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Post by c15cat on Jul 10, 2009 12:35:09 GMT -8
She won't go to Bowen because Bowen Islanders don't want to make their dock bigger. God forbid they would have to chop down some trees and move some rocks.
Not so sure how the I Sky would do in Horeshoe Bay the ship is very hard to control. Get any kind of waves or wind etc I can see a captain having a tough time getting into a dock.
All I heard is the I Sky is destin for the Gulf Islands in the Winter and stay there all year round which stinks because as a truck traveler the Chilliwack is a horrible ship. The car deck bounces the truck around and the mail slot door removes sheet metal.
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Post by Mike C on Jul 10, 2009 13:10:51 GMT -8
Welcome to the forum!  Have you heard anything ? I guess the Rich people want a new ship to ride on even thou they probably don't have enough traffic volume to warrant it. Will be curious to see what they put on R#7 besides the Chilliwack. The route needs a ship that can handle upto 7 semis and 30 cars and lots of oversize loads. The Chilliwack doesn't handle oversize loads like things that are 14 feet wide. The rumor is the Cumberland will be put on R#7 not sure if that ship is any good. Hope its better at handling heavy weight than the I Sky which is very weight sensitive nothing heavy to one side or on the bow that is moving forward. Not a easy ship to load when you have trucks with loads that are 100 feet long not including the truck. Not a well thought out ship why do they make something that can't take any weight. I'am a regular traveler (truck) and heard that the I Sky is going. The crew will benefit from the Cumberland more over time from the slower speed and slower loading the ship burns more fuel so the suppliers will be happy. More frustrated people thou when they get left behind from the less capacity. The I sky is definatly not perfect but I hate to be riding on it in any kind of weather better hand out the barf bags lol. Have to wait and see what happens. As a regular traveler the Chilliwack has to go. This smells. Like rumour. And fish. Island Sky is not headed for the Gulf Islands, I can assure you that. The Cumberland does a find job of handling all loads with her platform decks on Route 5, and since she was the sister ship to the Capilano (the vessel that was unsuccessful on Route 7) I doubt even BC Ferries is that stupid. The Island Sky I would also is not capable of providing services to Lyall Harbour, so that's another reason why she would not be sent to the Gulf Islands. Bowen Island is the likely destination for her because of the growing need for a larger vessel, and they would not need to expand the dock at all. The Queen of Chilliwack's replacement will be the Northern Discovery to take over for her northern services within the next few years, so we will likely see the Chilliwack moved south for relief/full-time work during the summer months. |
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Post by Ferryman on Jul 10, 2009 13:28:00 GMT -8
I suppose we'll have to see what happens. It almost makes sense to bring her down to Route 5 in the winter, to relieve the Mayne Queen or Queen of Cumberland. That way, the Queen of Chilliwack sees some work in the winter. Certainly will be interesting what will materialize this winter. Seems like there would be alot of ship shuffling, which might make all bets off if deemed to be too costly.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Jul 10, 2009 18:47:12 GMT -8
Someone says they heard somebody say something about some boat maybe going somewhere. Yeah, I think we've been there once or twice before on this forum...
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Mill Bay
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Long Suffering Bosun
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Post by Mill Bay on Jul 10, 2009 22:57:49 GMT -8
Rumors galore these days... However, one aspect of this that does make sense is to possibly move the Cumberland up to Jervis Inlet. The notion would probably be that the use of her platform decks would fit much better into the schedule for route 7, while the fixed gallery decks of the Island Sky would make operations much simpler on route 5. Also, the Cumberland is one step above the Capilano in that she can also offer some semblance of food services, and it probably wouldn't take much to upgrade to facilities that could offer Island Sky style pre-fabricated meals.
