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Post by Ollie on Jan 20, 2024 20:27:57 GMT -8
Thanks for the reply. I'm still baffled, however.
It seems to show the ferries suitable for each route and in what order.
I checked again and it's actually only on the 2024 one and not the 2020 one... Maybe they just changed it recently to add the Alberni?
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Post by WettCoast on Jan 20, 2024 20:34:32 GMT -8
It seems to show the ferries suitable for each route and in what order.
I checked again and it's actually only on the 2024 one and not the 2020 one... Maybe they just changed it recently to add the Alberni? Maybe they added it to the Route One list in case they have continued Coastal trouble and are desperate for a third or fourth vessel for the route. Tsawwassen crews routinely operate the Alberni, but not Swartz Bay crews.
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Post by Ollie on Jan 20, 2024 20:41:28 GMT -8
I checked again and it's actually only on the 2024 one and not the 2020 one... Maybe they just changed it recently to add the Alberni? Maybe they added it to the Route One list in case they have continued Coastal trouble and are desperate for a third or fourth vessel for the route. Tsawwassen crews routinely operate the Alberni, but not Swartz Bay crews. Are the route 1 Coastals Swartz Bay based? I don't know how that would work then since if the Coastal is replaced by the Alberni, the Spirit of VI would be the only Swartz Bay based ferry and the other 3 are Tsawwassen based.
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Post by WettCoast on Jan 20, 2024 20:49:49 GMT -8
Maybe they added it to the Route One list in case they have continued Coastal trouble and are desperate for a third or fourth vessel for the route. Tsawwassen crews routinely operate the Alberni, but not Swartz Bay crews. Are the route 1 Coastals Swartz Bay based? I don't know how that would work then since if the Coastal is replaced by the Alberni, the Spirit of VI would be the only Swartz Bay based ferry and the other 3 are Tsawwassen based. SWB crews are trained & 'fammed' on Spirits, Coastals & maybe the New West. Tsawwassen crews are trained & 'fammed' on Spirits, Coastals, the Alberni & the New West. I think it takes a fair bit of time to introduce a different ship type to crews not currently trained & fammed for that ship type.
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Post by Ollie on Feb 16, 2024 17:18:50 GMT -8
BC Ferries videos on the new major route vessels:
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,192
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Post by Neil on Feb 16, 2024 18:47:57 GMT -8
BC Ferries videos on the new major route vessels:
Hmmh... that yellow hull and bulwarks is going to take some getting used to...
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Feb 26, 2024 10:51:55 GMT -8
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Post by donatotummillo on Feb 26, 2024 10:59:26 GMT -8
Was about to post this as well. Strange looking vessel, the two funnels with integrated masts is odd, not much outside deck space other than at each end. Judging by the windows below the upper vehicle deck, I assume these will have gallery decks. Also, it looks just a tad bit longer than a Coastal Mark I. I think BC Ferries is aiming at having the largest double ended ferries in the world again as that record was taken by, don’t quote me on this, P&O Ferries in the UK(?). I remember seeing a photo of that particular vessel and it looks kind of similar to this. Also, 2100 passengers, these are Spirit Class big.
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Post by paddlehardercafe on Feb 26, 2024 11:22:57 GMT -8
Look very much like a Q of Alberni replacement .... I mean it looks alot like her with a touch of island class....
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Post by jwjsamster on Feb 26, 2024 12:56:08 GMT -8
We really need to get some dimensions on these, my immediate reaction is that that they don't look like they have a lot of passenger space...
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Post by Ollie on Feb 26, 2024 13:29:19 GMT -8
How do I open the images? They show "available files" but it doesn't show anything when I click them.
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Feb 26, 2024 13:47:07 GMT -8
We really need to get some dimensions on these, my immediate reaction is that that they don't look like they have a lot of passenger space... I thought that at first too, but now I'm seeing 3 passenger decks. So I think it'll be probably equivalent in passenger square footage to a Spirit. 360 AEQ on 2 decks with a similar beam to current vessels indicates they must be at least 160-170m in length. I'm seeing outside accessible space on the "pickle forks" and possibly on the bridge deck between the two wheelhouses. A little less than current vessels, but not too bad. Not a huge fan of the double funnel thing going on. But maybe there's a reason. If they can avoid the 3 mile long shaft line on the Coastals and prevent the vibration problems they've been plagued with, I'll take the funny looking funnels. New boats! Should be fun to watch!
