View source for Steel Electric-class ferry

{|{{Infobox ship begin |sclass=2}}
{{Infobox ship image
|Ship image=[[File:MV Illahee.jpg|300px|MV Illahee sailing in the San Juan Islands]]
|Ship caption=The {{MV|Illahee}} in the [[San Juans]]
}}
{{Infobox ship class overview
|Builders=
|Operators=*1927–1940 [[Southern Pacific Railroad#Ferry service|Southern Pacific-Golden Gate Ferries Ltd]]
*1940–1951 [[Puget Sound Navigation Company|Black Ball Line]]
*1951–2007 [[Washington State Ferries]]
|Class before=
|Class after=* {{sclass2|Super|ferry|4}}
* {{sclass2|Kwa-di Tabil|ferry|4}}
|Subclasses=
|Built range=*1927
*Refit: 1981–1987
|In service range=1927–2007
|Total ships building=
|Total ships planned=
|Total ships completed=6
|Total ships cancelled=
|Total ships active=
|Total ships laid up=
|Total ships lost=
|Total ships retired=6
|Total ships preserved=1
}}
{{Infobox ship characteristics
|Hide header=
|Header caption=
|Ship type=[[Ferry|auto/passenger ferry]]
|Ship tonnage=* {{GT|1368}}
* {{NetT|930}}
|Ship displacement=
|Ship length={{convert|256|ft|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship beam={{convert|73|ft|10|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship height=
|Ship draught=
|Ship draft={{convert|12|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship depth=
|Ship decks=
|Ship deck clearance={{convert|13|ft|9|in|m|1|abbr=on}}
|Ship ramps=
|Ship ice class=
|Ship sail plan=
|Ship power=Total {{convert|2896|hp|abbr=on}} from 2 x [[diesel-electric]] engines
|Ship propulsion=
|Ship speed={{convert|12|kn|lk=in}}
|Ship capacity=*616 passengers
*59–64 vehicles (max 24 commercial)
|Ship crew=
|Ship notes=
}}
|}
The '''Steel Electric-class ferries''' are a [[Ship class|class]] of [[Ferry|auto/passenger ferries]] that became part of the [[Washington State Ferries|Washington State Ferry System]] when [[Puget Sound Navigation Company]] was acquired in 1951. They were built in [[San Francisco Bay]] for service on Southern Pacific and [[Northwestern Pacific Railroad]] routes across the bay.

== History ==

The Steel Electric-class ferries were built in 1927 for service with the [[Southern Pacific Transportation Company]].  After a decade of service in San Francisco Bay, they became of little use due to the completion of the [[San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge]] in 1936 and the [[Golden Gate Bridge]] in 1937.

In 1940 they were sold to [[Puget Sound Navigation Company]], also known as the "Black Ball Line".  Two of the ferries, the ''Santa Rosa'' and ''Fresno'' were renamed ''[[#Enetai|Enetai]]'' and ''[[#Willapa|Willapa]]'' respectively. They were extensively rebuilt and had their engines replaced. Both were converted into single-ended boats which made them faster and more suitable for use on the [[Seattle-Bremerton Ferry|Seattle–Bremerton ferry route]]. These modifications meant that they were no longer technically part of the ''Steel Electric- class''. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.evergreenfleet.com/mvwillapa.html|title=MV WILLAPA: Forgotten Ferry of the Bremerton Run|publisher=evergreenfleet.com|accessdate=November 21, 2007}}</ref>
In 1951, the Steel Electrics, and almost all of Black Ball's fleet, was purchased by [[Washington State Ferries]] (WSF).  In 1953, WSF replaced the car deck windows with portholes on all the Steel Electrics. In 1967 the ''Enetai'' and ''Willapa'' were sold. They were replaced by two {{sclass2|Super|ferry|0}} ferries, the {{MV|Hyak}} and {{MV|Yakima}}, on the Bremerton route. In the 1980s the four remaining boats were given an overhaul and continued to serve until November 2007.

The six boats were fairly different. The ''Enetai'' and ''Willapa'' were both converted into single-ended boats and had their engines replaced. The ''Klickitat'' was rebuilt before the other ferries and had a shorter cabin and lacked an elevator. The remaining three all had elevators.

==Vessels and engines==
These vessels used hybrid diesel-electric engines.
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data
|-
! scope="col" | Washington name
! scope="col" | SP name
! scope="col" | Number
! scope="col" | Builder
|-
! scope="row" |[[MV Willapa|MV ''Willapa'']]
|''Fresno''
|226344
|[[Union Iron Works|Bethlehem Steel]], San Francisco
|-
! scope="row" |[[MV Klickitat|MV ''Klickitat'']]
|''Stockton''
|226567
|[[Union Iron Works|Bethlehem Steel]], San Francisco
|-
! scope="row" |[[MV Illahee|MV ''Illahee'']]
|''Lake Tahoe''
|226588
|[[Moore Dry Dock Company|Moore Dry Dock]], Oakland
|-
! scope="row" |[[MV Enetai|MV ''Enetai'']]
|''Santa Rosa''
|226599
|[[General Engineering & Dry Dock Company|General Engineering & Dry Dock]], Alameda
|-
! scope="row" |[[MV Nisqually|MV ''Nisqually'']]
|''Mendocino''
|226712
|[[Union Iron Works|Bethlehem Steel]], San Francisco
|-
! scope="row" |[[MV Quinault|MV ''Quinault'']]
|''Redwood Empire''
|226738
|[[Moore Dry Dock Company|Moore Dry Dock]], Oakland
|}