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Post by c15cat on Jul 11, 2009 0:42:29 GMT -8
The gallery decks on the island sky are meant for Volkswagons did see a fullsize Ford P/U put up the gallery  Ramps that you need to drop equals over time and a late sailing. I think on Route 7 you would be dropping the ramps regulary. The car capacity says 127 for the Cumberland. When you load on 2 B trains and 3 commercial trucks with 20 foot van bodies and couple semis with 53 foot trailers you won't have much room left. All that weight on one side you would hope there is enough cars to even the weight out. You put a fully loaded super B train on the Island sky it easily drops 20 inches maybe more. That is 140,000lbs of weight you get 2 of them plus other semis that are grossing 100,000lbs the ship is loaded. There was a load put on the island sky that pushed her past the water line. R#7 sees lowbeds hauling machines that weigh 80,000lbs put one of those on a ship it makes her list. The old Tsawwassen used to roll right over. The Island Sky squats and rolls to what ever side the truck is on. The old Chilliwack doesn't move. It is a tight squeeze getting a 14 foot tall load out of the ship. Currently with the private power project there are poles that are 125 feet and longer going accross on the ferry. If R#7 does get the Cumberland its going to be going traveling most of the time with a list. Truck traffic never decreases. I seriously doubt Bowen Island or any of the Gulf Islands sees 500,000lbs worth of trucks on one sailing. There are loads taken on the I sky that have rubbed the piping under the house works because they are 14 foot plus. The Skeena Queen would be the best ship for Route 7 its open deck easy to load. You could get alot of trucks and mixed traffic onto the ship. It also has the speed. |
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Post by Mac Write on Jul 11, 2009 16:48:47 GMT -8
Hmm move the Skeena Queen, that is a great idea. Most people hate it anyways and it would be a perfect fit for Rte 17. Put the Island Sky on Bowen, and then the Capilano on Fullford and I think things would work out.
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Post by Kahloke on Jul 11, 2009 17:07:23 GMT -8
Mac, I think you mean Route 7, right? Route 17 is Comox-Powell River.
In any case, Saltspring islanders wouldn't like that too much - 85 cars is a decrease in space vs. the 100-car capacity of Skeena Queen. Although, they would at least get a proper cabin with Cappy. At the same time, the folks on Sunshine Coast probably wouldn't like Skeena Queen's lack of amenities, and really, the lack of a proper cabin. 50 minutes might be too long of a trip to go with just those little side lounges. The perfect size vessel for Route 7 might actually be WSF's Issaquah-Class boats. With the centre tunnel configuration, you would put all of the trucks down the middle, and cars can fill in on the side wings and upper gallery decks (a la C-Class). There's a proper cabin upstairs, with plenty of room for a cafeteria, and even a gift shop, if one was desired. The Issy's, as they are outfitted for WSF, carry 124 cars, about the same as Island Sky. I'm being somewhat facetious, because it's not like BCF would ever get one of the Issaquah Class boats (for starters, WSF needs all of them, and they probably don't even come close to meeting Transport Canada regs), but a similar type of vessel with a more protected car deck for rough weather could be a good design for that route.
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Post by c15cat on Jul 12, 2009 20:32:22 GMT -8
Time will tell on what happens. I heard the Island Sky has to go back to the ship yards for a refit after the Chilliwack is done with the northern route. Anybody that rides on the I sky has noticed the paint is coming off the car deck. Also has some gouges from peoples trailer hitches grounding out. The heavy truck traffic probably don't help the car deck either.
Get a lowbed with a 35 ton machine on its back you got some concentrated weight rolling over the cardeck. Any turning scuffs the paint off from the weight on the tires.