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Post by Dane on Feb 26, 2024 13:49:10 GMT -8
With AEQ at 360 they could be the largest double ended ferries by tonnage, but this "first look" (for the third time) would suggest we are looking at Coastal size ferries.
Last time we had a first look I expressed reservation at three passenger decks, which admittedly is an assumption, from the view of passenger accessibility. More demand on elevators, and need to move around to access different things. Don't love that.
But at this point I'd take a laminated Pirate Pak to get more capacity on the Majors, so I like it.
PS - I was able to get the photos to load. Just took several minutes.
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Feb 26, 2024 14:39:40 GMT -8
Last time we had a first look I expressedy reservation at three passenger decks, which admittedly is an assumption, from the view of passenger accessibility. More demand on elevators, and need to move around to access different things. Don't love that. But at this point I'd take a laminated Pirate Pak to get more capacity on the Majors, so I like it. Good point regarding cut up passenger decks, although I think it'll help disperse crowding a bit. On the other hand, having 6 possible spaces facing forward/aft for passenger amenities is pretty unheard of in our previous generations of ferry. A sit-down restaurant, cafeteria AND coffee shop in addition to lounge spaces with good views would be very nice. And yeah, 2029 can't come quick enough for additional capacity. I'd love to see 5 boat service on route 1...
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Post by Ollie on Feb 26, 2024 14:46:08 GMT -8
I finally got the full size image to load, it looks like it only has one horn on each end.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Feb 26, 2024 14:50:32 GMT -8
Last time we had a first look I expressedy reservation at three passenger decks, which admittedly is an assumption, from the view of passenger accessibility. More demand on elevators, and need to move around to access different things. Don't love that. But at this point I'd take a laminated Pirate Pak to get more capacity on the Majors, so I like it. Good point regarding cut up passenger decks, although I think it'll help disperse crowding a bit. On the other hand, having 6 possible spaces facing forward/aft for passenger amenities is pretty unheard of in our previous generations of ferry. A sit-down restaurant, cafeteria AND coffee shop in addition to lounge spaces with good views would be very nice. And yeah, 2029 can't come quick enough for additional capacity. I'd love to see 5 boat service on route 1... I think these vessels look like mixture of the Queen of Alberni, Salish Class and Coastal Class which look really odd at first but I kinda like combining of all of those vessels. I don’t understand where third inside passenger is coming from. The third inside area might e crew only. I think retired of Cowichan Class and Queen of New Westminster and mid-life refits of Coastal Class should be priority.
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bargain
Oiler (New Member)
Posts: 44
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Post by bargain on Feb 26, 2024 15:09:13 GMT -8
A bit off topic perhaps:
When I read "new major vessels will carry up to 360 standard sized vehicles" I thought that's unfortunate as, for example, the Queen of Surrey's capacity is 362 so there's no improvement in capacity.
However the current BC Ferries website (https://www.bcferries.com/on-the-ferry/our-fleet/queen-of-surrey/QSUR) lists the Queen of Surrey at "Car capacity 311"
Pulling up the Wayback machine from ~2000 (https://web.archive.org/web/19991117122338/http://www.bcferries.com/fleet/profile-queen_of_surrey.html) it shows a capacity of 362.
They no longer load the area adjacent to the internal intra-deck ramp system but surely that's not a 51 car capacity reduction...At some point did they redefine capacity based on today's larger vehicles?
Or is this ferry shrinkflation?
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Post by Kahloke on Feb 26, 2024 15:19:31 GMT -8
A bit off topic perhaps: When I read "new major vessels will carry up to 360 standard sized vehicles" I thought that's unfortunate as, for example, the Queen of Surrey's capacity is 362 so there's no improvement in capacity. However the current BC Ferries website (https://www.bcferries.com/on-the-ferry/our-fleet/queen-of-surrey/QSUR) lists the Queen of Surrey at "Car capacity 311" Pulling up the Wayback machine from ~2000 (https://web.archive.org/web/19991117122338/http://www.bcferries.com/fleet/profile-queen_of_surrey.html) it shows a capacity of 362. They no longer load the area adjacent to the internal intra-deck ramp system but surely that's not a 51 car capacity reduction...At some point did they redefine capacity based on today's larger vehicles? Or is this ferry shrinkflation? At some point in recent years, BC Ferries changed the AEQ size to 6 metres which drastically reduced listed capacity numbers. The Spirits, for example, used to have an aeq of 410 vehicles (w/o the platforms). Now, they are listed at 358 I think? Personally, I think the 6 metre standard is overestimating the average vehicle size, and I think the number of vehicles the boats actually carry are higher than what they list. Sure, there are some very large passenger vehicles out there, but there are also a lot of smaller vehicles, too.
