was either captained and/or owned by Capt. Gitkoff.
I just today saw it tied up at the Coast Guard dock in Juneau. Its looking much like the rusty pictures above.
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Post by alaskanmohican on Sept 4, 2011 0:42:03 GMT -8
I was born and raised in Juneau and remember the Chilkat well. Or was it the Chilkoot. They were either sister ships or the name was changed. . Welcome to the board akdan7. Regarding the Chilkat vs Chilkoot name there is a fun little thread on this board called AMHS Origins & Infancy. Link: ferriesbc.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=akferry&action=display&thread=7850That thread has some discussion of the Chilkoot. Basically, the Chilkoot and Chilkat are separate ships, the Chilkoot a converted Landing Craft Tank from World War II, and the Chilkat a ferry designed specifically for what was then the Territory of Alaska. Essentially the Chilkat replaced the Chilkoot in 1957. I never had a chance to ride the Chilkat, but I have seen her several times since she was sold by AMHS. While on the one had it is great to still have her around where we can see her from time to time, its is sad to see her slowly slip into her current condition. She is still bearing the same coat of paint that the state put on before they sold her in I believe 1989 or around that time, that exact date fails me right now. |
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,171
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Post by Neil on Dec 20, 2011 14:18:41 GMT -8
Not a great shot, but we don't have much of the Chilkat, so I'll post it anyway. Don't know location or date. (ps- thread name change is in order?) |
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Post by SS San Mateo on Dec 20, 2011 14:54:05 GMT -8
Might be Bellingham. She was there for awhile back in the early 90's.
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Dec 20, 2011 15:45:25 GMT -8
Might be Bellingham. She was there for awhile back in the early 90's. The background looks a little too mountainous to be Bellingham... I don't have any better suggestions though. |
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,171
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Post by Neil on Dec 20, 2011 20:53:10 GMT -8
I guess I should have been a bit more specific... I believe that photo would have been taken in '85 or earlier, so she would have still been in service.
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Post by ancflyer on Dec 21, 2011 10:42:35 GMT -8
Last time I saw Chilkat she was anchored in Seldovia, that was 2006.  First time I saw Chilkat I was a child living in Skagway in the early 1960s. |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 22, 2012 11:35:24 GMT -8
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Post by alaskanmohican on Jan 22, 2012 14:59:09 GMT -8
News stories about her new location (Deep Bay, just south of Fanny Bay, on Vancouver Island). Nice to know her whereabouts and that she is being put to work. Maybe now she'll get at least a little tlc. Although I wonder if a new coat of paint is too much to ask for. She still has her AMHS blue and gold from the late 1980's. |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Feb 4, 2012 22:36:06 GMT -8
Chilkat, seen at Deep Bay's harbour-authority marina on February 4, 2012. - this is just south of Fanny Bay, on Vancouver Island. Workers were busy inside, installing windows. ---------------- The setting, seen from the marina parking lot.  Seen from the beach in front of Ship&Shore marine store  Seen from the floats  Deckhouse, seen from the marina jetty  One of her 2 funnels shows some extra stars  The bow:    |
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Post by alaskanmohican on Feb 5, 2012 1:22:32 GMT -8
Nice to see that some work is being done on her. Thanks for taking the time to go out there and take those photos Flugel Horn. Overall I think AMHS' retired fleet appears to be fairing well at the moment. The Bartlet is a training vessel in Ballard, WA and the Chilkat has it's new life on Vancouver Island. Only the old Wickersham has met the cutters torch, although having been "spawned" in a fishing community, I grew up with the notion that cutting a boat up for parts and reuse was always better than seeing her on the bottom. A boat, or ship  , is meant to sail the waves, spends her life doing just that, it always seems that when one sinks, it has failed at what it was created for. Not a fitting epitaph. Anyway, it's late and I'm waxing nostalgic, back to the Chilkat, I thought with her new life starting it would be neat for a flashback to 1991, when the MV Chilkat was sold by AMHS. This photo is a scan from an old schedule. This shows her in original livery when she sailed for the Territory of Alaska, before AMHS existed. You can clearly see the origins for what would become the AMHS livery.  This is what was printed along with the above picture as a farewell to the old girl, also known fondly as the "Vomit Comet" and "Chicken of the Sea" amongst other affectionate names. ;D  |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Feb 5, 2012 7:41:40 GMT -8
This photo is a scan from an old schedule. This shows her in original livery when she sailed for the Territory of Alaska, before AMHS existed. You can clearly see the origins for what would become the AMHS livery. Wow, thanks for that old pre-AMHS photo. Those large car-deck windows look strangely-huge. Definitely not for crossing Prince William Sound... ;D |
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, is meant to sail the waves, spends her life doing just that, it always seems that when one sinks, it has failed at what it was created for. Not a fitting epitaph.