MV Hyak

[dumbthird]

They do ride a bit low, especially the Elwha. As part of the Hyaks stability letter, she has to keep a minimum of 110 tons of diesel onboard as ballast. Some of this could be used to offset the weight of a battery bank. If it was placed low enough anyways.

[Barnacle]

Ahoy bs3! Long time no see. I'd hoped to see you this summer but they dropped the Elwha in the #5 slot instead.

[hergfest]

I thought the Hyak was in the #5 spot this summer?

[Kahloke]

Jul 11, 2011 22:06:22 GMT -8 hergfest said:

I thought the Hyak was in the #5 spot this summer?

Nope, Hyak's in the #3 slot, at least according to the WSF website.

[Barnacle]

Elwha's in the #5 slot. Hyak's #3.

[dumbthird]

Hola Barnacle! I wish we were in the #5 spot, 9 to 9 relieving times stink. There are all kinds of interesting ideas being kicked around for the old girls refurb, if I hear something interesting that can be shared I'll post it. It'll be actually kinda sad to eventually be bringing her to some yard and getting rang off for the last time.

[Barnacle]

Yeah, well, we're in this together, bud--we're about the same age. It'll rip my heart out to see the Supers retiring after spending so much of my career on them. The mighty Hyak's still my fave--elegant handler, with enough skill required to keep you on your toes. Plus, all kinds o' grunt with the right throttle jockey. I was alerted to one RFI for the old girl that sounded pretty sexy...

[Steve Rosenow]

Hopefully the Supers don't get retired for another good fifteen to twenty years, although from what I've read it'll be much sooner.

[rusty]

The Hyak was the first ferry I worked--late '70's, so I have foundness for her. All the steamships I worked met the fate of the Steel Electrics years ago, all except the SL-7s.

As an engineer out of the hall, you'd go down on the boat and be the throttle jockey within a trip. No break-in per se--those old Chief's weren't much for getting out of their chair. Those were the days, were they not?

[Kahloke]

Jul 13, 2011 16:48:56 GMT -8 Steve Rosenow said:

Hopefully the Supers don't get retired for another good fifteen to twenty years, although from what I've read it'll be much sooner.

What have you read? Is is something you can fill us in on?
If the state keeps to its so-called 60 year retirement mandate, we would not see the Supers retire until the year 2027.

On another note, has there been any further rumours or information regarding the MLU Hyak is/was supposed to get? Is that still happening, or has that work been shelved?

[Steve Rosenow]

Lemme see if I can dig up where I read it, but I think I recall reading that the Kaleetan was scheduled for retirement in 2021.

*EDIT*

Okay, the date seems to've been pushed back four years, but this link here:

( www.marinelog.com/DOCS/NEWSMMIX/2009feb00022.html )

strongly hints at the retirement of the Kaleetan by 2023. 2025 at the latest.

Still looking for the other link.

[dumbthird]

The Hyak has had a LOT of steel replaced in recent years, I have heard its hull is in the best shape of the supers, rumor mill stuff. But that might come into play with their life cycle estimates.

[rusty]

With state and federal finnances as they are now I don't think there is any real thought in scrapping 'em. Got to build the replacements first, or at least have them in the pipeline. We don't want to do another Steel Electric scenario.

When the 144 program is funded and construction commences on a class of vessels to first allow the retirement of the Evergreen class; well that's the point that I would then take an announced Super retirement date as having any credibility.

[Kahloke]

Jul 14, 2011 14:10:46 GMT -8 rusty said:

With state and federal finnances as they are now I don't think there is any real thought in scrapping 'em. Got to build the replacements first, or at least have them in the pipeline. We don't want to do another Steel Electric scenario.

When the 144 program is funded and construction commences on a class of vessels to first allow the retirement of the Evergreen class; well that's the point that I would then take an announced Super retirement date as having any credibility.

If Hyak, indeed, has the best hull out of the Supers, it kind of makes sense to do an upgrade on that vessel, as I thought was planned. If most of the steel work and electrical/plumbing systems have already been replaced, then it may just be a cabin upgrade, and perhaps upgrading the pilot houses to have the forward-slanting windows like Kaleetan and Yakima, if they are ambitious. In any case, I would think Elwha would be the first Super to be put on standby status, and probably even the first one retired. I've heard she's the worst handling boat out of the 4 because of all the concrete ballast and modifications they have made to her over the years.

