PAM DZAMA | Fed Up With the State's Ferry Follies - Kitsap Sun

For those dependent on the Washington State Ferries system as a critical transit link to work or an appointment east of Kitsap County, frustration and dissatisfaction with the system is never far away.

It didn’t fail to disappoint recently when the Wenatchee, coming from Bainbridge Island, failed to slam on the brakes in time to avoid colliding with the Coleman Dock in Seattle. That incident set up the standard chain of events which moved the 144-car Hyak, usually operating in Bremerton, to Kingston. And the 208-car Puyallup, normally in use in Kingston, to Bainbridge Island.

Kingston has the most vehicle traffic in the Puget Sound area, so I don’t understand why the larger Puyallup was sent to Bainbridge and replaced with the smaller Hyak. Maybe there’s just something really special about Bainbridge Island.

Of course Bremerton took the brunt of the travel mess. WSF tried to alleviate the transit dilemma by adding two private passenger-only ferries to augment the one remaining car ferry, but for those dependent on vehicles, it hardly solved the problem. Maybe it’s a conspiracy spawned by the green lobby who want everyone out of their cars and into alternative modes of transportation.

A recent letter to the editor from a rider on the Bremerton ferry quoted a WSF spokeswoman as indicating Bremerton commuters were “getting accustomed to being resilient in their travel patterns.” He correctly labeled that comment as propaganda and went on to say riders weren’t “resilient” but instead were hostages. He’s right — as is another writer who referred to the Bremerton run as the “redheaded stepchild” of the ferry system.

Bremerton riders suffer through this poor service. But how long will their employers continue to tolerate tardiness before they find someone who’s not a prisoner to the ferry system?

I’m glad WSF was able to return all vessels to their respective runs before the long Labor Day weekend. Under normal circumstances, the ferry waits are lengthy for this holiday and it would have been even worse in Kingston if the Puyallup hadn’t been returned.

At the same time the ferry system was moving boats around Puget Sound like chess pieces on a board, the state Transportation Commission held a meeting in Silverdale to obtain input about implementing the Legislature’s recommended 2.5 percent fare increase in October — in addition to a 10 percent super surcharge next summer. There was near-unanimous opposition to the surcharge and thankfully the Commission didn’t adopt it.

Understandably, those of us dependent on the ferry system are fed up with an unelected commission dreaming up funding schemes which invariably sock it to the riders. From 2000 through 2007 fares increased 70 percent. This latest super-surcharge tactic was the commission’s interpretation of “pricing strategies” planning authorized by the Legislature in 2007 when ferry fares were frozen.

The idea of creating various “pricing strategies” was supposed to alter riders’ behavior and ultimately reduce capital costs. Did it occur to anyone that residents have limited options if they want to leave the peninsula?

Another brilliant idea floated by the WSF is a reservation system for ferries. A pilot project is to be developed this fall. The Kingston/Edmonds route was chosen to be the guinea pig for this proposal. The reservations are supposed to lessen congestion, which is always a problem in Kingston. While there are normally backups in Edmonds, the traffic doesn’t go through the middle of town as it does in Kingston.

Of course, this whole concept runs afoul of the mandate in our Washington Constitution which specifically stipulates that the ferries are part of the highway system and should be treated as such. Reservations aren’t needed to access any bridge, road or highway in the state.

A reservation system is currently in place on the Port Townsend route. But comparing its 370,000 cars per year to Kingston’s 2,278,000 is like comparing apples to oranges.

There are a myriad of unanswered questions regarding the reservations. Will they be flexible enough to accommodate the needs of riders, as opposed to the convenience of the system? How much will it cost, and wouldn’t it be more cost-effective to add capacity to the system? What happened to the efficiency that was supposed to be generated by the “Wave-2-Go” cards that are still being hand-swiped by ticket-takers in booths? Exactly how much did that technological “advance” cost the system and the public?

