Homegrown Washington Ferries

The Washington State Ferry system really represents Seattle and the Northwest Ferries make us unique and add an aesthetic quality to our daily lives. Watching them silently cross back and forth across Puget Sound is soothing and beautiful. But, do we take their usefulness for granted? I think we completely under-utilize ferries for recreation. Sure, ferry commuters know about the endless possibilities of the ferry system. But, non-commuters sometimes need a reminder that ferries provide easy access to amazing places.
Many ferry destinations don't even require a car to enjoy. Just walk on and take advantage of walking beaches, forests, great restaurants, pubs, theaters, live music, etc. It's all right there at the end of a ferry ride, a sweet experience all on it's own. Hell, when you've had enough of the congested, crowded, hurried life of the city and don't think you can take it one more day, just walk on a ferry and enjoy a beautiful cruise across the Sound. What a great break from life in the city. Oh, and did I mention you can enjoy a beer or glass of wine during the trip?
At The Boat Guy, it's our resolution to "put the Sea back in Seattle" this year. We're here to remind everyone that we live in a unique and beautiful place, surrounded by water. We want people to remember that our working waterfront is what makes our economy strong. Washington agricultural products leave our ports for all over the world. Do you ever think about how almost everything you use during the day probably arrived here on a ship and unloaded in Seattle or Tacoma? Cities all over the world would kill to have a ports like ours!
I'm grateful for the unique place we live and the ferry system that helps us enjoy it. I'm really proud of the job being done, right here in Seattle, on Harbor Island, where our own skilled craftspeople are building our two newest ferries. So, take a break, have a beer, and take a short cruise to some beautiful place. Washington actually provides you with yachts to do just that... they're called ferries and there are two brand new ones on the way! When's the last time you took a break, jumped on a ferry, and enjoyed a cruise to a laid-back, beautiful destination?
Chip Hanauer, The Boat Guy

[@servicarrider]

I watch the sun set on the Puget Sound almost every night as the ferries cross back and forth. It's a beautiful sight to see.

[@Andyb-rw6lo]

We build some cool stuff down at Vigor Love working there

[@briandamschen8931]

OMG Chip Hanauer.. remeber as a kid going and watching the Hydro boats on lake washington. Thank you for you channel, memories, and keep it up!

[@wettexan]

Too funny. I met Mr. Hanauer on a Wa State ferry. We chatted about a book I was reading. Totally stoked to meet my hydro diving hero.

[@bnkwupt]

Nice they’re still using EMD main engines.

[@EVAUnit4A]

Thanks for the new boats; they're great to ride on! (I've ridden the _Tokitae_ a lot, and the _Sammish_ recently.) Nice, quiet and no vibrations when they take off too.

[@vivvyrocks]

After watching that I feel like grabbing a couple of corn dogs and watching for orcas.

[@bradjames6748]

I remember when the ferry Sealth was in Vancouver drydock for emergency repairs and the WSF employee said he wished all the fleet was repaired here (pre vigor) for the savings because of the Canadian dollar

[@vashonrailfan9802]

On vashon, we go to west Seattle and southworth, but they always want end number one in vashon and southworth so they do a twisty-turny thing.

[@mr.reporter99]

new ferry boat ⛴ride with a friend from Seattle to Bremerton Route One of 8th 4th 6th 50th 8th anniversary 50th reporter 😀😄

[@bradjames6748]

Is that chip hanauer???

[@kenneththompson1809]

A strange boat a ferry is It has no bow or stern just two fat rear ends.

[@xpost9381]

It's hard to believe that they still in USA build ferries that belongs in the stone age....

[@bradjames6748]

British Columbia buys the exact same thing built in Poland, Germany and Romania so what is your point???

[@xpost9381]

@@bradjames6748 Well....I meant exactly what I said. You obviously don't have a clue how lost North-America are within shipping and tech connected to it. Of course if the mentioned European countries are asked to build a simple barge for you in BC they can do it, but that has nothing with what they normally build..... which is light years ahead in advanced tech, design and capabilities.

[@Raulsanchez-cg1uv]

@@xpost9381 I'm not sure I understand the point you are trying to make. Your command of the English language is quite impressive though. You must be a foreigner.

[@xpost9381]

@@Raulsanchez-cg1uv Haha.... what is hard to understand....???? .....or do you just want to present me for some kind of sarcasm...??? Neither am I a linguist nor is my language English, but still I try to handle 6 different languages and think that I can make myself understood. So writing a few sentences in English shouldn't be to much of a challenge..... ....and I think it was quite clear what I said in the previous comment. The problem might rather be that you are not into "the world" of the sea and ships (i.e. construction). USA or Canada; for that matter; are not shipping nations. It is almost painful to watch what they put on the water and call a ship. It is not enough to have a bunch of guys with some basic welding skills smacking up something like a barge. To build a modern, and advanced, ship it requires a huge range of expertise. That kind of competence is non-existing in North-America. It is also a very expensive "exercise" to build these ships ....a price Americans seemingly are not willing to pay. Hence they leave themselves with the crude and cheap option of something that reminds of a barge. There is something in the saying that you get what you pay for. Some years ago I watched a few episodes (on Discovery channel(?)) about crab fishing in Alaska. I think they called it "Deadliest catch". First of all it was spiced with to much drama and theatrics in the presentation ....but that is typical American style. The more serious side of it was that they had a rather high frequency of accidents. To me it looked mostly like a brutal race for profit and just disregarding high safety standards for the crew, non-adequate sea capabilities for the ship, and lack of good management. In other words self-inflicted damages. It shouldn't be to difficult to see the causal connections between low standards and accidents. So if someone shall expose themselves for the brutal forces of nature ....well....then they better be equipped for it. I hope this gave you the extra needed explanation....or....???

[@chimkens8961]

@@xpost9381Deadliest catch doesn’t use ferries. Ferries are used to transport cars and people to Washington islands so it’s not a bad thing to be similar to a barge and it’s also worth noting that ferries have an almost nonexistent crash risk.