MV Coho

[Low Light Mike]

Short (and sometimes blurry) video tour of the Coho's forward lounge area.
- from October 2010

[Low Light Mike]

News story on Port Angeles terminal upgrade and related waterfront projects.

Coho's U.S. terminal gets overhaul

Port Angeles lease extension sparks $4M in improvements
By Andrew A. Duffy, Times Colonist December 6, 2012


Fresh from inking a long-term lease agreement in Washington state, Black Ball Ferry Line has decided to do a little remodelling.

The company, which operates the Coho car ferry between Victoria and Port Angeles, started ripping apart 27,000 square feet of dock at its Washington port as it prepares to build a new facility designed to last 75 years.

"It's all very positive," said Black Ball president Ryan Burles.

He said the $4-million project is a sign the company and the service that ferries about 400,000 people between Port Angeles and Victoria each year intends to be around for a long time.

Black Ball signed a 30-year lease with three 10-year extension options with the Port of Port Angeles.

The Coho facility upgrades - paid for by Black Ball, which negotiated a reduced lease payment with the port in return for doing the work - are also part of a sweeping project that will forever change the waterfront of Port Angeles.

"We have embarked on a $17-million waterfront revitalization project that will see us redeveloping a four-block section of the downtown waterfront," said Nathan West, director of community and economic development for Port Angeles. "Our biggest goal is to inspire additional investment in our downtown.

We're hoping we see reciprocal investment from the private sector."

The first phase of the waterfront project will see the establishment of an esplanade with bike and pedestrian lanes leading west from the Coho terminal. It is expected to be completed next summer. Other phases include reclaiming and restoring beaches and establishing parks. West said they hope to have the entire project complete within five years.

It's already paying off, with a brewery planning to open across from where the esplanade will be established, and there is a plan for a joint project between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Arthur D. Feiro Marine Life Center for a shared headquarters in the area.

"What Black Ball is doing nicely coincides with our investments in the project," said West.

"They are saying they need to improve the gateway and look long-term. Our focus is also long-term and having a dock that will be there for 75 years," said Burles. "Their project is not just for visitors but for their whole community, to make it a more dynamic place with more activity in the harbour."

The Coho's terminal project will result in 64 concrete pilings and 146 pre-cast deck panels replacing the existing creosote timber of the existing western dock.

There will be a new passenger terminal location and U.S. Customs inspection building.

Burles said they do not expect any service disruptions as a result of construction and the completion date is set for March.

The company is controlling the project, which allows it to work around ferry operations, as well as saving it about 15 per cent in labour costs had they opted to let the state do the work.

Burles would not be drawn into comparing the Port Angeles waterfront project with an often-talked-about-but-never-executed Belleville Street Terminal upgrade.

"We are not at all thinking our facility is poor in Victoria, but at the same time we do see the benefit of an international gateway," said Burles, who said they are currently in discussion with their landlords, the Provincial Capital Commission over a long-term lease and infrastructure upgrades in Victoria. "Our dock, which the province is responsible for, needs to be replaced and it's getting to a point that it needs to be addressed and planned for."

Burles said discussions have been going well and is optimistic for a deal.

He also said they have been working with the Greater Victoria Harbour

Authority, which is working on an integrated plan for the harbour and a Belleville gateway, though he suggested the work at this stage is conceptual.

According to Rick Crosby, acting chief executive and operating officer for the PCC, his goal is to establish some long-term stability for both Black Ball and Clipper Navigation, which use the Belleville Street Terminal.

"The immediate issue is they have leases coming due in 2014," Crosby said, adding there are infrastructure issues that also need addressing. "I want to work out a deal that gives them some certainty past 2014.

Our goal is to keep them in the harbour and keep those vital transportation links at those current locations and we are working through that with them."

from here:
www.timescolonist.com/business/Coho+terminal+gets+overhaul/7659597/story.html

[SolDuc]

From my trip (Victoria>PA) on July 29th, 2012:

Coho builder plaque by BrasegaliWA, on Flickr


Coho paronamic view by BrasegaliWA, on Flickr


Loading the Coho by BrasegaliWA, on Flickr

[Steve Rosenow]

I always wondered what it looked like on the inside of that thing.

[Low Light Mike]

Coho at Victoria.

Photo is from a 1980s era coffee-table book “Vancouver & British Columbia” which appears to be a gift-book aimed at tourists to Vancouver and BC.