While there has been mismanagement of the ferry system over the years, the ultimate responsibility for adequately funding it falls on the Legislature. Until Olympia acts, I’m afraid we’ll be held hostage to ever-escalating fares and the nautical equivalent of Super Glue, WD-40 and duct tape while the system finds ways to solve its various problems.

Pam Dzama can be reached at pdzama@gmail.com.


Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/sep/16/pam-dzama-fed-up-with-the-states-ferry-follies/#ixzz0ROkhhVSi

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Catamaran replaces Vashon-Seattle foot ferry - Vashon Beachcomber

By AMELIA HEAGERTY
Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber Reporter
Sep 16 2009, 7:00 AM
Commuters who ride the Vashon-downtown Seattle foot ferry will board a catamaran on Sept. 28, a new vessel leased by King County to operate the route from now on.

The 21-year-old catamaran, the Melissa Ann, is coming to the Puget Sound from Hawaii, where it operated as a commuter ferry for Honoluluans for a year.

The new vessel arrives the same day that the King County Ferry District takes over operations of the ferry route. Beginning Monday, Sept. 28, the 77-foot catamaran, emblazoned with the King County Water Taxi logo, will shuttle riders between Vashon and Pier 50 in downtown Seattle in a 22-minute crossing.

The route, which operates only on weekdays, will also have an extra morning and afternoon sailing, with schedules slightly altered to accommodate the extra crossings.

“Vashon riders have been asking for additional sailings, and we feel great about being able to add one,” said Kris Faucett, a spokesperson for the newly formed county ferry district, which operates one other route, the water taxi between West Seattle and Pier 55 downtown.

“We hope it’ll provide people with more opportunities to take the boat,” she added.

The King County Ferry District is leasing the Melissa Ann from Four Seasons Marine Services based in Seward, Alaska, at a cost of $35,000 per month, said Susan Whitmore, communications specialist for King County’s marine division.

The new vessel carries 150 passengers and 18 bicycles and can travel at speeds up to 32 miles per hour. The crossing, which currently takes 30 minutes, will be eight minutes shorter aboard the Melissa Ann.

The Melissa Ann was built in 1988 as a passenger vessel for the U.S. Army, but has since spent 2006-2007 as the Bremerton-Seattle passenger ferry, and then served as a commuter ferry in Honolulu, Whitmore said.

After retirement from the Vashon-Seattle route, the two Washington State Ferries passenger-only vessels that served the run for years — the Skagit and the Kalama — will likely be sold, said Marta Coursey, communications director for the ferry system.

Besides being faster than the Skagit and Kalama, the Melissa Ann is also quieter, rides more smoothly and has more seating options, Faucett said. Riders can sit in theater-style seats or at bench seats facing tables, and there is also some outdoor seating on the boat’s upper deck. The Melissa Ann also has restrooms and a heating and air conditioning system.

“There’s a little bit for everybody,” Faucett said.

Fares for the passenger-only route will change Sept. 28 also, from $8.70 for a round trip, charged as riders leave Seattle, to $4.50 each way (or $3.75 if riders pay with a transit pass). There will be no surcharge for bicycles.

New fare box machines will be installed at the Vashon and Pier 50 docks, Whitmore said. The machines will not give change. Beginning Oct. 1, Washington State Ferries fares will no longer be accepted.

Beginning Sept. 28, the Melissa Ann will sail from Vashon at 6:10 a.m., 7:10 a.m. and 8:15 a.m. in the morning, and 4:58 p.m. and 5:58 p.m. in the evening. The catamaran will depart from Pier 50 downtown at 5:38 a.m., 6:38 a.m. and 7:40 a.m. mornings and will leave at 4:30 p.m., 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. in the evenings.

King County Metro bus schedules on both sides will be coordinated with the sailing schedules.

Open house

The Melissa Ann will visit Vashon for an open house from 2 to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, at the north-end ferry terminal.

Vashon-Maury Island Beachcomber Reporter Amelia Heagerty can be reached at aheagerty@vashonbeachcomber.com or 206-463-9195.