[Barnacle]

Jul 14, 2011 14:25:44 GMT -8 Kahloke said:

If Hyak, indeed, has the best hull out of the Supers, it kind of makes sense to do an upgrade on that vessel, as I thought was planned. If most of the steel work and electrical/plumbing systems have already been replaced, then it may just be a cabin upgrade, and perhaps upgrading the pilot houses to have the forward-slanting windows like Kaleetan and Yakima, if they are ambitious.

The forward-slanting windows on the Yakima and Kaleetan are nice, but IMO a little overrated. It's nice to get rid of the reflections of ambient light on the nearly vertical windows (I do believe the windows in fact slant very slightly outward, but I won't swear to it and trying to check it with a level on a ship is useless in any case), but what the new window configuration REALLY brought to the game was a removal of four of the mullions that block piltohouse visibility.

In any case, I would think Elwha would be the first Super to be put on standby status, and probably even the first one retired. I've heard she's the worst handling boat out of the 4 because of all the concrete ballast and modifications they have made to her over the years.

She's the worst handling in terms of inertia, yes. However, she has pilothouse control, providing independent control of the screws, which honestly does make up for a lot of it. (bs3 is probably spilling his coffee about now, seeing me defend the Elwha. ;D) I like the Hyak the best out of the Supers, for sentimental reasons as much as anything.

[zargoman]

Jul 15, 2011 5:31:11 GMT -8 Barnacle said:

I like the Hyak the best out of the Supers, for sentimental reasons as much as anything.

Me too.

[dumbthird]

Jul 16, 2011 10:14:49 GMT -8 zargoman said:

Jul 15, 2011 5:31:11 GMT -8 Barnacle said:

I like the Hyak the best out of the Supers, for sentimental reasons as much as anything.

Me too.

x3. Also, the Hyak has the original drive motors, the other supers have had at least one through the years refurbished (if not both). The Hyak's are in pretty good shape overall, but its hard to ignore their age.

[Barnacle]

Jul 17, 2011 10:44:59 GMT -8 dumbthird said:

Jul 16, 2011 10:14:49 GMT -8 zargoman said:

Me too.

x3. Also, the Hyak has the original drive motors, the other supers have had at least one through the years refurbished (if not both). The Hyak's are in pretty good shape overall, but its hard to ignore their age.

What constitutes 'refurbishment'? I know the Hyak's motors have been re-wound a time or three (and #1's got that pesky skid mark from last year) but I certainly can't recall any major work having been done on them.

[dumbthird]

To my knowledge they have not been re-wound/had the comm replaced. They have had the comm re-cut a number of times including the incident last year you referred to, I checked with the boss on this and he agrees.

[Barnacle]

See, I was told they'd been re-wound in 2003 or so, when the new steering controls etc. were done. Something about 'frog-leg" windings?

[EGfleet]

Jul 25, 2011 4:44:16 GMT -8 Barnacle said:

See, I was told they'd been re-wound in 2003 or so, when the new steering controls etc. were done. Something about 'frog-leg" windings?

I'm almost positive they did as well. I was commuting from Bremerton around the time they did it, and there was much to do about the increase in speed--she'd been limping along doing the Bremerton run in an hour and fifteen minutes and WSF made a big deal about how she could make the run in under an hour again because of being re-wound. I'll have to see if I kept the story about it...should be somewhere in all my printed archives...drat...

[dumbthird]

Interesting, I definitely could be mistaken, I'll do some digging.

[dumbthird]

The GENERATORS were overhauled in '02 and rewound with frog leg windings in their armatures, during that yard period a number of other upgrades were done, steering, lots of steel work etc. The drive motors sure look original to me, the cable insulation, use of varnished twine lashing to secure cables/buswork, smacks of WWII tech, not that there is anything wrong with that!

[Barnacle]

Well, if it ain't broke... ;D

[EGfleet]

Jul 25, 2011 21:25:33 GMT -8 dumbthird said:

The GENERATORS were overhauled in '02 and rewound with frog leg windings in their armatures, during that yard period a number of other upgrades were done, steering, lots of steel work etc. The drive motors sure look original to me, the cable insulation, use of varnished twine lashing to secure cables/buswork, smacks of WWII tech, not that there is anything wrong with that!

Ah thank you! I knew *something* was rewound! ;D

Oh, she was painfully slow before they did that. We'd watch her appear and crawl her way past Alki....she'd get in at about 5:15-5:20 for the 5:25 sailing. Not too many people complained, however. Having been crammed onto the (pre-referb) Sealth or Kitsap for ages (that 5:25 out of Seattle was PACKED) they Hyak was a welcome sight with all that space, no matter how slow she was.