Categories
-
Recent Posts
Category Archives: Commercial craft
2011: Black Ball’s Port Angeles-Victoria Ferry Coho Turns 50
In 55 Years, MV Coho Has “Never Missed a Day!” As I write this, it’s May and the boating season is well under way in the Pacific Northwest. For the most active sailboat racers, that means they are preparing for … Continue reading
Posted in Commercial craft, Nautical History, NW boats and boaters, Shipyards
Tagged black ball line, MV Coho
Leave a comment
A Sailor’s Guide to R.V. Atlantis and “Inner Space”
Last year I had the opportunity to tour the 274′ R.V. (research vessel) Atlantis and its famous submersible Alvin while it was docked in Astoria. Alvin is probably the best known craft of its type in the world, having appeared … Continue reading
Steyr’s Monoblock Engines Making Waves in US
The Austrian engine builder Steyr Motors set up a North American subsidiary in 2006 to market its line of lightweight, high performance diesel engines with a power range from 55 kW/75 hp to 184 kW/250 hp. Steyr was formerly part … Continue reading
Built in 1947, Portland’s Sternwheel Tug Steamed into the 21st Century but Ran onto the Rocks in the Pandemic!
The sternwheel steamboat was an everyday sight on the Portland, Oregon, waterfront until the 1920s. And although those ferryboats disappeared long ago, steam power lived on until 1981 in the shape of the port-owned, “ship-assist sternwheeler” Portland. A group of … Continue reading
2014 – Hyak’s 120′ Titan Tugs Set New Standard for Offshore Towing
In August 2013, the JT Marine Inc shipyard in Vancouver, Washington delivered the MV Hawaii, the first of a pair of 120-ft ocean-going azimuthing stern-drive (ASD) tugs designed by Jensen Maritime, Seattle naval architects, for Hyak Maritime LLC. The tugs … Continue reading
Posted in Commercial craft, Shipyards
Tagged GE diesels, hyak 120, Jensen Maritime, jensen titan, jensen tug, titan tug
Leave a comment
High-Speed Catamaran Ferries Cause Double Trouble in Washington
What’s Wrong With Fast Ferries? Plenty Say Opponents! Copyright Peter Marsh The sight of a big catamaran swiftly cutting cleanly through the water is so common these days on the northwest coast that it barely rates a mention. From the … Continue reading
2014 – Vintage Erie Canal Tug Goes All-Electric
1920’s Tug Converted to Battery-Electric Drive – copyright Peter Marsh On Labor Day Weekend, 2014, purely by chance, I arrived by bike at the Waterford Tug Round Up in New York state at the east end of the Erie Canal. … Continue reading