MV Matanuska

[M/V LeConte]

Here are some scans of the Matanuska's brochure.









Sorry, the scanner was cutting off about 1/2 - 3/4 of an inch.

Enjoy!

~LeC

[M/V LeConte]

Early October I was able to attend a training session on the deployment of the Matanuska's new MES (Marine Evacuation Slide) System. We are in the process of replacing all of our older MEC (chute) systems. Instead of dropping down a tube onto a platform (and the complications that would arise from that action) the new systems have you riding down an inflatable slide and into a raft. Very similar to what you see in the seat-pocket placards on airplanes that almost no one looks at. It was impressive to see and definitely an improvement! Currently the Fast Ferries (Fairweather and Chenega), the Matanuska, and Aurora have these systems installed. The Kennicott is receiving hers this year, and we (LeConte) are scheduled to get ours next year.

During the training session they showed us a video of a large scale evacuation drill that was performed on one of the BC Ferries Super C Class vessels (Sorry, not sure which one, but the hull graphics were a giveaway). It was impressive to see.

Anyways, here are some shots of the deployment.

[plansea]

I am in Ketchikan and have some pictures to share, I love the lines of the Spaulding vessels.

MV Matanuska is a beauty even in drydock!

www.pbase.com/portwelland/image/120231269

www.pbase.com/portwelland/ketchikan

Hopefully more to follow if the weather holds!

Eric

[plansea]

M/V Matanuska at Alaska Ship and Drydock Ketchikan December 2009

[plansea]

This is art.. I won't comment on some others I have seen recently closer to home

[plansea]

From the Waterfront section of Dec 19-20/09 Ketchikan Daily News:
Ferry delayed Ketchikan (KDN)
The state ferry Matanuska will return to service on Jan. 26 after an extensive overhaul that began in November at the Ketchikan Shipyard.
The ferry had been scheduled to re-enter service on Jan. 12, according to the Alaska Marine Highway System. While the Matanuska remains in overhaul, the state ferry Taku will continue to operate the Matanuska's regularly scheduled route, according to AMHS.
Passengers who were previously booked on the Matanuska have been reassigned to the Taku.
Part of the overhaul includes upgrading the Matanuska's control pitch propeller system to the most current model, which will provide the "highest propeller efficiency for any speed and load condition" according to AMHS.
The work also includes work on the worn shaft components discovered aboard the 46-year-old ship earlier in the year.
"The Matanuska is just one of our ships that is becoming more dependent on repairs and upgrades due to its age," said Capt. John Falvey, AMHS general manager.
The Matanuska is scheduled to depart Ketchikan northbound at 11:15 p.m. on Jan. 26.

[Low Light Mike]

Photos of MV Matanuska, right on-time for her scheduled 2:30pm arrival at Prince Rupert, on July 6, 2010:



Matanuska has passed the container port on her entrance to Prince Rupert:



- I love the look of the bow, from this angle.



- She's definitely a Spaulding.









Close-up of safety equipment:



2 Flags for this part of the journey.



A peek inside

[alaskanmohican]

Those are some excellent photos of the Mat, it looks like it was a beautiful day there as well.

The Spaulding designed vessels, all up and down the coast, always seem to not only have a good functionality to them, but are still able to to have graceful lines. Anymore many new ships seem to focus on function only. Although admitedly the Nor Ex doesn't look too bad from the photos I've seen.

[Low Light Mike]

Jul 23, 2010 18:02:29 GMT -8 @alaskanmohican said:

I have to admit that I really like this picture. I like angles that you don't normally see.

Here are the just-before and just-after pictures in this set.

[Low Light Mike]

One last set of AMHS pictures from my recent trip to Prince Rupert.

- this is MV Matanuska, in the evening on July 13, 2010.







I love this angle




Short-term viewing opportunity at this angle, as my BC ferry glides in for her arrival



If the door is open, you have to peek inside:



Mat, and part of my ship.

[WettCoast]

Jul 23, 2010 18:02:29 GMT -8 @alaskanmohican said:

Jul 22, 2010 12:10:46 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

I really like the Mat, in my humble opinion, she looks good on the outside, and her layout works pretty well on the inside.

I have to agree with this sentiment. I was aboard Matanuska recently (12-14 August) en route from Auke Bay to Prince Rupert. I have a few photos of my own below...


Viewed from the Malaspina just offshore from the terminal at Haines.


Tied up at the middle berth at Auke Bay (Juneau). Note the FVF Fairweather at left.


Credit to Mr. Spaulding...



At Wrangell (above & below)




Dusk in Ketchikan

All these photos are from my Flickr
AMHS site where you can see more photos and at higher resolutions.

[mrdot]

on looking at the spaulding builders plaque, I am thinking of all our descarded BC onetime newbuildings of the same vintage and wondering if anyone is in the know as to wether we have saved any of the historical memmorabillia, or wether its lying in an Allung junkyard? At least the people of Alaska and Washington State will still have some of there heritage.mrdot.

