WettCoast
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 10, 2023 20:48:48 GMT -8
Hullo has canceled this evening sailing due gale force winds. Happy to see Hullo is improving their communication with the public when forced to cancel. See the top line in the attached screenshot.
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Post by Dane on Nov 11, 2023 8:37:17 GMT -8
They're also cancelled for the first half of today due to a mechanical issue. I suspect, merely via Vessel Finder, that only one of the two boats is working right now - one hasn't sailed for weeks. So presumably they've lost the second to a hopefully minor issue.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Nov 11, 2023 13:27:33 GMT -8
They're also cancelled for the first half of today due to a mechanical issue. I suspect, merely via Vessel Finder, that only one of the two boats is working right now - one hasn't sailed for weeks. So presumably they've lost the second to a hopefully minor issue. They could be more cancellation tomorrow.
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WettCoast
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 11, 2023 20:12:54 GMT -8
Rough sailing for Hullo this weekend.
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grk2
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Post by grk2 on Nov 12, 2023 22:16:42 GMT -8
For A successful retail outlet it is dependent on “location, location, location”. For a transportation operation for which there are alternatives, “reliabilty, reliability, reliability” should be paramount.
Hulo is failing badly. How long has the vessel with “the issue” been sitting around without repair work being carried out, weeks I am told. Hulo must get their act together, and soon.
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Nov 12, 2023 22:36:05 GMT -8
For A successful retail outlet it is dependent on “location, location, location”. For a transportation operation for which there are alternatives, “reliabilty, reliability, reliability” should be paramount. Hulo is failing badly. How long has the vessel with “the issue” been sitting around without repair work being carried out, weeks I am told. Hulo must get their act together, and soon. Most reports I've seen indicate that Hullo's passenger count is pretty healthy for most sailings. That being said, they operate fairly small vessels that are prone to getting bounced around on rough weather crossings. This is a new venture that I'm pretty intrigued by, and their chance of success isn't really going to be clear for a while yet. The fact that BC Ferries puts so many people off with frequent cancellations with their huge vessels might cause Hullo's clientele to cut them more slack than you're willing to. Time will tell. One thing that distinguishes this venture from previous efforts- they apparently have the financial resources to really give the market a proper test over time.
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WettCoast
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 12, 2023 22:52:06 GMT -8
For A successful retail outlet it is dependent on “location, location, location”. For a transportation operation for which there are alternatives, “reliabilty, reliability, reliability” should be paramount. Hulo is failing badly. How long has the vessel with “the issue” been sitting around without repair work being carried out, weeks I am told. Hulo must get their act together, and soon. I am just guessing that they needed to get dry dock time and that may not be as easy to accomplish as one might hope. I believe that getting dry dock time has been an issue for BC Ferries and has lengthened down times in some instances. Alternatively, they could not do the dry docking until certain parts/materials were available.
I will cut Hullo a little slack, but you are right, reliability is all important.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Nov 12, 2023 23:52:50 GMT -8
I believe Spuhéls is out pre-planned warranty work which requires dry docking.
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Nov 13, 2023 12:45:55 GMT -8
Spuhéls is at Ogden point in Victoria.
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Post by Dane on Nov 13, 2023 23:23:23 GMT -8
Nanaimo Daily News story, with more detail on the proposal, including the ship names and specs. ============================= And here's a link to a website with PHOTOS of the ships. - the headlines are a bit optimistic. This is not a done deal yet. CLICK HEREI have been wasting hours of my life trying to understand where the two Hullo ferries actually "came from", more from a chronological standpoint. And while I've made great progress with Stuqhi (laid down 2017, nominally completed November 2018) I'm stuck on Spuhels. Anyways, I got a bunch of lawsuit documents from a few years ago when I was in Vancouver several weeks ago, and had been working my way through them. What a back-and-forth history this company has had; it's effectively in its third iteration. I didn't fully appreciate until a few days ago that Hullo, via it's predecessor (the original company in the lineage) actually owned two 4212 class ferries as far back as 2013. Going back to the Flugel Horn days, there's some info in the long quoted passage above. The decade between then and now made a disconnect in my mind that these were actually the same thing. And now I'm curious where the two "Island class" 4212 boats went on to sail. I'm pretty close to just flying to the actual shipyard and asking ha!
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Post by yak on Nov 15, 2023 20:01:13 GMT -8
Rough sailing for Hullo this weekend.
Minor weather damage? Lots of logs out there the last week. If I were to speculate that's the first culprit I'd be looking at. I haven't followed Hullo closely but has anyone seen how these vessels handle beam seas (which they will see a lot of for 6 months of the year)? I spent a year relieving on a catamaran (the venerable North Island Princess) and they are special animals when it comes to swell... I have no horse in this race but the word "reliability" is being thrown around a lot on this forum and on the street - even among "normies". I love the basic idea of harbour to harbour transit but if customers are having plans scuttled routinely then the business model begins to fall apart. I'm reminded of off-season flights from Comox to Vancouver Harbour with Harbour Air when I was a Cadet at BCIT - I tried to take advantage of this on multiple occasions but only made it to my intended destination 1/4 of the time. I don't think they bother in the winter anymore. Anyway, if these guys are going to survive they'll need to crack that code, regardless of how deep their pockets are. In regards to the drydocking of the other vessel - I have some sympathy as a Master of several Damen built Island Class vessels over the last three years. Part of the deal from the shipyard is customer support when the ships enter service. The shipping company, whether it be BCF or Hullo will want to take full advantage of that while the ships are under warranty. October/November for an out of service period actually makes sense... until your single other vessel is sidelined.