===''Willapa''===
{{Main|MV Willapa}}
The keel was laid on 8 November 1926 and launch was on 16 January 1927. The ferry was christened ''Fresno'' by Miss Shirley Harding, daughter of Southern Pacific's engineer of standards. The $525,000 ferry went into service between San Francisco and [[Oakland, California]] in April. It had an all-electric galley for the dining room and capacity for 100 automobiles. During a storm in January 1932, ''Fresno'' was disabled when heavy seas shorted the electrical power plant on an evening bay crossing from San Francisco to Oakland. The ferry drifted and nearly reached [[Alcatraz Island]] before tugs were able to tow it to Oakland. After 28 years in Puget Sound, Washington State declared ''Willapa'' surplus in 1968.<ref>Ford, Robert S. ''Red Trains in the East Bay'' (1977). [[Interurban Press]].  {{ISBN|0-916374-27-0}}. pp. 173, 198, 348.</ref> After years of languishing, she was turned into a storage warehouse under her old name, ''Fresno''. The owners, Parker Oceanic, never did much maintenance and was sold to NYMET Holdings, a salvage firm. The ferry was scrapped in Stockton, California in 2009.

===''Klickitat''===
{{Main|MV Klickitat}}
Keel was laid on 15 November 1926, launch was 5 March 1927. Service between San Francisco and Oakland began in May. The ferry was christened ''Stockton'' by Miss Louise Shoup, daughter of Southern Pacific's president, Paul Shoup.<ref name="ford">Ford, Robert S. ''Red Trains in the East Bay'' (1977). [[Interurban Press]]. {{ISBN|0-916374-27-0}}. p. 173.</ref>

===''Illahee''===
{{Main|MV Illahee}}
Launch was 23 March 1927, and service between San Francisco and Oakland began in June. The ferry was christened ''Lake Tahoe'' by Miss Helen Dyer, daughter of Southern Pacific's general manager. As ''Lake Tahoe'', the ferry was involved in a minor collision with the Southern Pacific ferry ''Oakland'' in dense fog on 14 August 1943. This ferry made its last Southern Pacific San Francisco Bay auto run on 16 May 1940. The tug ''Commissioner'' towed this ferry out of San Francisco Bay on 10 August 1940 bound for Puget Sound. The tow line broke off [[Trinidad, California]] and the ferry drifted for 36 hours until it could be towed to [[Humboldt Bay]] for emergency repairs and continuing northward.<ref>Ford, Robert S. ''Red Trains in the East Bay'' (1977). [[Interurban Press]]. {{ISBN|0-916374-27-0}}. pp. 173, 199, 217, 348.</ref>

===''Enetai''===
{{Main|Ferryboat Santa Rosa}}
This ferry was built as ''Santa Rosa'' and inaugurated the Northwestern Pacific auto ferry service between San Francisco and a new terminal at the foot of Mission Street in [[Sausalito]] on 1 July 1927. After 28 years in Puget Sound, Washington State declared ''Enetai'' surplus in 1968. <ref>Ford, Robert S. ''Red Trains in the East Bay'' (1977). [[Interurban Press]]. {{ISBN|0-916374-27-0}}. pp. 173, 348.</ref>  She was purchased for restoration and is now the headquarters of Hornblower Yachts in [[San Francisco]], [[California]] under her old name, ''Santa Rosa''.

===''Nisqually''===
{{Main|MV Nisqually}}
This ferry was built as ''Mendocino'' to inaugurate Northwestern Pacific service across the mouth of San Francisco Bay.<ref name="ford"/>

===''Quinault''===
{{Main|MV Quinault}}
This ferry was built as ''Redwood Empire'' to inaugurate Northwestern Pacific service across the mouth of San Francisco Bay. The tug ''Commissioner'' towed this ferry out of San Francisco Bay on 10 August 1940 bound for Puget Sound.<ref>Ford, Robert S. ''Red Trains in the East Bay'' (1977). [[Interurban Press]].{{ISBN|0-916374-27-0}}. pp. 173, 217.</ref>

==Withdrawal from service==

Corrosion on the Steel Electric hulls was discovered during 2007 inspections.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_old_ferries.html|title=Cracks and other damage left out of report on aging ferries|author=Scott North and Lucas Velush|newspaper=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]]|accessdate=2007-11-21}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>  On November 20, 2007, the Washington State Secretary of Transportation, Paula Hammond, announced that Washington State Ferries (WSF) would pull all of the Steel Electric-class vessels out of service on that same day. The decision closed the Port Townsend-Keystone route until WSF began to operate the high-speed passenger-only ferry ''[[MV Snohomish|Snohomish]]'' on November 23.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2007/11/20_steelelectricferriesoutofservice.htm |publisher=Washington State Ferries press release |title=Steel Electric Ferries Pulled from Service For Port Townsend to Keystone |date=2007-11-20 |access-date=2007-11-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081010120045/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/News/2007/11/20_steelelectricferriesoutofservice.htm |archive-date=October 10, 2008 }}</ref>

During November and December, the ''Snohomish'' was removed from this route and began a new interim service between Seattle and Port Townsend. This was done to attract more visitors from Seattle to Port Townsend during the holiday shopping season. During this time, WSF got a third party to operate a passenger only service on the Port Townsend-Keystone route, using a much smaller whale watch boat. The ''Snohomish'' was later returned on this route.

