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Post by Low Light Mike on Nov 8, 2018 18:07:43 GMT -8
You missed pointing out a very important difference. These Ontario ferries are to be battery electric powered vessels. They will produce 95% less CO 2 emissions than conventional diesel powered ferries. BC Ferries should be doing this with any new vessels operating on shorter routes. Good point. I often miss the obvious. I think it's the curse of being a minutia-man. |
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Post by articulated on May 20, 2019 16:53:29 GMT -8
Pelee Islander II finally entered service on April 5th with the start of the 2019 ferry season: windsor.ctvnews.ca/new-pelee-island-ferry-makes-debut-in-leamington-1.4367682. For the 2019 season, both Pelee Islander (the first) and Pelee Islander II will operate. The other vessel Jiimaan will undergo a mid-life refit before returning next season, at which point Pelee Islander will be retired. Meanwhile, major problems affecting the new vessel delaying its entry into service have been revealed. While the official publicized reason for the delay was red tape on certifying evacuation procedures, there were many other issues affecting the vessel, including leaking HVAC systems, incorrect amperage on the shore power connection, missing parts that prevented the stowing of the evacuation chutes, worn electrical cables, and even seating being ordered without headrest covers. |
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Post by WettCoast on Jun 26, 2019 18:41:50 GMT -8
Kingston - Wolfe Island ferry Wolfe Islander III en route from Kingston to Wolfe Island, near the lower (east) end of Lake Ontario - 26 June 2019. No, it is not powered by the wind, yet!
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Post by WettCoast on Jul 4, 2019 14:14:50 GMT -8
Toronto Islands ferry Sam McBride en route from downtown Toronto to the islands - 25 June 2019.
This ferry carries lots of people, but NO cars ...
View larger sized image here.
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Neil
Voyager 
Posts: 7,089
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Post by Neil on Jul 4, 2019 17:00:52 GMT -8
Toronto Islands ferry Sam McBride en route from downtown Toronto to the islands - 25 June 2019.
This ferry carries lots of people, but NO cars ...
How cool would it be to have that instead our our Seabuses? |
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Post by Starsteward on Jul 5, 2019 14:35:17 GMT -8
...Ahem, I must admit that many moons ago I travelled to the North Shore on the old Vancouver Ferry, (which became a seafood restaurant). And, no I wasn't in possession of a driver's license at the time.  I can still smell the creosote of the wharf pilings and the oil stained car deck, but most of all I remember the smells emanating from the engine room that one could look into from a couple of vantage points on the car deck. Ah to smell the water mixed with all the others, is something I really miss of 'yesteryear' in Vancouver's harbor. |
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Post by WettCoast on Jul 8, 2019 18:39:46 GMT -8
Toronto Islands ferry Ongiara, the only one that carries vehicles, nears its Toronto waterfront terminal - 25 June 2019
Higher resolution version available here ... |
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Post by WettCoast on Jul 15, 2019 8:11:40 GMT -8
Toronto Islands ferry William Inglis, en route from downtown Toronto to Centre Island - 25 June 2019.
This looks to be a close sister to the ferry Sam McBride, a photo of which I posted earlier (on this thread).
View higher resolution version here |
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Post by WettCoast on Jul 18, 2019 13:07:51 GMT -8
Toronto Island ferries Sam McBride (l) & William Inglis (r), seen off the Toronto downtown waterfront - 25 June 2019
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Post by Starsteward on Jul 19, 2019 13:12:52 GMT -8
Toronto Island ferries Sam McBride (l) & William Inglis (r), seen off the Toronto downtown waterfront - 25 June 2019
Thanks for posting those two vessels Jim, and while they have the appearance of "elder-vessels", a couple of questions if I may? As we forum members have blatted on about countless times about our Seabus configurations etc., those Ontario vessels sure allow for optimum sight-seeing possibilities don't they. What is the operating speed of those boats? I assume that all is ship-shape vis-à-vis Transport Canada regulations et al? The height of those 2 vessels obviously preclude that vessels designed like these two wouldn't be appropriate for the terminals we have but once again, these lovely boats make us wonder if we couldn't have used a bit more foresight as to a different design for our harbor-crossing wee ships, eh?  |
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 9, 2019 21:50:19 GMT -8
Kingston - Wolfe Island ferry Upper Canada at its Kingston berth - 10 November 1972. As can be seen in the photo it was a side-loader, and carried a max of 16 vehicles. Must have been a pain to load ...
