BC Ferries is retiring two of the oldest in their fleet

"gmctavish needs more space" (gmctavish) 11/22/2016 at 23:06 • Filed to: ships

1

28

The Queen of Burnaby, named after the city I live in, and the Queen of Nanaimo. They were built in 1964 and 1965, and are two of very few of their ferries that haven’t had decks added.

These were called Victoria Class, usually V-Class or V-Ships when built, and their were 7 of them. 5 had another vehicle deck added, and became Super Vs I believe, but these two were called Burnaby Class instead. The other 5 look like this now.

There are still some much smaller vessels in service that haven’t been drastically refit, but these are the last of the big boats from the 60's that remained mostly unchanged. The replacements are more maneuverable and efficient, but were built out of country because the provincial government doesn’t have it’s priorities straight. We’re fully capable of building our own ships, but any new BC Ferries haven’t been built here since the 90s.

Here’s the replacement for the last V-Classes, the Salish Class.

The Orca left Poland today for it’s 45-55 day journey to Vancouver Island. These little guys are not nearly as big an investment as the last ships build, the big Coastal Class. They replaced the Vs in 2008 I think.

I hate how these ones look, no style to them at all. BC Ferries hasn’t commissioned a good looking boat in ages. Anyways, that’s all for my BC Ferries rambling.

PatBateman > gmctavish needs more space 11/22/2016 at 23:11

0

HOW MUCH.

gmctavish needs more space > PatBateman 11/22/2016 at 23:29

0

How much what?

not for canada - australian in disguise > gmctavish needs more space 11/22/2016 at 23:39

1

Using this as an excuse to post the Pacificat.

The Dieselgate of the sea.

ttyymmnn > gmctavish needs more space 11/23/2016 at 00:00

1

Ferries are awesome. That is all.

wafflesnfalafel > gmctavish needs more space 11/23/2016 at 00:11

1

Interesting - you are right, I wouldn’t say that new Orca is good looking...

We have the new Olympic class boats down here south of the boarder. This is the Tokitae. I kinda like it’s chunkier super structure. It’s super quiet and a nice ride but has had more than it’s fair share of power train teething issues...

gmctavish needs more space > wafflesnfalafel 11/23/2016 at 00:15

0

Not a bad looking ship, I like the dual funnel cowlings, seems random. The paint scheme looks good too

gmctavish needs more space > ttyymmnn 11/23/2016 at 00:16

0

I fully agree

RallyWrench > gmctavish needs more space 11/23/2016 at 00:18

1

Shame, I’m sure the new ones are nice but they lack character.

gmctavish needs more space > RallyWrench 11/23/2016 at 00:21

0

My feelings as well

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > gmctavish needs more space 11/23/2016 at 01:26

1

Yay Ferries!

In 2007 the Steamship Authority replaced the Islander (above, built 1950) with this:

You can see them together here:

They added a new open deck freight boat this summer:

gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun > gmctavish needs more space 11/23/2016 at 01:54

1

How much money for a slightly-used, low-mileage(?)knottage(?) AC-just-needs-a-recharge ferry, is my guess

also, I haven’t seen the livery on the Q of Nanaimo of the blue over red stripes since I was a kid... and yes, I agree the coastal class looks really chunky and tall, basically like an overgrown Suzuki Samurai

gmctavish needs more space > gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun 11/23/2016 at 02:01

0

Ohh that is a good question, that I don’t know the answer to. Oppo ferry group buy, I’d say.

Yeah they definitely look modern, and seem very well built, I’m still just not really a fan

pip bip - choose Corrour > gmctavish needs more space 11/23/2016 at 04:10

0

will you miss them or is it a case of good riddance?

f86sabre > wafflesnfalafel 11/23/2016 at 07:13

1

I’ve taken the Tokitae from Mukilteo to Clinton a number of times. Nice boat to ride on. It I still nice that they are built locally as well. Cool time lapse of her construction...

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > PatBateman 11/23/2016 at 08:15

0

if you have to ask

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > gergey - Wishes vette was Datsun 11/23/2016 at 08:16

0

Mileage. Knot is Nautical MPH, so milage is still the distance.

Though I wouldn’t imagine they’re very fast, so knottage wouldn’t be entirely incorrect...

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > gmctavish needs more space 11/23/2016 at 08:19

1

That Super-V is just majestic. The Orca looks like an appliance.

Side note, my Grampa was from Naniamo. Also, go Naniamo bars.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > gmctavish needs more space 11/23/2016 at 08:26

1

Also, have another ferry because why not.

And of course an engine shot.

PatBateman > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 11/23/2016 at 08:39

1

Nah. Ships like this are sometimes sold cheap for scrap, or more for continued use. Daddy wanna know.

gmctavish needs more space > Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer 11/23/2016 at 09:41

1

Cool! My grandpa lived in nanaimo for a while too

gmctavish needs more space > pip bip - choose Corrour 11/23/2016 at 09:43

0

I’ll miss them, I mean it won’t really affect me since they do routes that I never have reason to take, but I liked knowing there were still a couple mostly original ferries from the 60s still sailing

gmctavish needs more space > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 11/23/2016 at 10:47

0

I like that Islander a lot, and the freight boat is quite good-looking too

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > gmctavish needs more space 11/23/2016 at 11:12

0

You can read up on the whole fleet here: https://www.steamshipauthority.com/about/vessels

The Islander’s story didn’t end well. She was initially sold to Governor’s Island but then just sat at a pier for a few years when they couldn’t afford to restore her. She was then auctioned on Ebay but the guy that bought her defaulted and she was ultimately broken up. http://www.mvtimes.com/2014/04/12/ferry-islander-laid-to-rest-in-ship-graveyard/

gmctavish needs more space > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 11/23/2016 at 12:01

1

That’s dissapointing :( unsurprising, though. It’s rare for big old beasts to get saved in any way. One of the coolest in BC is the SS Sicamous, a lake stern wheeler that I’m sure only still exists because she was beached decades ago on the off chance they wanted to use her again.

gmctavish needs more space > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 11/23/2016 at 12:05

1

Here’s the BC Ferries fleet

http://www.bcferries.com/onboard-experiences/fleet/

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > gmctavish needs more space 11/23/2016 at 12:14

1

It’s hard not to form an attachment to the boats when you rely on them to survive

If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent > gmctavish needs more space 11/23/2016 at 13:27

0

Have you ever seen the ferries that do the Nova Scotia/Newfoundland crossing? They’re practically cruise ships. They have two car decks, onboard resturaunts, a movie theatre, an arcade, and sleeping cabins for the 8 hour trip.

gmctavish needs more space > If only EssExTee could be so grossly incandescent 11/23/2016 at 15:10

1

I haven’t seen much about them, that’s crazy. More like the ferries from Northern Europe to the continent than anything else in Canada. I mean the closest we have in BC are the northern route ships, same idea but smaller.

This is the Northern Expedition, one of the biggest they’ve got