WSDOT spent $5 million on repairs of MV ''Quinault'' which passed Coast Guard inspection. Governor [[Christine Gregoire]] believed that the money would be spent much better building new ferries rather than repairing existing ferries. Secretary Hammond announced that the ferries were to be scrapped. {{citation needed|reason=Proof that Gov. Gregoire believed the money would be used "better"?|date=July 2016}} All four of the ferries were berthed at the system's main storage facility in Eagle Harbor, Bainbridge Island. Governor Gregoire announced plans for their replacement. <ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.seattlepi.com/local/6420ap_wa_ferry_budget.html|title=Gregoire announcing ferry plan Thursday|agency=ASSOCIATED PRESS|publisher=Seattle PI|accessdate=2007-12-13}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> The Washington State Legislature directed WSF to build new ferries that will replace the Steel Electrics.  On February 14, 2008, Governor Gregoire signed Senate Bill 6794<ref>{{cite web|url=http://apps.leg.wa.gov/documents/billdocs/2007-08/Pdf/Bills/Senate%20Bills/6794-S.pdf|title=Senate Bill 6794|publisher=State of Washington|date=January 31, 2008}}</ref> into law that authorized the construction of replacement ferries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/news-view.asp?pressRelease=790&newsType=1|title=Governor Gregoire signs legislation authorizing new ferry construction|publisher=State of Washington, Office of Governor Chris Gregoire|date=February 14, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080312004852/http://www.governor.wa.gov/news/news-view.asp?pressRelease=790&newsType=1|archive-date=2008-03-12}}</ref> Despite several proposals to save the Steel Electrics, all four were towed to [[Ensenada, Mexico]] in June 2009 to be scrapped.

While new ferries were being built, the state leased the ''Steilacoom II'', used by [[Steilacoom-Anderson Island Ferry|Pierce County's ferry system]] to cover the Port Townsend-Keystone route.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/229298.html|title=Here, try a loaner from us|author=John Gillie and Rob Tucker|publisher=Tacoma News Tribune|date=|access-date=2007-12-14|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120913160001/http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/229298.html|archive-date=2012-09-13}}</ref> This ferry was utilized in preference to other state-owned ferries due to the restrictions the Keystone harbor imposes on the size of vessels that serves the route.

The state had hoped that the first ferry would enter service in April 2009. However, in early April 2008 the state rejected a bid of $26 million to build a ferry based on the ''Steilacoom II'' design. Reasons cited for the rejection was the bid being $9 million over the state's estimate, the requirement that the shipbuilder complete the ferry within one year or face stiff daily fines and changes to the specifications that included improved safety, security and quality. Washington State Ferries decided not to re-bid the project at the time.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004324843_webtodd03m.html| title=State rejects Todd shipyards' ferry bid| author=Susan Gilmore| newspaper=[[The Seattle Times]]| date=April 3, 2008| access-date=2021-07-13| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080408020526/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004324843_webtodd03m.html| archive-date=2008-04-08}}</ref>

Washington State Ferries commissioned Todd Pacific Shipyards to build the replacement ferries. They became known as the {{sclass2|Kwa-di Tabil|ferry|1}}.  The design of these ferries is based on the {{MV|Island Home}}, a vessel that serves the Martha's Vineyard run. The new vessels hold 64 autos, 1,200 passengers and up to 200 bicycles. The first vessel, {{MV|Chetzemoka}}, was launched in January 2010 and delivered to Washington State Ferries in June 2010. Bids for additional hulls of this class were received by the state in October 2010. The other two ferries of the class, {{MV|Salish}} and {{MV|Kennewick}}, were delivered in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/your_wsf/our_fleet/index.cfm?fuseaction=classes Washington State Ferries class information]
*[http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/your_wsf/index.cfm?fuseaction=our_history Washington State Ferries history]
*[https://evergreenfleet.com/ Past vessels of the Washington State Ferry system at evergreenfleet.com]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20100501062551/http://www.stockmarketcats.com/f2/nymh-exciting-news-21994.html NYMET announces the acquisition of M/V Fresno and M/V San Leandro]

[[Category:Washington State Ferries vessel classes]]
[[Category:1927 establishments in California]]
[[Category:Ferries of California]]
[[Category:San Francisco Bay]]
[[Category:Hybrid electric vehicles]]
[[Category:Electric boats]]
[[Category:Puget Sound Navigation Company]]
[[Category:Ferry classes]]