The "Monohull" Passgener Only Ferries

Twenty years ago Washington State Ferries was on the increasing their passenger only ferry service.  They had been running the Express since 1986, and two boats were ordered to expand service on the Bremerton route and to start service between Vashon Island and downtown Seattle.   After making the 6000 mile trip from Halter Marine, the Skagit and Kalama were promptly tied up.  The state had run out of money and the governor refused to give WSF more to start up the service.  The Express, renamed Tyee to match the Chinook names of the other boats, was also tied up.      Their finest moment was just head of them though.  Idled for Washington State Ferries, the Skagit and Kalama were sent to San Francisco after the devastating October 1989 earthquake.  Once they had finished service there, they were sent back to home waters and started service in April of 1990.       It wasn’t long afterward that complains about the two ferries wakes started—and justifiably so. Designed to ferry oil rig workers to and from their jobs in the Gulf of Mexico, the boats were not meant to sail at full speed in  narrow inlets—like Rich Passage.  The boats had to be slowed, thus negating the 45 minute commute time to Bremerton.          In addition, the boats, along with the Tyee were plagued with mechanical problems.  Commuters complained that the service was so unreliable that it was basically useless.  As time progressed the bugs were worked out, though the two ferries were never popular with commuters.      Initially painted white, the ferries were repainted in the more traditional black/white/green color scheme of the rest of the fleet.  The Chinook and Snohomish sent the boats off the Bremerton run, but not long after passenger only service on the run was discontinued.  The state was getting out of the passenger only business, having found it too expensive to justify operations. The Skagit and Kalama still had use though, at least for a while…

Drawing courtesy of Johan Iversen.

The Skagit and Kalama were the about the only boats that looked good in the late 80's paint scheme for WSF which included the orange and blue stripe.  Photo couresty of Brandon Moser.

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Far from home waters, the Skagit and Kalama, idled on Puget Sound, were put into use at San Francisco after the '89 earthquake.  Photo couresty of Brandon Moser.