I think the Island Sky is seeing the heaviest loads it will ever see. No other route besides R#17 would push the Island Sky to maximum weight capacity. Same with the Chilliwack its seen some heavy loads (trucks). When you get gravel trucks with transfer trailers fully loaded they are 132,496lbs of dead weight.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 12, 2009 20:40:22 GMT -8
I think the Island Sky is seeing the heaviest loads it will ever see. No other route besides R#17 would push the Island Sky to maximum weight capacity. Same with the Chilliwack its seen some heavy loads (trucks). When you get gravel trucks with transfer trailers fully loaded they are 132,496lbs of dead weight. I was at Crofton once, waiting for the Howe Sound Queen. The ferry left without me (and other small cars), not because the deck-space was full, but because she had already reached her weight limit. There were several paving trucks on the ferry that day.... Mr. Cat: Is there a better solution for ferries, rather than putting up with the extra wear & tear on the ship? ie. would Skeena Queen make a difference? Do you think it's possible that BC Ferries would ever limit the weight of it's customers? |
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Post by Northern Exploration on Jul 13, 2009 10:13:39 GMT -8
I think the Island Sky is seeing the heaviest loads it will ever see. No other route besides R#17 would push the Island Sky to maximum weight capacity. Same with the Chilliwack its seen some heavy loads (trucks). When you get gravel trucks with transfer trailers fully loaded they are 132,496lbs of dead weight. Do you think it's possible that BC Ferries would ever limit the weight of it's customers? Since they still charge for overheight vehicles when there is no clearance/overhead restrictions on some sailings, they may find a way of doing it.  Airlines use average weight to calculate customers size and recently had to increase that due to increased weight of passengers. Maybe instead of penalizing overweight or overtall people they can take another tact. Like Coast Savers in order to offset fees over their alloted amount of income for fares, they can offer Size Savers for shorter people with less overheight or Weight Savers for skinny people  ! Air Canada at one point was charging for extra wide customers. If the seat belt extensions they have, don't fit around an individual, they were charging for a second seat. As well they were charging for "helper" individuals that some disabled people need in order to travel. In both cases they were told they couldn't charge full fares in these instances as a violation of people's rights. I noticed recently United is now charging for the second seat again so there is a slight difference south of the border. I wonder if someone will challenge it soon? My parents flew from London to Johannesburg on a 747 window set of seats. There was a rather rotund gentleman in the window seat, my Mom and then my Dad. The gentleman overlapped Mom's seat by a good margin and Dad tried to lean out into the aisle to give her extra room. The flight was 100% full so she had no other option and wasn't a happy camper. They had points and upgraded seats to business class, however a flight crew bumped a few people out of business into economy. So nevertheless they were not happy campers at all and after that she refuses to fly British Airways. Mom always votes for the underdog in every situation, but in this one she is adamant that it isn't fair to other travelers when someone "overlaps." Air Canada for all it's detractors only has 9 across seating in their 777's when the competition has 10 across. So the extra width helps if someone larger is beside you. If you have enough flights per year, and know how the system works, it is much easier to get upgrades to Executive First on AC as well. So she has of course figured this out. Her answer to Dad when he says he can save $x amount flying British Airways is, "have a nice trip." She has never enjoyed flying itself and despite extensive flying has always stayed "nervous", so the extras make her feel a bit better. |
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Post by c15cat on Jul 13, 2009 21:50:07 GMT -8
I think the Island Sky is seeing the heaviest loads it will ever see. No other route besides R#17 would push the Island Sky to maximum weight capacity. Same with the Chilliwack its seen some heavy loads (trucks). When you get gravel trucks with transfer trailers fully loaded they are 132,496lbs of dead weight. I was at Crofton once, waiting for the Howe Sound Queen. The ferry left without me (and other small cars), not because the deck-space was full, but because she had already reached her weight limit. There were several paving trucks on the ferry that day.... Mr. Cat: Is there a better solution for ferries, rather than putting up with the extra wear & tear on the ship? ie. would Skeena Queen make a difference? Do you think it's possible that BC Ferries would ever limit the weight of it's customers? They can't limit the weight because there is too much truck traffic traveling up and down the Coast. What ever gets to Powell River is on a truck. There is a barge service but its not a public service so other trucking companies go over the road. The Skeena Queen would work good yes it holds less vehicals but its a nice open deck so its easy to load. The ship is pretty much a barge with a wheel house. I don't think the I sky is a perfect replacement for the old Tsawwassen. Yes the Tsawwassen was a little tough to load trucks on but it could pack a good load of vehicals. It had the speed etc. The only problem she was a little hard to control in the wind. |
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Jul 13, 2009 22:24:02 GMT -8
They can't limit the weight because there is too much truck traffic traveling up and down the Coast. What ever gets to Powell River is on a truck. There is a barge service but its not a public service so other trucking companies go over the road. There is a weight limit. At the major terminals, it's about 63,000 kgs. I don't think the I sky is a perfect replacement for the old Tsawwassen. Yes the Tsawwassen was a little tough to load trucks on but it could pack a good load of vehicals. It had the speed etc. The only problem she was a little hard to control in the wind. The ' Tsawwassen had no speed advantage over the Island Sky when you consider that the Island Sky doesn't have to turn around at Saltery Bay. As well, this afternoon I timed it at just over 40 minutes southbound. The ' Tsawwassen was also incredibly time consuming to load if they wanted to squeeze it's listed capacity on board. The Island Sky can load the same number of cars much more quickly. |
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Jul 14, 2009 9:39:44 GMT -8
Actually convinced my wife and daughters to take a drive up to Earls Cove to finally ride the Island Sky yesterday. Of course, they thought they were going for the magnificent scenery in Jervis Inlet, and a walk to Skookumchuck Narrows, but I knew better. I might post a couple of shots later, but other than the further decay of the car deck coating (ridiculous after only four months) I really don't have anything to add to what Dane and Ship Rider have posted in the way of photos.
