Auto Deck Clearance: 13' 3'' Horsepower: 2,896 Draft: 12' 9'' Speed in Knots: 12 Max Passengers: 616 Propulsion: Diesel-Electric Max Vehicles: 59
Name Translation: Derived from French traders who called the South Puget Sound natives nez quarr, meaning "square nose," and altered by the native's inability to pronounce the letter "R." A large Mt. Rainier glacier and resultant river are also named after the tribe.
Drawing courtesy of Johan Iversen.
Later absorbed by Southern Pacific, the ferries joined the Southern Pacific-Golden Gate ferry fleet until 1938 when the bridges shut down nearly all auto ferry operation on San Francisco Bay.
Sold to Captain Alexander Peabody's Puget Sound Navigation Company (Black Ball Line) in 1940, the vessels were all towed north to start their careers on Puget Sound.
Mendocino renamed Nisqually, started work on the Edmonds-Kingston-Port Ludlow route. She stayed on this run from about 1941 until the Port Ludlow route was dropped in 1950 with the opening of the Lofall-Southpoint run.
The State of Washington took over ferry operations in 1951, sending the Nisqually up to the San Juan Islands and to the Vashon Island routes until 1957 when she went back to the Edmonds-Kingston run.
Considered to be the "backbone of the fleet" the ferries were modernized beginning in the late 1950's. All the boats had their decks sponsoned out eight feet. The passenger cabins were modernized though still made out of wood.
In 1977 the ferry system painted a gold band on the smokestack of each Steel Electric, symbolizing 50 years of service. It was at this time that the system was modernizing the fleet as well. Looking at the Steel Electrics, an assesment was done and found that the boats could be modernized again, adding another 20 years to their service life.
After many delays, the Nisqually was rebuilt in 1987. Over the next decade she would work the Port Towsend-Keystone run and up in the San Juan Islands. By the end of the 1990's though, it was becoming clear that the entire class as a whole was winding down their careers. The Nisqually left the San Juans in 1999 and was reduced to stand-by service, making her last run in 2003 and then being put officially on the retired list.
In 2007 she was reactivated, but cracks found in her sister ferry's hull caused the Coast Guard and WSF to take a closer look at the class as a whole. When it was determined that all the concrete ballast poured into the hull would have to be chiseled out and the stern tubes replace, the Nisqually was quietly withdrawn. While WSF never officially said the ferry was not going to return to service, no yard time for the hull inspections was ever booked. After the entire class was deemed too expensive to repair on 13 December 2007, the status of the Nisqually as "retired" was officially assured.
In September of 2008 all four Steel Electrics were sold to Environmental Recycling Systems. The boats were to be towed to Mexico, but the deal fell through when the price of scrap metal dropped.
After several proposals, a deal was finally reached in June 2009 with Eco Planet Recycling, Inc. of Chula Vista, California. All four ferries were sold for $200,000.00.
The Nisqually and Quinault were the first to be towed out for scrapping, leaving Eagle Harbor on 7 Augsut 2009 and arriving in Mexico on 16 August for scrapping, ending their long and colorful careers. Captain Peabody would have been amazed at how long his 300,001.00 purchase lasted.
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