PORT TOWNSEND — One ferry captain says the Salish seems to be handling better on its run between Coupeville and Port Townsend since 72 tons of ballast were added to level the vessel.
The captain, Chris Beres, says the ferry turns and stops better and doesn’t seem to vibrate as much.
Tons of steel shot were added in April in a container on top of a fuel tank at a cost of $109,000
to level out the way the ferry lists to one side when empty.
The state plans to add similar ballast this fall to get rid of the lean on the fleet’s other 64-vehicle Kwa-di Tabil class ferries, the Kennewick and the Chetzemoka.
State ferry officials say the vessels list when they are not carrying vehicles, but it isn’t noticeable when they are loaded.
Customers, crew members and state lawmakers had complained about the list on the vessels since the first of the boats, the Chetzemoka, went into service in 2010.
The three ferries lean to one side primarily because the vessels’ stairwells are located on one side of the ship and not in the center as is the case with most state ferries. It was a design tradeoff, to maximize deck space.
Ferry riders unofficially dubbed the Chetzemoka the “I-Lean.”
Last year David Moseley, assistant secretary of transportation in charge of Washington State Ferries, and former state transportation secretary Paula Hammond told state Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton, they had no plans to get rid of it.
At the time, they described it as “an intended design feature, which is largely corrected when the vessel is fully loaded with vehicles and fuel and does not impact the serviceability of vessels.”
Earlier this year they relented, bowing to pressures of politicians, comments of riders that the boats looked unappealing and worries of crew that the list affected the ferries’ operation.
READ MORE: “Added ballast prevents Keystone ferry from leaning”: http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20130812/NEWS01/708129961