I quite liked the vessel. It has a unique profile among all of BC Ferries' boats; my younger daughter noticed how it was almost football shaped, as it tapers in from a very fat midships (less than a metre narrower than a Spirit) to an almost pointy end. So, although the car deck is eight lanes wide midships, it doesn't stay that wide for long. The passenger lounge is large, with a huge amount of seating. There would have to be a tremendous amount of foot traffic, or a lot of buses, for this vessel to feel crowded. For that reason alone, she would be wasted on the Bowen run. I didn't notice anything regarding poor finishing, nor did I notice any appreciable rattling inside. The food service is a real step down from the Queen of Tsawwassen, even more so when by mid day they were out of most of what they offered. Very poor.
The stairways are spacious, and the sundeck is great- lots of room to enjoy one of the finest ferry rides in the province. It's a neat ship to wander around on.
Standing on the car deck, looking up, you don't see the ugly extensions off the bridge, and to me, the Island Sky has a classic 'ferryboat' look with the bridge at the middle of the ship. Maybe it has something to do with a certain bathtub toy I had when I was a kid...
She's a bit of a roller, and wallows around a bit even making the gentle turn leaving Saltery Bay. I don't think this is a vessel they would have wanted to sail from Germany. Not that it matters, as Jervis Inlet is pretty protected.
We've been hearing stories of massive mutant trucks almost tipping the vessel over and ripping sheets of metal from the ceiling, but on the four traffic loads I saw, there were virtually no commercial vehicles, except for one moderately loaded logging truck. There was no damage or scraping to the ceiling above the car deck, although one truck had obviously got to close to piping on the center of the vessel.
This is a ferry well suited to the run she's on, with ample room for commercial traffic, regular vehicles, and passengers. Although the vessel runs full at peak times, overall route 7 has one of the lower space utilization rates in the system, and the Island Sky should be big enough for some time to come.
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Post by c15cat on Jul 14, 2009 10:04:14 GMT -8
The trucks travel mostly at night it is when you get 6 semis lined up ready to go to Satery Bay.
There was a forestry contractor with a excavator a month ago his load was 1 inch clearance between the piping and the top of the machine.
There is no DOT so you will see loads moved on the Sunshine Coast you wouldn't see in Vancouver. Contractors don't strip machines down to get the overall height of the load below 13 foot 6 inches.
