this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2023
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[TC Letters to the Editor] Let’s make big plans for large new ferries (sh.itjust.works)
submitted 1 year ago* (last edited 1 year ago) by [email protected] to c/[email protected]
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With the B.C. Ferries fleet having reached capacity, I think it’s time to accelerate the plans to purchase new vessels for the major routes. To help to make them more future-proof, I think the new vessels should be at least 200 metres long, preferably a good deal longer.

As well as increasing the capacity, plus enabling greater efficiencies by transporting more people and vehicles at a time, it would allow for the greater possibility of changes being made to on-board amenities over the coming decades.

It would also allow for improvements over the current ferries, such as more dining options, a larger shop and a very large kids play area.

Unlike some people, I love getting the ferry. With improvements to onboard amenities, I believe that other people would, too, and would look forward to that part of the journey.

When the route between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay takes one hour and 35 minutes, plus waiting time beforehand, it is hardly a route that daily commuters can take.

Instead, let’s adopt a different philosophy, of providing comfort, relaxation and enjoyment, rather than a bare-bones platform to be transported on.

Matthew Cousins

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[–] [email protected] 1 points 1 year ago

The current Celebration boats have issues with high winds that the Queens and Spirits do not,

This is incorrect, the one area the coastal class outshines the rest of the (major size) fleet is heavy weather. They have so much power that's available at both ends and there's no need to turn around. That means they can safely operate out of Tsawwassen in almost 10kn higher winds than any of the conventional (single ended) ships. The only reason they dont end up sailing is that the other ships are tied up in the way.

among so many other problems. We can derive new boats from those solid workhorses.

All the other problems are valid criticisms. They were designed based on European vehicle specs (if you've ever noticed they only load 1 lane of semis at a time vs the spirits loading 2 lanes). Many parts are only available from Europe, or even worse custom order from Europe (the company that built the elevators went out of business between the time the Renaissance and Celebration were built, meaning there are no spare parts). The propellers were designed too close to water level causing major vibration, which in turn is undoubtedly exacerbating every other problem.