At the time there was a second vessel on the run, the Wolfe Islander II which was about the same size & also a side-loader. Both of these vessels were apparently replaced in 1976 by the current ferry (Wolf Islander III) which has three times the capacity of these little guys and has bow & stern loading. The new boat also is apparently much better at dealing with winter ice conditions. The one disadvantage is sailing frequency is much less than was the case when there were two vessels.
The only food service on the vessel at that time was a Wonder Bread truck - yum, yum ...
I shot this photo when I was 18 years old, and in Kingston for the Canadian Universities Cross-Country running meet. I did not then know that getting the whole vessel into the photo might have been a good idea.
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Post by articulated on Sept 1, 2021 19:10:41 GMT -8
Two new battery-electric ferries for Ontario are now on their way from Damen. Amherst Islander II and Wolfe Islander IV will replace their similarly-named counterparts on the routes on Lake Ontario to Amherst Island and Wolfe Island. Both were loaded onto Super Servant 4 for delivery across the Atlantic, and I'd assume they will arrive in early October, likely entering service next year. To BC people, they are very similar to the Island-class vessels; Wolfe Islander IV (capacity 83 cars, 399 passengers) is around a size up from the Island-class, while Amherst Islander II (42 cars, 300 passengers) is a bit shorter and wider. |
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Nov 4, 2021 18:18:37 GMT -8
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Post by paddlehardercafe on Nov 4, 2021 19:12:18 GMT -8
Could be a replacement for the Skeena Queen. I know there is many years left in her sea life, but a easy on the books design.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Nov 5, 2021 15:01:12 GMT -8
Could be a replacement for the Skeena Queen. I know there is many years left in her sea life, but a easy on the books design. I could see Skeena Queen being replace with similar design to replacement for Queen of Capilano. |
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Post by articulated on Mar 13, 2022 18:42:16 GMT -8
MS Chi-Cheemaun caught fire early yesterday morning while in dry dock in Thunder Bay, ON, while undergoing its annual refit and 5-year inspection. The fire originated in one of the ship's two boilers. No injuries or fatalities reported, which is always good news. The full extent of any damage to the vessel is currently uncertain, but appears to be contained to the boiler room and the electrical system. Hopefully all repairs can be made before her season resumes in early May. Chi-Cheemaun usually spends the winter in Owen Sound; but following delays during the dry dock inspection, and by the time she was ready to sail, the Soo Locks had closed for the winter, therefore she was unable to return. www.owensoundsuntimes.com/news/local-news/chi-cheemaun-fire-in-thunder-bay-under-investigation |
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Post by articulated on Aug 21, 2022 18:27:41 GMT -8
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 26, 2023 21:23:51 GMT -8
The new Wolfe Islander IV has still not entered service between Kingston & Wolfe Island. If all goes well it should be in service in another month or two. Apparently they have been experiencing a lot of mechanical problems with the old 1976-built Wolfe Islander III and also a shortage of 'seafarers'. Sounds familiar ...
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 26, 2023 21:34:14 GMT -8
Link to an interesting b&w photo of the new Wolfe Islander IV. It is indeed similar to BC Ferries' Island class vessels.
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Post by Kahloke on Mar 27, 2023 7:00:55 GMT -8
Link to an interesting b&w photo of the new Wolfe Islander IV. It is indeed similar to BC Ferries' Island class vessels.