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Post by c15cat on Jul 14, 2009 10:23:44 GMT -8
They have to run the engines at a certain speed they can't slow them down they have over fueling problems etc. Plus it has something to do with they have to have enough power to do emergency manuevers. I think the hippies on the Gulf Islands would crap bricks if they see what kind of black as coal smoke that comes out of the stacks. If the captain lugs the engines down they will blow black unburnt fuel out the stacks. Why BCF wanted to use those Japanese diesels or had the ship yard install them. Very enviromentally friendly The old Tsawwassen could go faster but the old engines were tired they couldn't push them. The Island Sky does have some advantages but it is a sheltered water ship. Going from Westview to Little River would be a rough ride. Plus the fact it wouldn't handle all the truck traffic that route sees. When the Chilliwack was on the route they had real problems with truck overloads. As for the weight limit 63,500 is the maximum highway weight and on the I Sky it sees fully loaded B trains on a regular basis either tankers or Rona trucks or the Drywall haulers. Like I said if its needed in Powell River 90% of it travels up the coast to Powell River. |
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Jul 15, 2009 16:15:57 GMT -8
The extensive wearing away of the deck coating on the Island Sky, after not even five months of use. The other end is not nearly as bad. The 'sandpaper' coating on the ramps has also worn away in a few spots. Whether a bad choice of coatings, or poor application, this could be very expensive to replace, as the following article in Western Mariner points out.   |
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Post by Dane on Jul 15, 2009 18:02:45 GMT -8
Exposed car deck areas on the Coastal class vessels have identical peel, but with a vast majority of the car deck being covered it's not as large an area. I would think the same product must be used?
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Post by c15cat on Jul 15, 2009 20:05:17 GMT -8
Does the Coastal Class ship have red oxide primer ?
The paint on the Isky never stuck to the primer or it didn't stick too well. I'am assuming the steel on the I sky was wheel abbraded to remove the millscale and its primered.
If that is the case the top coating what ever they used on the car decks isn't designed to go over the brand of primer paint used on the steel. If you go onto the car deck of the I sky and rub your shoe or boot over the pealed off area it feels smooth.
To fix the paint peal on the I Sky is a total white blast (sand) then spray it with a etching primer. That is a big pain in the butt to white blast the whole car deck.
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Post by Ferryman on Jul 15, 2009 23:11:55 GMT -8
I was aboard the Island Sky for the first time today. Overall I was happy with the ship. She just looks strange. The biggest issue I see right now is the car deck paint. Normally the paint wouldn't chip off like that after about 2 or 3 years of constant service. Hopefully something gets done about that soon....and not just for aesthetics purposes either...so they don't have issues in the future.   I like what they used on the ramp to the Gallery decks though  Stay tuned for an onboard experience video from today, to be posted hopefully sometime tomorrow. |
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Post by Ferryman on Jul 16, 2009 22:56:45 GMT -8
Here's a little video I made from my trip on the Island Sky yesterday afternoon. This will give those who haven't had a trip on her yet, to know what she's like.
One other thing I forgot to add was at least she'll carry on something that the ship she replaced. The circus windows. The video will show a scene of the wavy windows as we rock side to side while making the turn into Saltery Bay.
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Post by c15cat on Sept 9, 2009 23:45:22 GMT -8
Off to the ship yards I was told. Getting the warranty work done.
There will be lots of moaning from the traveling public that they have to ride on the Chilliwack again. People are used to the Island Sky now and prefer it over the Chilliwack
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Post by Low Light Mike on Sept 10, 2009 6:47:36 GMT -8
From Sept.4th, in another thread here. Do you know what kind of warranty work she is getting done? |
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Post by Curtis on Sept 10, 2009 7:28:21 GMT -8
According to the Powell River Peak, it has to do with a previously discussed forum topic... This said "lifting" has been clearly visible on the I-Sky over her 8 months of service. The worst of it is on the main deck of the No. 1 End. (Saltery Bay End) It's virtually invisible on the No. 2 (Earls Cove) end. There's also been notice by forum members that the sandpaper-like material used on the rise to the gallery deck is coming off too. This was in April...  And this in August...  At least they're taking action now... |
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Post by c15cat on Sept 10, 2009 8:56:30 GMT -8
The whole car deck has to be sandblasted and repainted.
You can see the Chiiliwack is running ontime as usual. A service notice out Chilliwack is 30 mins behind only to get further behind.
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Airlines use average weight to calculate customers size and recently had to increase that due to increased weight of passengers. Maybe instead of penalizing overweight or overtall people they can take another tact. Like Coast Savers in order to offset fees over their alloted amount of income for fares, they can offer Size Savers for shorter people with less overheight or Weight Savers for skinny people 
!