Not much is noted in the book regarding publisher info. “Coombie Books” from 1987, with illustrations & text by “Colour Library Books Ltd.” No photo credits mentioned.

I purchased this book for $2 at our local Rotary club sale, for the very purpose of posting these type of photos here, to show a bit from that era.


======================







Crop of same

[WettCoast]

Blackball's venerable M/V Coho approaching Victoria - Olympic Mountains in background - 8 May 2013.  I asked a crew member how many more years they figured that they could get out of this vessel.  He replied "twenty"!

This photo was taken from Victoria's newly-fenced Ogden Point Breakwater.

photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr

[Blue Bus Fan]

The Coho in Victoria Inner Harbour.


M/V Coho with Victoria Clipper by Awesome cheese, on Flickr


M/V Coho by Awesome cheese, on Flickr


M/V Coho by Awesome cheese, on Flickr


M/V Coho by Awesome cheese, on Flickr


M/V Coho by Awesome cheese, on Flickr

Yes in the dock photos of her their is someone washing the windows of the bridge.

[WettCoast]

Here are some more photos of the Coho from my trip aboard her on Tuesday, May 7th, and from the next day at Victoria's Ogden Point Breakwater ...


Loading over the stern @ Port Angeles, Washington - 7 May 2013 [photo © WCK-JST] by Wett Coast, on Flickr


Car deck - 7 May 2013 [photo © WCK-JST] by Wett Coast, on Flickr


Juan de Fuca Strait & the Olympic Mountains viewed from the upper aft deck en route from Port Angeles, Washington across to Victoria, BC  - 7 May 2013 [photo © WCK-JST] by Wett Coast, on Flickr


The Coho passing Victoria's Ogden Point Breakwater - 8 May 2013 [photo © WCK/JST] by Wett Coast, on Flickr


Heading into Victoria Harbour - 8 May 2013 [photo © WCK/JST] by Wett Coast, on Flickr


Victoria Harbour view (featuring two of three prominent Rattenbury* designed buildings) from arriving Coho - 7 May 2013 [photo © WCK-JST] by Wett Coast, on Flickr

* If the name Rattenbury means nothing to you check this out.

[Low Light Mike]

Coho has redone their website.

new site here:
www.cohoferry.com/



I like the ship diagrams on this page
www.cohoferry.com/MV-Coho

[WettCoast]

May 29, 2013 13:57:36 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

I like the ship diagrams on this page
www.cohoferry.com/MV-Coho

It is interesting that on that linked page they say this about the Coho:

Weight: Gross Tonnage: 5,135

I don't know how many times I've said this but Gross Tonnage is NOT a measure of weight.  It is a measure of internal volume in the ship.  When people in the shipping business make this mistake it makes me wonder? 

[Neil]

Another bizarre mistake is in the ship diagram, where the claim is that in Port Angeles, loading is toward the rear, port side... the Coho is of course a stern loader. At least they got the Victoria doors in the right place.

[Low Light Mike]

May 29, 2013 18:14:41 GMT -8 Neil said:

Another bizarre mistake in the ship diagram is the claim that in Port Angeles, loading is toward the rear, port side... the Coho is of course a stern loader. At least they got the Victoria doors in the right place.

Those are foot passenger ramps, and they are shown in the correct places, accessed from the Promenade deck.
- they probably should have added the word "foot" or some other descriptor to the diagram.

[Neil]

May 29, 2013 18:16:19 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

May 29, 2013 18:14:41 GMT -8 Neil said:

Another bizarre mistake in the ship diagram is the claim that in Port Angeles, loading is toward the rear, port side... the Coho is of course a stern loader. At least they got the Victoria doors in the right place.

Those are foot passenger ramps, and they are shown in the correct places, accessed from the Promenade deck.
- they probably should have added the word "foot" or some other descriptor to the diagram.

Oops. My mistake. Thanks for that correction.

[Deleted]

May 29, 2013 17:36:54 GMT -8 WettCoast said:

May 29, 2013 13:57:36 GMT -8 Low Light Mike said:

I like the ship diagrams on this page
www.cohoferry.com/MV-Coho

It is interesting that on that linked page they say this about the Coho:

Weight: Gross Tonnage: 5,135

I don't know how many times I've said this but Gross Tonnage is NOT a measure of weight.  It is a measure of internal volume in the ship.  When people in the shipping business make this mistake it makes me wonder? 

