M.V. YAKIMA Official Number: 5118223   Call Sign:WY2988  Length: 382' 2'' Beam: 73' 2''     Draft: 18' 6"  Auto Deck Clearance: 16' Horsepower: 8,000   Speed in Knots: 20 Max Passengers: 1782 Max Vehicles: 144 City Built: San Diego Year Built/Re-built: 1967/2000 Name Translation:   From the Yakama language, it has many meanings: "people of the narrow river." A city, county and river are also named after the English spelling of the tribe. This photo of the Yakima, taken at Colman Dock after an unexpected breakdown in 2008.  Since this photo was taken, the ferry has been completely repaintings.  (And if you'd like to send me a fresh photo of the Yakima showing her new paint, please do so!) .   Photo courtesy of Matt Masuoka.
The Yakima spent her first years at Bremerton before being moved up to the Kingston-Edmonds route.  She was paired on the route  for number of years with the Issaquah Class ferry Chelan. As more and more commuters from the north end of Kitsap County took to the Kingston-Edmonds route and bus and train  connections in Edmonds to take them down to Seattle, the Yakima was shifted northward after being replaced by the Walla Walla..      For about the last decade she has called the San Juan Islands home, where her freight capacity and low wake have made her, like the other Super Class ferries, (except the squatty and much heavier Elwha) ideal for working the narrow passages between the islands.      When sent in for her mid-life upgrade in 1999, the Yakima emerged with some flourishes not in the others of her class--different designs in her tile, including an attractive compass rose in the galley.  The use of darker materials throughout made the ferry's new interior more striking than that of her sister Kaleetan.      Unfortunately when she was painted it seems that it didn't quite adhere as it should have.  Almost at once it began to bubble and peel, and before long the interior of the Yakima is a mess.  Large portions of paint were peeling ling in the shelter decks, car deck and other areas of the vessel, and it wasn't long before the outside began to look every bit as bad.  It was nearly a contest to see which could look worse--the Hyak or the Yakima.      For the 2010-2011 maintenance season the Yakima finally got some yard time and was fully painted.  Today she looks as she should--sparkling white and clean as she was the day she went into service...or nearly so, anyway.
The Yakima's refurbished interior.  The darker blues in both the upholstery and floor tiles help set her apart from her nearly identical sister Kaleetan.   At right, lower deck of the passenger cabin.  Mouse over for a photo taken close to the same area in the early 1990's before her MLU.    Photos courtesy of Brandon Moser.
At left,  tile details.  In the galley, a compass rose, and  at right, just outside  the galley, this geometric pattern. Photos courtesy of Brandon Moser.
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