Senior Editor Wes Starratt has just returned from a visit to the shipyards in the Seattle Area with these stories and pictures.
The MV Peralta, soon to be plying the Bay between Alameda/Oakland and San Francisco.
Published: October, 2001
Scheduled to sail through the Golden Gate on October 17th is the Bay Area’s newest high-speed ferry, the MV Peralta. After crew training and Coast Guard inspections, the vessel is scheduled to be put into service during the first week of November, carrying passengers from terminals on the estuary in Alameda and Oakland to the San Francisco Ferry Terminal.
Alameda Mayor Ralph Appezzato commented that, "Alameda is very excited and eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new ferry. The growth of our ferry service is another example of the success of ferry service in the Bay Area. Our community is very supportive of efforts to develop regional ferry services."
Built by Nichols Brothers Boat Builders, Inc., of Freeland, Washington, the M/V Peralta is an aluminum catamaran (twin-hull boat) of International Catamaran (Incat) design. It is propeller driven with two Cummins diesel engines.
The M/V Peralta can carry up to 318 passengers at speeds up to 30 knots (multiply by 1.15 for 34 ½ miles per hour). On the top deck is the wheelhouse together with inside and aft deck seating. The lower deck has seating for 126 passengers together with service areas and lavatories.
And Another Ferry For Vallejo In December
Under Construction next to the M/V Peralta at the Nichols Brothers’ boatyard is the former M/V Jet Cat Express, which is being completely rebuilt to meet current demands for Vallejo’s ferry service.
Bay Crossings described the Jet Cat Express in its coverage of Vallejo’s Baylink ferry service in the July issue, pointing out that Vallejo’s purchase of the ferry from Catalina Express in 1994 marked the city’s baptism into ferry operations. Several years later, after the city commissioned two new 35-knot catamarans, the M/V Intintoli and the M/V Mare Island, built by Dakota Creek Industries of Anacortes, WA, the slower M/V Jet Cat Express proved incapable of serving as a back-up vessel without disrupting schedules. So, Vallejo decided to have the old boat completely rebuilt.
Earlier this year, the Jet Cat Express was piloted up the coast to Nichols Brothers’ boatyard near Seattle for the job. Currently, propellers are being changed to water jets to increase the speed to 33 knots (fully loaded). The capacity of the boat is being increased to 300 passengers by extending the length of the hulls and adding a new wheelhouse as a separate top deck, with two full decks left for passengers. The result will be almost a new ferry, able to compete for passengers on the Vallejo – San Francisco run. It will also have a new name, the M/V Vallejo.
By December, Nichols Brothers expects to complete the work so that Vallejo can expect to add another high-speed ferry to its fleet by the year’s end.
New Boat-Builder Plunges Into High-Speed Ferry Competition, Testing The Role Of Smaller Catamarans
A new entry into catamaran boat-building is the well established Kvichak Marine Industries of Seattle, which earlier this year delivered a 75-passenger, welded-aluminum ferry to Long Beach Transit System. The vessel’s operation has been contracted to Catalina Express to provide service to commuters and tourists. The 26-knot, propeller-driven vessel with twin Cummins diesel engines was designed by still another Australian firm, Crowther Multihulls. It has an enclosed passenger cabin, with additional passenger seating on the after deck.
It seems likely that these smaller high-speed catamarans will have a role to play in the development of the Bay Area’s regional ferry system. Meantime, Kvichak may be looking toward expanding its capabilities to build larger catamarans.
Vallejo’s back-up boat on the mend.