Gross tonnage = maximum possible displacement?

[WettCoast]

May 29, 2013 21:13:59 GMT -8 @sccommuter said:

May 29, 2013 17:36:54 GMT -8 WettCoast said:

It is interesting that on that linked page they say this about the Coho:

I don't know how many times I've said this but Gross Tonnage is NOT a measure of weight.  It is a measure of internal volume in the ship.  When people in the shipping business make this mistake it makes me wonder? 

Gross tonnage = maximum possible displacement?

Absolutely not - read this:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gross_tonnage
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ton

[Scott]

The COHO smashed a dock in Victoria Harbour today as she was departing her berth. Seems like only minor damage to the dock and none to the ship.

www.timescolonist.com/coho-ferry-smashes-dock-near-victoria-regent-hotel-no-injuries-1.505669


- John H

[Ferryman]

It seems to me, that since John posted a link to that article, a pretty spectacular video of the tail end of the incident was posted there as well. It will be really interesting to find out what happened.

To my knowledge, the Coho doesn't have a bow prop, and it's not like the waterways in the harbour are getting any wider. It makes you wonder if there was a mechanical issue to allow the ship to drift that far since you'd think there would be a stern lookout appointed to advise the Captain if they're getting to close to shore. It was a little bit windy yesterday, but I'm sure it was nothing out of the unordinary than what the Coho has dealt with in that harbour for the past 54 years. Burying the throttles like that might not have been a wise choice either? Ah well, nobody was hurt but it's very interesting to see that video.

EDIT: Keep an eye on CTV Vancouver Island for additional footage from a few different angles. There was a pretty dramatic clip of the anchor being dropped just seconds before impact, followed by the ship jumping ahead and dragging the anchor across the bottom of the harbour.

[Barnacle]

Jul 11, 2013 16:53:40 GMT -8 Ferryman said:

To my knowledge, the Coho doesn't have a bow prop...

Nope.  No bow props or thrusters.

[Ferryman]

Jul 14, 2013 4:30:43 GMT -8 Barnacle said:

Jul 11, 2013 16:53:40 GMT -8 Ferryman said:

To my knowledge, the Coho doesn't have a bow prop...

Nope.  No bow props or thrusters.

Haha. Minor details

I can't find any articles online to prove this yet, however CHEK news mentioned tonight of what the cause of the incident was. Apparently some sort of part in the engine telegraph malfunctioned, and so the Engineers didn't receive the command to start engaging ahead propulsion while the ship was heading astern. Instead, the ship kept backing up until the Engineers were told, likely verbally, to engage ahead propulsion. Of course, by then it was a little too late.

Amazing. This is something you'd read about in a book of something that happened years ago, and not in the year 2013. An indication of how old the Coho is becoming. Although, we have different issues these days with malfunctioning electronics on newer ships instead I suppose.

[northwesterner]

Jul 19, 2013 21:58:13 GMT -8 Ferryman said:

Haha. Minor details

I can't find any articles online to prove this yet, however CHEK news mentioned tonight of what the cause of the incident was. Apparently some sort of part in the engine telegraph malfunctioned, and so the Engineers didn't receive the command to start engaging ahead propulsion while the ship was heading astern. Instead, the ship kept backing up until the Engineers were told, likely verbally, to engage ahead propulsion. Of course, by then it was a little too late.

Amazing. This is something you'd read about in a book of something that happened years ago, and not in the year 2013. An indication of how old the Coho is becoming. Although, we have different issues these days with malfunctioning electronics on newer ships instead I suppose.

While a malfunction involving the engine room telegraph system is possible, it is a tried and true system. Sometimes.... stuff happens. 

I'd like to point out the conversion from the telegraph system to more modern direct engine controls throughout the 80s and 90s was not with out problems; some of them pretty major. Reference the repeated dock ramming of the Issaquah class ferries when they were delivered. I'm sure those captains and their engineers would have prayed for a simple telegraph.

The bugs in the modern electronic controls do seem to have worked themselves out over time...

[Barnacle]

Jul 19, 2013 22:15:04 GMT -8 northwesterner said:

Jul 19, 2013 21:58:13 GMT -8 Ferryman said:

Haha. Minor details

I can't find any articles online to prove this yet, however CHEK news mentioned tonight of what the cause of the incident was. Apparently some sort of part in the engine telegraph malfunctioned, and so the Engineers didn't receive the command to start engaging ahead propulsion while the ship was heading astern. Instead, the ship kept backing up until the Engineers were told, likely verbally, to engage ahead propulsion. Of course, by then it was a little too late.