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Post by Dane on Feb 26, 2024 15:21:24 GMT -8
BC Ferries uses inconsistent math for cars; BC Ferries would call the Surrey 310 cars.
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Post by Dane on Feb 26, 2024 15:22:22 GMT -8
]I think retired of Cowichan Class and Queen of New Westminster and mid-life refits of Coastal Class should be priority. These aren't competing priorities, though.
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anderpz
Oiler (New Member)
Posts: 11
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Post by anderpz on Feb 26, 2024 17:00:14 GMT -8
We really need to get some dimensions on these, my immediate reaction is that that they don't look like they have a lot of passenger space... I thought that at first too, but now I'm seeing 3 passenger decks. So I think it'll be probably equivalent in passenger square footage to a Spirit. 360 AEQ on 2 decks with a similar beam to current vessels indicates they must be at least 160-170m in length. I'm seeing outside accessible space on the "pickle forks" and possibly on the bridge deck between the two wheelhouses. A little less than current vessels, but not too bad. Not a huge fan of the double funnel thing going on. But maybe there's a reason. If they can avoid the 3 mile long shaft line on the Coastals and prevent the vibration problems they've been plagued with, I'll take the funny looking funnels. New boats! Should be fun to watch! I'm looking forward to seeing how they manage to run these things (full?) electric. In the render photo it looks like there is some sort of electrical charging station called "FerryCHARGER" amidships between the lifeboats.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,192
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Post by Neil on Feb 26, 2024 18:07:59 GMT -8
A bit off topic perhaps: When I read "new major vessels will carry up to 360 standard sized vehicles" I thought that's unfortunate as, for example, the Queen of Surrey's capacity is 362 so there's no improvement in capacity. However the current BC Ferries website (https://www.bcferries.com/on-the-ferry/our-fleet/queen-of-surrey/QSUR) lists the Queen of Surrey at "Car capacity 311" Pulling up the Wayback machine from ~2000 (https://web.archive.org/web/19991117122338/http://www.bcferries.com/fleet/profile-queen_of_surrey.html) it shows a capacity of 362. They no longer load the area adjacent to the internal intra-deck ramp system but surely that's not a 51 car capacity reduction...At some point did they redefine capacity based on today's larger vehicles? Or is this ferry shrinkflation? At some point in recent years, BC Ferries changed the AEQ size to 6 metres which drastically reduced listed capacity numbers. The Spirits, for example, used to have an aeq of 410 vehicles (w/o the platforms). Now, they are listed at 358 I think? Personally, I think the 6 metre standard is overestimating the average vehicle size, and I think the number of vehicles the boats actually carry are higher than what they list. Sure, there are some very large passenger vehicles out there, but there are also a lot of smaller vehicles, too. I don't know if you can still find it, but I clearly recall reading on one of their website pages several years ago that BC Ferries had recalculated capacities, and were now basing it on the size of a Ford F150. That helps with never overselling reservations, but it certainly underestimates the true passenger vehicle capacity on an average sailing.
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Post by Charles on Feb 26, 2024 20:25:05 GMT -8
I don’t understand why the made the superstructure so much smaller, it’s such an odd look. The masts and funnels also look awful. Dreadful design, I wonder how functional they will be?
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 26, 2024 20:41:29 GMT -8
I don’t understand why the made the superstructure so much smaller, it’s such an odd look. The masts and funnels also look awful. Dreadful design, I wonder how functional they will be? You are reading far too much into concept designs. Further, the same comments could have been made in the past when we saw concept images of what the Coastal class might look like, or maybe any of the ferries before that ...
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Post by Ollie on Feb 26, 2024 20:43:45 GMT -8
I don’t understand why the made the superstructure so much smaller, it’s such an odd look. The masts and funnels also look awful. Dreadful design, I wonder how functional they will be? The world seems to be completely incapable of designing a good looking ferry nowadays…
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