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Port Townsend's future ferry on schedule, builder says - Peninsuladailynews.com

By Jeff Chew
Peninsula Daily News

Construction of the Port Townsend-Keystone route's $65.5 million ferry of the future is at full throttle, with the vessel's pilot house structures nearing completion on Whidbey Island and hull keel units well under way, representatives of Todd Pacific Shipyard's project team said Tuesday.

While Nichols Brothers Boat Builders work on the pilot houses and the superstructure that will include the passenger cabin above the deck, Nichols is doing the work at the company's shipyard in Freeland on Whidbey Island.

At the same time, Todd workers in their building berth at Harbor Island in Seattle are fabricating the ferry's steel hull with bottom units and the box keel units. About 80 feet of keel has been laid.

Everett Shipyard is building the vessel's mezzanine section and curtain plates, the sides of the vessel.

Jesse Engineering in Tacoma is building bow parts.

Combined, the shipbuilding companies are racing to meet the June 30, 2010, deadline set by Washington State Ferries and the state Department of Transportation, which hope to have the completed vessel on the water for sea trials by August.

On schedule

"It's an exceptionally challenging schedule, but as of right now, Todd and all of our subcontractors are on schedule," said John Lockwood, Todd's marketing and business development director.

"Around January, the hull will be taken out of our building berth, and the superstructure grand block will be placed onto the ship and welded in place."

Todd has also begun work on the vessel's piping system, he said.

"It really is exciting to see the ship taking shape here in the building hall," he said.

Such "modularized construction" is the way ship construction is done today, according to Lockwood.

"Right now, we're just building the first ship of a class, and we hope to build more in the future. That just remains to be seen."

He said that "the lead ship of a class is always the toughest one" because it sets a model for future vessels of its kind and requires more refinement.

The Port Townsend-Keystone route was left with one boat, the 50-car Steilacoom II leased from Pierce County after state Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond in November 2007 retired the 80-year-old Steel Electric ferries, saying their pitted and corroded hulls made then unsafe.

Work on the new ferry began in May after it was designed to ply the waters of Admiralty Inlet.

The ship builders were allotted about 12 months to complete the job under Gov. Chris Gregoire's decision to build the new ferry on a fast track.

Greg Farrar, Nichols Brothers project manager, said the company's "grand modules," those sections of the vessel's upper superstructure, will be completed for towing to Todd Shipyard in mid- to late-January.

"It will leave in three great big, huge pieces and they'll hire cranes and set them in place [on the hull] and fit them and weld them into place," Farrar said.

Farrar said the aluminum pilot house structures, about 16 feet deep and 62 feet long and about 15 feet tall, are about a week away from being completed.

"We are getting ready to mock up the console for instrumentation" inside the pilot houses, with ferry system officials overseeing it, he said.

"It's kind of like what is on the ferry between Clinton and Mukilteo, except it stretches across the entire superstructure," Farrar said.

The mast structures will be installed atop the pilot houses, adding up to another 22 feet, he said.

About 50 skilled workers have helped construct Nichols portion of the project, he said.

The deck panels are being built at Everett Shipyard, and the superstructure will be erected above those panels. Farrar said each of three deck panels is 38 to 40 feet long and 62 feet wide.

Cost

Todd's lone bid on the 64-car vessel proposal in December 2008 came in $40 million over budget to build two Island Home-style ferries for the Port Townsend-Keystone route.

Todd proposed bid is $124,450,559 for two vessels and $65,487,328 for one, with Todd Chief Executive Officer Steve Welch explaining that the tight deadline and rising expense of materials drove the price up.

The state settled for one ferry to expedite construction.

The state originally budgeted $84.5 million for the two-ferry project, but this legislative session ended with money budgeted for two 64-car ferries earmarked for the Port Townsend-Keystone run.

Port Townsend will still get a second ferry and a third 64-car ferry is planned for use elsewhere in the system, state officials have said.