Amazing. This is something you'd read about in a book of something that happened years ago, and not in the year 2013. An indication of how old the Coho is becoming. Although, we have different issues these days with malfunctioning electronics on newer ships instead I suppose.

While a malfunction involving the engine room telegraph system is possible, it is a tried and true system. Sometimes.... stuff happens. 

I'd like to point out the conversion from the telegraph system to more modern direct engine controls throughout the 80s and 90s was not with out problems; some of them pretty major. Reference the repeated dock ramming of the Issaquah class ferries when they were delivered. I'm sure those captains and their engineers would have prayed for a simple telegraph.

The bugs in the modern electronic controls do seem to have worked themselves out over time...

Actually, it took over a decade of diligent work from the people that ran the boats to sort it out, as least in terms of the Issaquahs.  Drawings of parts were incomplete or outright missing, the computer controls were put together by a company that went out of business not long after, and a whole host of other issues that made the paradigm shift from telegraph to direct control a mere afterthought by comparison.

[northwesterner]

Jul 20, 2013 6:03:34 GMT -8 Barnacle said:

Jul 19, 2013 22:15:04 GMT -8 northwesterner said:

The bugs in the modern electronic controls do seem to have worked themselves out over time...

Actually, it took over a decade of diligent work from the people that ran the boats to sort it out, as least in terms of the Issaquahs.  Drawings of parts were incomplete or outright missing, the computer controls were put together by a company that went out of business not long after, and a whole host of other issues that made the paradigm shift from telegraph to direct control a mere afterthought by comparison.

Sorry ... after rereading the last sentence in my previous post (quoted above) I made it sound like the issues just "went away." Obviously I do not want to downplay the role of the deck staff and engineers involved in troubleshooting the problems. Luckily for us, they were able to work most of the issues out (though didn't the Steel Electrics need a replacement control system installed in the 90s?)

[Barnacle]

Jul 24, 2013 23:42:33 GMT -8 northwesterner said:

Jul 20, 2013 6:03:34 GMT -8 Barnacle said:

Actually, it took over a decade of diligent work from the people that ran the boats to sort it out, as least in terms of the Issaquahs.  Drawings of parts were incomplete or outright missing, the computer controls were put together by a company that went out of business not long after, and a whole host of other issues that made the paradigm shift from telegraph to direct control a mere afterthought by comparison.

Sorry ... after rereading the last sentence in my previous post (quoted above) I made it sound like the issues just "went away." Obviously I do not want to downplay the role of the deck staff and engineers involved in troubleshooting the problems. Luckily for us, they were able to work most of the issues out (though didn't the Steel Electrics need a replacement control system installed in the 90s?)

I have hazy recollections of a replacement control system to do away with the Ross Hill equipment, but I've lost track of the details.  I want to say Siemens was involved.  However, that might've been the Klahowya/Tillikum.  I'm very uncertain as to the finer points.

[Low Light Mike]

A bad few weeks for Coho.

- A truck damaged the loading door today.

from here: link
Times Colonist news story

The 3 p.m. sailing of the MV Coho from Victoria was delayed by more than three hours after a truck struck the door of the ship causing it not to close.

A semi truck is said to have struck a beam while leaving the ship after it arrived from Port Angeles and caused the door to not shut.

Foot passengers walked around the ship pointing and taking photos as repair crews closed down the loading ramp to deal with the problem.

Traffic was backed up along Belleville Street from the entrance of the ferry terminal to Menzies Street as customers weren’t able to enter in to the terminal until more passengers were loaded on.

“We have to get home to Minneapolis tomorrow, I guess we might have to stay the night in Victoria if we don’t make our ferry,” said Marty Harding, who was vacationing in Victoria and planned on taking the 7:30 p.m. ferry to Port Angeles.

The door was fixed at about 6:25 p.m., with vehicle passengers cheering as they were finally allowed to board the ship.

The ship finally left Victoria just before 7 p.m.

The 7:30 p.m. departure from Victoria has been pushed back to 10:30 p.m. and Black Ball Ferry tweeted that they don’t expect any of Monday's sailings to be affected by today's delay.

[Koastal Karl]

My brother was called in to fix that door! Has to go back at 2:30am when the Coho ties up for the night!