Great photo of the new ferry. It is basically a larger version of the Island Class vessels. At 75 cars, seems like it would be a good replacement for the BSC Cable Ferry Thingy...hint, hint, hint  |
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Post by kevins on Apr 23, 2023 10:13:30 GMT -8
Need pics of the Ont ferry
search SKEYE STREAM
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Apr 23, 2023 18:22:27 GMT -8
Need pics of the Ont ferry search SKEYE STREAM What? You can also look them up google images. |
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Post by hwy19man on Jul 5, 2023 2:28:03 GMT -8
The new Wolfe Islander IV has still not entered service between Kingston & Wolfe Island. If all goes well it should be in service in another month or two. Apparently they have been experiencing a lot of mechanical problems with the old 1976-built Wolfe Islander III and also a shortage of 'seafarers'. Sounds familiar ...
Province won't provide specifics on schedule for new Wolfe Island ferry
MTO hopes to offer service as close to current 60-minute round trip as possiblewww.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/wolfe-island-ferry-service-schedule-1.6896326 |
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Post by explorer on Sept 12, 2023 17:29:02 GMT -8
When you read thru this tread it's interesting how things have gone over the years. Federal Funding for Rapid Charge has evaporated.
Sounds like the 1st - 6 Island Class will remain Hybrids and the next 4 will be all electric. Hopefully with the New Terminal builds at Crofton & Vesuvius and 2 New Elec Island Class (that's a lot of hoping) will they have Rapid Charge on both sides?
The Wolfe Islander IV is an interesting build and after an almost 2 year wait, it's about to enter service. I really like the idea of roll on, roll off similar to the Quinsam. Straightforward proposition, no overhead ramps, no more being sentenced to bilge. I think it and bigger sister could serve BC Ferries well.
Thought's?
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Post by Kahloke on Sept 12, 2023 18:38:54 GMT -8
When you read thru this tread it's interesting how things have gone over the years. Federal Funding for Rapid Charge has evaporated. Sounds like the 1st - 6 Island Class will remain Hybrids and the next 4 will be all electric. Hopefully with the New Terminal builds at Crofton & Vesuvius and 2 New Elec Island Class (that's a lot of hoping) will they have Rapid Charge on both sides? The Wolfe Islander IV is an interesting build and after an almost 2 year wait, it's about to enter service. I really like the idea of roll on, roll off similar to the Quinsam. Straightforward proposition, no overhead ramps, no more being sentenced to bilge. I think it and bigger sister could serve BC Ferries well. Thought's? I moved the post above into this thread because it specifically relates to Wolfe Islander IV, and this thread has a pretty good discussion on that vessel. I agree with you 100% about the Wolfe Islander design being a good fit for BC Ferries. At +/-75 cars, there are at least a few routes I think would be a good fit for such a craft. Replacing Baynes Sound Connector is one route I immediately thought of. I know, I know, BSC is still very new, but the whole cable thing was a fiasco from the start (in my opinion), and it's locked BC Ferries into a vessel that is too small for the route. An electric vessel would be the perfect solution there. No cables, and a much needed bump in capacity. Yes, I know it will be a cold day in you-know-where before they would ever admit BSC "cable thingy" is a failure, so I suppose this idea is a bit of a non-starter, but thought I would put it on the table anyway. Two of those boats could be useful on Route 4. Fulford Harbour cannot grow in size, so deploying two 75 car vessels there would be an increase in capacity over a single Skeena Queen without having to expand the holding area. Skeena could then be a backup vessel, or perhaps move to Route 6? I'm talking hypothetically here, folks, and likely a number of years out, when Quinsam and Quinitsa would be retired. And, yes, I know Route 6 is slated to get two new Island Class vessels, but I wonder if that is the best solution when you consider the shortage of maritime workers both locally and around the world? Both BC Ferries and WSF are plagued with sailing cancellations due to crewing issues, and it's not a problem I see going away anytime soon. Does it make sense to replace a single vessel with 2 smaller vessels where more crew is needed? That seems to be the direction BC Ferries is going with several routes, at present. Maybe the Wolfe Islander IV design would give BC Ferries another option for routes that could use that capacity. I think Campbell River-Quadra Island would be a logical place for one, among others. The two Island Class vessels there could be re-deployed to other routes as older vessels age out. Anyway, these are just some of my rambling thoughts. Take it for what its worth. |
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