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WettCoast
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Post by WettCoast on Nov 15, 2023 21:56:05 GMT -8
Rough sailing for Hullo this weekend.
Minor weather damage? The other thing that I speculate about here is that going forward Hullo might want to be extra conservative in operating their vessels in rough seas. The reliability thing comes up either way, cancel because of rough seas, or or cancel because the vessel has been damaged because you operated it when perhaps you should not have ...
Has anyone here been aboard one of their vessels for a rough crossing? How was the ride?
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Neil
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Post by Neil on Nov 15, 2023 22:22:34 GMT -8
Rough sailing for Hullo this weekend.
Minor weather damage? Lots of logs out there the last week. If I were to speculate that's the first culprit I'd be looking at. I haven't followed Hullo closely but has anyone seen how these vessels handle beam seas (which they will see a lot of for 6 months of the year)? I spent a year relieving on a catamaran (the venerable North Island Princess) and they are special animals when it comes to swell... I have no horse in this race but the word "reliability" is being thrown around a lot on this forum and on the street - even among "normies". I love the basic idea of harbour to harbour transit but if customers are having plans scuttled routinely then the business model begins to fall apart. I'm reminded of off-season flights from Comox to Vancouver Harbour with Harbour Air when I was a Cadet at BCIT - I tried to take advantage of this on multiple occasions but only made it to my intended destination 1/4 of the time. I don't think they bother in the winter anymore. Anyway, if these guys are going to survive they'll need to crack that code, regardless of how deep their pockets are. In regards to the drydocking of the other vessel - I have some sympathy as a Master of several Damen built Island Class vessels over the last three years. Part of the deal from the shipyard is customer support when the ships enter service. The shipping company, whether it be BCF or Hullo will want to take full advantage of that while the ships are under warranty. October/November for an out of service period actually makes sense... until your single other vessel is sidelined. I've been really cynical about cross-strait passenger services, but I've been more willing to sit back and cut this latest venture some slack. But... your perspective carries some weight, and we'll see if their model, and the reliability of their schedule, earns Hullo a long term role in getting people from Nanaimo to the mainland and back.
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Post by Ollie on Nov 15, 2023 23:36:13 GMT -8
I think it would work well if Hullo were to do a route from Vancouver to Victoria with stops at some of the Southern Gulf Islands, since BC Ferries doesn't have any routes like that, and if there is rough weather they could just stop halfway.
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Post by Ollie on Nov 20, 2023 14:36:22 GMT -8
Spuhel looks to have left the Esquimalt Drydock and is going back to Nanaimo
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Post by trevorstransitphotos on Dec 10, 2023 22:39:03 GMT -8
Hullo is doing a “12 days of Hullodays” giveaway from the 12th-23rd. If you book, your name is entered into a pool and you have a chance to win some pretty cool stuff. More info: hullo.com/12-days-of-hullodays/
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WettCoast
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Post by WettCoast on Dec 14, 2023 18:50:32 GMT -8
My wife, Elizabeth, took the 11 AM Hullo sailing (Spuhéls) from Nanaimo to Vancouver today. She said it was around 95% full. Not bad for a mid day, mid week sailing I think. I have to ask her if she thinks the upper level was pretty full too. That is her sailing in the photo below ...
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Post by Blue Bus Fan on Dec 21, 2023 13:04:31 GMT -8
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Post by Ferryman on Dec 21, 2023 13:45:18 GMT -8
Looks like Hullo is running a two-ship service for the holidays
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WettCoast
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Post by WettCoast on Dec 26, 2023 18:06:11 GMT -8
Hullo ferry Spuhéls speeds out of Vancouver Harbour en route to Nanaimo 26 December 2023
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grk2
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Post by grk2 on Jan 23, 2024 19:06:58 GMT -8
One of the vessels heading to Point Hope Shipyards on Wednesday Jan 24.
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grk2
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Post by grk2 on Jan 28, 2024 18:32:52 GMT -8
Word is that Point Hope is doing warranty work for the builder/seller. The vessel is now Up out of the water. One of the water jets seems to be the focus so far. That might explain why the trip down to Victoria was at only 23 knots and both Porlier and Active pass missed in favour of the long way around East Point. Also unusual was that a Pilot was aboard.
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Post by princessofvanfan on Jan 29, 2024 12:13:21 GMT -8
We tried Hullo on Saturday in business class and really liked it. On time, fast, and comfortable, with pleasant onboard service. Busy, too, which is a good sign. Highly recommend.
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grk2
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Post by grk2 on Feb 6, 2024 12:23:47 GMT -8
The “cat” that was at Point Hope was lowered into the sea on Monday, and as of 12:00 Tuesday she just rounded East Pt at 34 knots heading to Nanaimo.
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Post by paulvanb on Feb 7, 2024 8:47:03 GMT -8
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