The Steilacoom II -- which Farrar said Nichols Brothers built, but not with Admiralty Inlet's harsh sea conditions in mind -- is known to be left at the dock by high winds and heavy seas across Admiralty Inlet. That ferry was built for the much calmer waters of Steilacoom and Anderson and Ketron islands in Pierce County.

________

Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com

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Ferries, Union Make Deal on 'Touring Watches' - KitsapSun

By Ed Friedrich
Friday, September 4, 2009

Washington State Ferries management and labor unions reached an agreement late Thursday that will allow less cumbersome schedules for deck crews while following the Coast Guard’s new safety rules.

Effective Sept. 30, the Coast Guard will prevent ferry deck crews from working more than 12 hours in a 24-hour period. That will put an end to touring watches, which allow deck hands to work two shifts of up to 16 total hours if they take at least a six-hour break in between — like eight hours on, eight off, eight on. Ferries that tie up at Friday Harbor are the only exceptions.

Touring watches enabled deck hands to work two shifts back-to-back and not have to travel home and back between each one. The Coast Guard feared that crews weren’t getting enough rest, but banning touring shifts could be even worse if they’re driving long distances.

The agreement was reached after a last-gasp marathon negotiating effort Thursday.

Thes agreement allows WSF to use 10-hour watches, add service to the Point Defiance-Tahlequah route and make more stops in the San Juan Islands.

“I want to thank our union partners for working so diligently with us to achieve this agreement,” said Washington State Ferries director David Moseley. “We are going to do everything we can to implement the improved crewing schedules at the beginning of the fall schedule (Sept. 27). Logistically that will be very difficult, but both WSF and the unions agreed that we are going to do everything in our joint powers to achieve that goal.”


Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/sep/04/ferries-union-make-deal-on-touring-watches/#ixzz0QCrl3VVa

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Found on youtube

UPDATE | Nichols will get stimulus money - South Whidbey Record

By ROY JACOBSON

South Whidbey Record Reporter

Aug 22 2009, 8:00 AM

Nichols Brothers Boat Builders will get nearly a million dollars in federal stimulus funds as one of 10 small shipyards in the state to receive grants.

The Freeland firm will get $841,077 from the Maritime Administration to use for improvements at the yard, Len York, Nichols Brothers chief executive, said Thursday.

The money, from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is part of nearly $7.4 million awarded to shipyards in the state, and $98 million awarded to 70 shipyards nationally by the federal Maritime Administration.

York said the money would be used to upgrade equipment and to build portable coverings under which anticipated future projects can be built.

He said the stimulus money would not mean new jobs immediately, except for local subcontracting work, but that it would “support the upcoming projects that will lead to new hiring.”

“We’re going to be hiring soon,” York said. He said the number of new jobs hasn’t been determined, but “with the new business we’ll be bringing in, we’ll be growing our job base fairly substantially in the next 90 days.”

York said workers would be brought back gradually as the workload increases.

Last fall, 30 Nichols employees were laid off when the company lost a contract to build a new ferry for a California buyer.

Archie Nichols, shipyard superintendent, said that another 20 or so were temporarily laid off last month due to a slack in the workload, but that some of those layoffs were voluntary.

Nichols said the remaining employees were told this past week that there would be no further layoffs. The company currently employs about 130.

“We’re planning to bring all those people back who want to come back as soon as we get a couple more weeks down the road,” Nichols said. “We’re going to be full-tilt by Oct. 1,” he predicted.

York said Nichols Brothers continues to work its way through other projects, and that word “is about a week away” on financing for a barge contract that would be worth $25 million.

The firm hopes to get backing from the Import-Export Bank for the five barges, each of which would cost $5 million. The barges would be used in a Panama Canal dredging project.

The company also recently delivered the fifth in a series of $10-million large tugboats, and the San Francisco buyer has said it may order two additional tugs.

Nichols Brothers also recently delivered the second of four twin-hulled passenger ferries being built for the San Francisco Bay Area’s Water Emergency Transit Authority.

