Two Shipyards Compete for Kingston Ferry Contract - Kitsap Sun

By Ed Friedrich
Tuesday, September 29, 2009

KINGSTON — Two Puget Sound shipyards are vying to build a passenger-only ferry for the Port of Kingston.

Representatives from All American Marine of Bellingham and Kvichak Marine Industries of Seattle attended a mandatory pre-proposal conference Tuesday morning at the port’s office.

The port requested bids on Sept. 4 for an aluminum catamaran capable of carrying 150 people between Kingston and downtown Seattle. The trip, at 25 knots, would take about 35 minutes. Bids are due on Oct. 16. Port commissioners expect to issue a notice to proceed on about Dec. 2 and have the boat on the water within a year.

Art Parker from Kvichak, and All American’s Joe Hudspeth, Gene Quanz and Del McAlpine clarified proposal expectations with Marty Robbins, who is managing the ferry project for the port. During the two-hour meeting, they discussed such things as crewing, bonding, acceptance trials, progress payments, freeboard at the docks and fueling.

“As pre-proposal conferences go, this is the best one I’ve ever done,” Robbins said. “No one ever wants to talk. Everyone wants to keep their cards close to their vests.”

The port owns a loading dock in Kingston, has an agreement with the state to use a terminal in Seattle, received a $3 million grant from the Federal Transportation Administration to buy a boat, and got $150,000 from the state Legislature this year to help with first-year operating costs. A new boat is expected to cost at least $2 million.

All American Marine has built more than 100 aluminum boats since it was founded in 1987. Its early mainstay was the “bow-picker” used in Alaska commercial fisheries. Ten years ago it moved into the high-tech catamaran business in partnership with New Zealand naval architect Nic deWaal. All American is building Kitsap Transit a 118-passenger, ultra low-wake catamaran for $5.3 million.

Kvichak has built aluminum boats since 1981 for law enforcement, firefighting, passenger ferries and commercial use. It recently teamed with Nichols Brothers Boat Builders to deliver two high-speed catamarans to the Water Emergency Transportation Authority in San Francisco. They cruise at 25 knots, seat 149 passengers inside and 49 outside, and carry 35 bikes.

“We’ve got two good shipyards here to bid on it, and the port is going to get a good boat at the end of the day,” Robbins said.

Robbins lives in Silverdale but spends every other week in Vallejo, Calif., where he is general manager of the city’s Baylink ferry system. It runs four 34-knot, 300-passenger ferries between Vallejo and San Francisco. Three were built by Dakota Creek Industries in Anacortes.

If that isn’t enough, Robbins is the project manager for overhauling and repowering Washington State Ferries’ former fast ferries, the Chinook and Snohomish, for Golden Gate Ferries.

Golden Gate bought them from Washington state for a total of $4 million. The Snohomish’s name was changed to the Napa. It took over temporarily for the Del Norte on the Larkspur-San Francisco route in June when the Del Norte went in for new engines.

The Chinook remains at Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island. Golden Gate Ferries is taking bids on refurbishing it and the former Snohomish, including expanding them from 350 to 450 passengers, Robbins said. The Chinook will be towed to a Washington or California shipyard. After that, the Snohomish will be worked on at the same place.

All three boats were built by Dakota Creek Industries


Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/sep/29/two-shipyards-compete-kingston-ferry-contract/#ixzz0Sbko9oY2

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