Canby Ferry

{{Short description|Cable ferry in the U.S. state of Oregon}} {{Infobox ferry route |name = Canby Ferry |nativename = |logo = |logosize = |image = Canby Ferry 1.jpg |imagesize = 298px |caption = The Canby Ferry in Oregon, with south bank of the Willamette in view |crosses = Willamette River |route = Locust Street (to the south)<br/>Mountain Road (to the north) |line = |carries = Motor vehicles, bicycles, pedestrians |locale = Canby, Oregon |terminals = 2 |operator = Clackamas County, Oregon |authority = |vessels = 1 (''M.J. Lee II'') |ferrytype = Electric cable ferry |duration = 3 minutes<ref name="oregonian-sept-4-2010"/> |headway = |frequency = |ridershipyear = |ridershipday = |yearly_vehicles = 100,000+<ref name="oregonian-sept-4-2010"/> |daily_vehicles = 350–400<ref name="oregonian-sept-4-2010"/> |length = {{convert|0.15|mi}} |opened = 1914 |closed = |predecessor = |successor = }} thumb|A car on board the Canby Ferry

The '''Canby Ferry''' is a cable ferry in the U.S. state of Oregon that connects Canby, and Wilsonville/Stafford in Clackamas County across the Willamette River. The service has been in operation since 1914, except from 1946 to 1953.<ref name="restarts">{{cite news|last=Runquist|first=Justin|title=Canby Ferry restarts trips this morning |page=B3|newspaper=The Oregonian|date=July 19, 2013|url=http://www.oregonlive.com/clackamascounty/index.ssf/2013/07/canby_ferry_to_begin_operating.html |accessdate=August 9, 2013}}</ref> The specific vessel used has been replaced and updated several times, most recently in 1997. It is one of three remaining ferries on the Willamette River.

The ferry has room for six cars (or 75 tons) and a total passenger capacity of 49. A toll is charged for all crossings. As of July 2017, a passenger car costs $5.00, a motorcycle, bicycle, or pedestrian $3.00, and $30.00 is charged if a vehicle takes up the entire ferry. The vessel currently used, the ''M.J. Lee II'', is a cable-guided vessel powered by electricity with a voltage of 460 volts [https://modernpumpingtoday.com/ferryboat-travels-into-the-future-with-danfoss-vlt-drives/] provided by overhead lines and is guided across the river by an underwater cable {{convert|1.25|in}} in diameter,<ref name="oregonian-sept-4-2010"/> leaving the vessel relatively unaffected by the river's currents.

thumb|Canby Ferry Restricted Maneuverability Day Shape The ferry is required by the Navigation Rules to display a day shape and, at night, certain lights that communicate to other vessels its (right-of-way) rights on navigable waters.<ref>US Dept of Transportation, United States Coast Guard "Navigation Rules, International-Inland", COMDTINST M16672.2D, Paradise Cay Publications, Arcata, California {{ISBN|0-939837-49-8}}</ref> Because the ferry is guided by an underwater cable, and is fed electricity from an overhead cable, its ability to maneuver is restricted. Such vessels must display the day shape for restricted maneuverability which is a ball, diamond, and ball displayed vertically in the rigging. As the Canby Ferry is permanently with restricted maneuverability, the shipbuilders mounted a metal ball-diamond-ball on a mast. Before sunrise and after sunset, and during periods of restricted visibility, the ferry must display the red over white over red array of a vessel restricted in ability to maneuver.

The ferry is named after Millard Jerome Lee, the first child born in Canby. Lee was born in 1872, two years after the town was platted in 1870.<ref name="oregonian-sept-4-2010">{{cite news | title = A thing of the past fills a modern need | first = Dana | last = Tims | newspaper = The Oregonian | publisher = Advance Publications | location = Portland, Oregon | date = September 4, 2010 | pages = E1, E3 }}</ref> The vessel currently in use, ''M.J. Lee II'', has been providing the service since 1997.<ref name="restarts"/>

In 2013, operation of the ferry was suspended from January to July, to allow major maintenance work to be carried out. The work included retrofitting the vessel with a new propulsion equipment that is quieter and more energy-efficient – using less electricity – than previously.<ref name="restarts"/>

==See also== * Buena Vista Ferry * Wheatland Ferry * Molalla River State Park * Boones Ferry * List of crossings of the Willamette River * Straussee Ferry, an electrically-driven cable ferry in Germany

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|position=left}} * [http://www.clackamas.us/roads/ferry.html Canby Ferry information from Clackamas County Transportation Maintenance] * [http://photos.salemhistory.net/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/max&CISOPTR=4245&REC=1 1960 photo of Canby Ferry from Salem Public Library]

{{coord|45.30012|-122.69315|region:US-OR_dim:230_source:gnis-1118555_elevation:17|display=title}}

{{Crossings navbox |structure = Crossings |place = Willamette River |bridge = Canby Ferry |bridge signs = |upstream = Boone Bridge |upstream signs = 20px |downstream = Oregon City Bridge |downstream signs = 20px }}

Category:Ferries of Oregon Category:Transportation in Clackamas County, Oregon Category:Canby, Oregon Category:Crossings of the Willamette River Category:1914 establishments in Oregon Category:Cable ferries in the United States Category:Trolley ferries