Guemes Ferry Update 10/20/15
Guemes Ferry Update 10/20/15 This is the fourth week of the ferry haul-out, so I would like to provide another progress update. Before I do that though, I wanted to point out that the focus of this dry dock period was the work that was done on the hull, the propellers, the below deck piping and the machinery. Therefore, we did not do much painting above deck. When the vessel comes back in to service, you may notice that there is not fresh paint in the areas you readily see as you board the vessel. During most of the recent dry dock periods we have painted much of the superstructure, house and car deck. This year, the dollars were spent elsewhere; so, just because you can’t see the results of the work that was done, doesn’t mean that a lot of work hasn’t been done.
Next, I will address what everyone want to know most, the schedule for going back in to service. As of today, October 20, 2015, the work is still progressing on schedule. The plan this week is to re-float the vessel first thing Friday morning, October 23. Dock/Sea Trials are scheduled to take place Saturday, October 24.
The hull work is complete, and after sandblasting to bare steel, the paint job looks really great! This picture was taken today as the draft markings were being painted.
There are a couple of items that are critical at this point; these need to get done over the next two days in order to meet the schedule I presented above. These include the installation of both outdrives. The No. 1 end outdrive will be replaced with a spare that was overhauled in 2014; that drive was swung in to position this afternoon. The No. 2 end outdrive was sent out for overhaul during this shipyard period and was delivered back to the shipyard this morning. Both outdrives will have new mounting pins, and the No. 2 outdrive will have new mounting plates. The support tubes for both outdrive pins have been line bored to provide a clean running surface. The area where the No. 2 outdrive mounts to the engine foundation has been re-enforced with new steel after a stress fracture was discovered. The Naval Architect and the shipyard worked very quickly to repair this issue so that it would not delay the schedule. The cost of this repair was equal to a credit issued to Skagit County when we discovered our ballast tanks did not need to be sandblasted. So, the extra work did not affect the overall cost of the project. Over the next couple of days, we are hoping everything goes smoothly with re-installing the outdrives and lining everything up. If something goes wrong here, the schedule will be impacted.
Above deck, the main engine work is nearly complete. The newly overhauled No. 1 transmission has been installed; the No. 2 transmission is still at the shop being overhauled with delivery scheduled for first thing Thursday morning. All machinery, and both of the recently serviced propellers, are scheduled to be re-installed by the end of the day Thursday. Again, if anything goes wrong here, the schedule will be impacted.
The vessel piping renewal is complete; all that is left is to hydrostatic pressure test the systems. The cleaning and painting of the voids is 90% complete, and all other work is progressing on schedule. As long as everything goes according the plan the next couple of days, the vessel should return to service Monday, October 26, 2015, at 0630.
Sincerely,
Captain Rachel Rowe
Ferry Operations Division Manager
Skagit County Public Works
Anacortes Terminal – 500 I Ave. Anacortes, WA 98221
Ferry Office: (360) 293-6433 Cell: (360) 333-1496
Direct Line: (360) 416-1466 Fax: (360) 293-1899