[M/V LeConte]

Hello all,

Snapped a few shots of the Matanuska as she made her way out of Ketchikan yesterday. They took the East Channel of Tongass Narrows this trip so I was able to grab some decent shots.

First couple as she came away from the dock:


Then I moved down to the Safeway parking lot:

Then to where the Columbia is in Lay-up:


Then I followed her down the channel a bit.


Past Saxman:



Then as she passed Nichols Passage:

Finally at Mountain Point we had to part ways; she continued on to Prince Rupert, and I had a much needed date with my bunk!


I'm finally back, so I'll try and catch myself up, and maybe make a few more posts here!

~LeC

[mrdot]

:)These are mighty fine pics. of the Alaska ferries and they are the same vintage as the bc ferries I once knew, it's a pity we have not seen to keeping our historical livery as Alaska and Washington have. They seem to have found a way of keeping politics out of the mix. mrdot.

[alaskanmohican]

Those are some nice photos of the Mat.

I agree it is nice to have our livery be fairly consistant over the years. And it also helps that it is an attractive livery.

There have been a few little changes every once in a while. Politics haven't really gotten into livery too much, it just gets into everything else. But that is part of the game when you are part of the state.

[mrdot]

yes, those are nice pics., and the stars on nordic blue livery are very Alaska, and the evergreen is very Washington State, but what is very BC about two mateng slugs? and for that mater the rennaisance? The dogwood is very native and historic, but the garden slugs, not so much! mrdot.

[WettCoast]

M/V Matanuska coming into berth @ Prince Rupert - 8:00 AM - 15 March 2011


And another showing the M/V Mat at her Rupert berth, 9:30 AM
[/img][/url]
Both photos © JST

[WettCoast]

M/V Matanuska in Prince Rupert harbour - 30 August 1975. This view is from the terminal that was at that time shared by BC Ferries and AMHS. I was there to begin my first trip ever aboard BCF's Queen of Prince Rupert, south to Vancouver Island, and home.

The Mat has changed just a bit since this photo was taken, the funnel for instance. I am going to try and figure out if this view shows her in her original pre-stretching configuration.


photo © JST - Ektachrome - 75-9-33 - VueScan - hosted on my Flickr site[/size][/color]

[Low Light Mike]

Comparison from slightly similar angles:

Apr 16, 2011 8:03:04 GMT -8 WettCoast said:

M/V Matanuska in Prince Rupert harbour - 30 August 1975.

The Mat has changed just a bit since this photo was taken, the funnel for instance. I am going to try and figure out if this view shows her in her original pre-stretching configuration.

Jul 22, 2010 12:10:46 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

Photos of MV Matanuska, right on-time for her scheduled 2:30pm arrival at Prince Rupert, on July 6, 2010:

Matanuska has passed the container port on her entrance to Prince Rupert:

[WettCoast]

So my 1975 photo shows that not only was the Mat un-stretched at that time, but there have been many other changes as well. I suspect that the 1975 picture is more comparable to the current appearance of the Taku.

BTW, Fluge, your photo and mine, picture the Mat in pretty much the exact same spot in Rupert Harbour, but with 35 elapsed years between them chronologically.

[Low Light Mike]

Apr 16, 2011 9:36:06 GMT -8 WettCoast said:

I suspect that the 1975 picture is more comparable to the current appearance of the Taku.

Ok, let's compare the 1975 Mat to the 2010 Taku-Bell:

Apr 16, 2011 8:03:04 GMT -8 WettCoast said:

M/V Matanuska in Prince Rupert harbour - 30 August 1975.

Jul 22, 2010 19:48:37 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

MV Taku, at Prince Rupert. Taken between 7:00 & 7:45am on July 8, 2010, from my vantage point of the float near the Coast Guard & Pilot ships:

[WettCoast]

Here is another photo of the Matanuska taken on that same August day in 1975, this time with the vessel seen in profile. She does look much like what the Taku still does today.

photo © JST - Ektachrome - 75-9-29 - VueScan - hosted on my Flickr site[/size][/color]

[alaskanmohican]

Wow, those are some nice photos of the Mat in her original configuration. You don't see very many photos of her from before her lengthening. Thanks for sharing.

[Low Light Mike]

Because we already have ship-specific threads for most or all of the AMHS fleet, it makes sense that we post our photos to those ship-specific threads.
- avoiding duplication, making it easier to find, etc are the reasons.

I'll move existing posts over the next while.

Make sense?

[Low Light Mike]

Aug 9, 2010 19:09:10 GMT -8 Scott (Former Account) said:

Matanuska at Prince Rupert.




Photo taken from BC Ferries' Northern Expedition, August 7, 2010.