Two more of the $8.8 million, 116-foot catamarans are on order, and are expected to be delivered late next year. A deal for two additional catamarans is being discussed.

Meanwhile, the firm is preparing a joint bid with Todd Pacific Shipyard on two more 64-car ferries for the state of Washington, with an option for a third.

The contract is expected to be awarded in October, with construction to begin within six weeks.

Nichols Brothers and Todd are already building a similar ferry under a $65 million contract awarded this past December for delivery next summer. The new vessel will be assigned to the Keystone-Port Townsend route.

Todd also received more than $1.9 million in Maritime stimulus money, the biggest award in the state.

The stimulus packages were announced by Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, chairwoman of the Transportation and Housing Appropriations Subcommittee overseeing funding for the Department of Transportation and the Maritime Administration.

She included $100 million in the Recovery Act to improve small shipyards and create jobs. The bill was signed into law by President Obama on Feb. 17.

The grants will be distributed through the Maritime Administration’s Supplemental Grants for Assistance to Small Shipyards program.

“Our small shipyards are a critical piece of our domestic maritime industry, and of Washington state’s economy,” Murray said.

Washington received the most stimulus grants of any state. Other shipyards that will get funds are Kvichak Marine Industries, Inc. in Seattle, $1.1 million; Foss Marine Company’s Seattle yard, $621,761; Lake Union Drydock Company in Seattle, $184,217; and SAFE Boats International in Port Orchard, $1 million.

South Whidbey Record Reporter Roy Jacobson can be reached at rjacobson@southwhidbeyrecord.com or 360-221-5300.

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Remember When - Kitsap Sun

In 1934 (75 Years Ago)

Federal and local officials will meet this week to discuss new work relief programs for the fall and winter months.

Four counties, including Kitsap, make up District 2 of the Washington Emergency Relief Administration. The others are Clallam, Jefferson and King.

With current relief activities mostly focused on food vouchers, officials at the meeting are expected to draw up plan to provide full employment through projects similar to the old Civil Works Administration.

Enriched by contracts to build two new destroyers, Puget Sound Navy Yard officials forecast an era of continued prosperity.

They also said the civilian work force is larger than it has been since the World War period. Plans for the new destroyers likely won’t reach the yard for weeks, but hiring efforts are beginning now.

In 1959 (50 Years Ago)

With remodeling under way, Bremerton City Hall is operating today out of various interim locations.

As jackhammers start refurbishing of the current City Hall on Fourth Street downtown, most city offices have set up shop at the old Citizens Bank building at Second and Washington. The only mishap during the move occurred when a piece of concrete fell and damaged police telephone wires, causing a brief phone outage.

Navy ships undergoing repairs at private Pacific Northwest shipyards idled by the machinists strike may be brought to PSNS for completion of work, a Navy spokesman said today.

Such a shift would be dependent on the duration of the strike and how urgently the ships are needed, he said.

In 1984 (25 Years Ago)

It was a meeting that state ferry officials will not soon forget.

They came to Kingston on Wednesday prepared to unveil a precariously balanced budget proposal for 1985 to 1987 and to warn that the ferry system is headed for a sea of red ink.

But a frustrated crowd of more than 40 were upset about other issues besides finances. They complained about such things as schedule changes and the lack of a walkway for foot passengers at the Edmonds foot terminal.

In 1999 (10 Years Ago)

The state Supreme Court is being asked to delay a court order that would slow the fast-ferry Chinook and increase commuting time on the Seattle-Bremerton run.

If the state ferry system’s last-ditch court effort is unsuccessful, the Chinook will be slowed Tuesday to 12 knots in Rich Passage and what had been a 35-minute crossing will take about 50 minutes.

The court order stems from a lawsuit filed by Rich Passage landowners arguing the Chinook’s wake damages their property.

Compiled from Daily News Searchlight and Kitsap Sun archives by Ann Horn


Read more: http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2009/aug/23/remember-when/#ixzz0P7tEMqHd

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