EVERETT — Now that sea trials of the new Chetzemoka ferry are under way, the 64-car ferry could dock in Port Townsend for the first time shortly after July 29, a Washington State Ferries spokesman said.
Sea trial were launched Tuesday and will continue through Thursday.
Testing of the ferry, which will ply the waters between Port Townsend and Whidbey Island, is expected to run through August, leading up to the inaugural public sailing Aug. 29.
Named for Klallam chief
The $77 million ferry, named for a Jamestown S’Klallam tribal chief and peacemaker buried at Laurel Grove Cemetery in Port Townsend, clipped along on its own powered-up diesel engines for the first time shortly after 8 a.m. Tuesday, said Shawn Devine, Washington State Ferries spokesman.
The Chetzemoka (which is pronounced chet-za-moh-kah) was towed by a tugboat offshore of Everett Shipyard and its engines started.
The new ferry — its hull constructed at Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle with components built on Whidbey Island and in Tacoma — received final outfitting at Everett Shipyard with the engines tested before Tuesday’s sea-trials launch.
Trials ‘going well’
“The initial report that I have is that sea trials are going well,” said Devine, who witnessed the launch Tuesday from Everett.
“It’s an exciting time for us. We’re excited to have the boat operating on its own.”
The sea trials are taking place in Possession Sound, part of Puget Sound, north of the Clinton-Mukilteo ferry route and south of Hat Island.
The Chetzemoka can be seen plying the waterway from the hills above Everett Shipyard, he said.
Tuesday’s trials focused on testing the vessel’s global positioning, radar and compass systems. The steering system, engines and gear systems were also tested.
‘Crash stop’ test today
Today, the ferry will undergo a “crash stop” to test the vessels reverse thrust system.
The public announcement and alarm systems also will be tested today, Devine said.
Similar testing will take place Thursday before the sea trials conclude, he said.
“They are testing all the operations and maneuverability of the boat,” Devine said.
“During these three days Todd Pacific Shipyards is charged with demonstrating the systems to U.S. Coast Guard” and state ferries officials.
The tests are running from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
After Washington State Ferries takes possession of the vessel June 29, it will be sailed to the Keystone ferry landing, which Washington State Transportation Commission recently renamed the “Coupeville” ferry landing after the mussel-producing community closest to Keystone on Whidbey Island.
There, the Washington State Ferries crew and Coast Guard personnel will be trained in operating the vessel, landing it there, and at the less challenging Port Townsend ferry terminal, Devine said.
The sea trials team is comprised of a master and crew hired by Todd with their test and trials department.
The sea trials must be conducted away from other marine traffic to complete the demonstrations efficiently and without interference from other vessels.
August ceremonies
State ferry system officials are planning ceremonies for the Aug. 29 sailing.
Devine said Gov. Chris Gregoire, state Secretary of Transportation Paula Hammond and David Moseley, deputy transportation secretary for Washington State Ferries, will attend the event.
The Chetzemoka, one of two 64-car ferries planned for the Port Townsend-Coupeville run, replaces one of the 80-year-old Steel Electric ferries that Hammond pulled out of service in late November 2007, saying the vessels were unsafe because their hulls were corroding.
Construction of the hull of the second ferry, which the Transportation Commission named the Salish as proposed by Jefferson County Ferry Advisory Committee member Tom Thiersch and the San Juan Island Council, is under way at Todd Shipyards’ facility on Harbor Island.
A third 64-car ferry will be built but used elsewhere in the state ferries system.
Approved contract change orders have granted an additional 30 days to the Chetzemoka’s delivery schedule.
The Chetzemoka was placed in the water for the first time on March 2 at Todd Shipyards’ graving dock.
The state has leased the Pierce County-owned, 50-car ferry Steilacoom II as the only vehicle ferry small enough to land at Keystone Harbor’s Coupeville landing, which is narrow and shallow.
The city of Port Townsend is planning a major marketing campaign and promotional effort to coincide with the launch of the first new Kwa-di Tabil (pronounced kwah DEE tah-bale) class ferry, a classification named by a Port Townsend Blue Heron Middle School four-grade class, which won the state’s ferry classification naming contest.
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Port Townsend-Jefferson County Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.