While riding the ferry, many of us don't think past the ticket price as far as what goes on to keep the ferry boats moving day in and day out.
Todd Leitsch has spent over 10 years as a marine mechanic for Golden Gate Ferry, getting boats ready for action.
By Matt Larson
Published: March, 2016
While riding the ferry, many of us don’t think past the ticket price as far as what goes on to keep the ferry boats moving day in and day out. But in addition to the captains and deckhands you see while boarding the vessel, there are some unsung heroes who make the whole experience possible.
Todd Leitsch is one of those people. He has spent over 10 years as a marine mechanic for Golden Gate Ferry, a position that entails doing basically everything that needs to be done to get the boats ready for the morning commute. Leitsch works the graveyard shift at Larkspur, so you probably won’t see him hard at work unless you’re boarding the first run of the day. He clocks in at 11 p.m. and gets off at 7:30 a.m.—just in time to take his daughter to school.
The work done by Leitsch and his crew can’t be performed by just anybody, as they are all highly trained individuals specializing in, well, just about everything. “I could be doing structural welding on a boat one day, I could be working electrical the next day, plumbing the next day or I could be doing preventative maintenance on a diesel engine,” Leitsch said. “To work at Golden Gate Ferry you’ve got to be really well-rounded. None of us are really specialized in any one particular aspect of working on boats. Here, we must be able to do a little bit of everything.”
Variety at the workplace is desirable in any profession, and for Leitsch that’s his favorite aspect of the job. And that variety goes beyond the work itself to the people he works with. “For some reason the marine field seems to draw a little bit more of an eclectic type of personality,” Leitsch laughed. “You get to meet a lot of different people and it’s pretty interesting.” Leitsch is proud to be one of them.
Growing up north of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Leitsch first moved to California with the military and was stationed at Fort Ord, Monterey. He worked in combat search and rescue for the U.S. Army. He later decided to make California his home, and he now lives in Novato with his wife and daughter. These days, when he’s not working on boats or spending time with his family, Leitsch likes to stay active by either going cross-country skiing at Sugar Bowl or rock climbing in the Cascades.
Those are his favorite things away from the boats, but when he’s working? The Del Norte takes the title of Leitsch’s favorite boat in the fleet. “It’s always been a very dependable boat,” he said. That was a statement he immediately retracted, however, when he remembered that he had to spend a lot of time working on the Del Norte when he first started at Golden Gate. “It’s a very dependable boat now,” he clarified, referring to the boat’s engine replacement and retrofit. “To me it’s kind of like an old Chevy truck, it just keeps on going.”
All of Golden Gate Ferry’s boats are in excellent working condition, especially due to Leitsch’s nightly efforts. And he assures us that there’s always something to do, as not a day goes by where they’re not thoroughly inspected. “We do what they call a daily inspection,” he said. “We go through the boat and basically check all the major systems, add any fluids that are needed for the engines or transmissions. There’s always little things.” Leitsch also specializes in welding, so if you see some fancy metalwork on board, you could probably attribute that to him.
Sometimes Leitsch gets to be a passenger on the ferry boats, and he loves it. Especially as compared to any other method of travel in the Bay Area, Leitsch agrees that the ferry wins by a long shot. “Driving to San Francisco can be a hassle,” he said. “Get on a boat, enjoy the scenery! It’s a beautiful ride.”
