{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}} {{Short description|Auto/passenger ferries operated by Washington State}} {{other uses|Issaquah (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox ship | infobox_caption = ''Issaquah''-class ferry |section1={{Infobox ship/image | image=Chelan and Sealth pass each other.JPG | image_caption=The original Issaquah-class vessel ''Sealth'' at left with upgraded vessel ''Chelan'' at right }}
|section2={{Infobox ship/class overview | name= | builders=Marine Power and Equipment, [[Seattle]], Washington | operators=[[Washington State Ferries]] | class_before= | class_after= | subclasses= | cost= | built_range=1979–1982 | in_service_range=May 1980–present<ref>{{cite web |url=http://shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/5small/inactive/marinepower.htm |title=Marine Power & Equipment |first=Tim |last=Colton |work=shipbuildinghistory.com |year=2008 |access-date=February 5, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111104094552/http://www.shipbuildinghistory.com/history/shipyards/5small/inactive/marinepower.htm |archive-date=November 4, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> | total_ships_building= | total_ships_planned= | total_ships_completed=6 | total_ships_canceled= | total_ships_active=6 | total_ships_laid_up= | total_ships_lost= | total_ships_retired= | total_ships_scrapped= | total_ships_preserved= }}
|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption=<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/vesselwatch/VesselDetail.aspx?vessel_id=28 |title=M/V Sealth |work=Washington State Dept of Transportation |year=2012 |access-date=February 5, 2012}}</ref> |type=Auto/passenger ferry |tonnage={{GT|2477|disp=long}} |displacement={{Displacement|3310|long|first=yes}} |length={{convert|328|ft|abbr=on}} |beam={{convert|78|ft|8|in|abbr=on}} |height= |draught= |draft= |depth= |decks= 3 or 4 (1 or 2 auto decks, passenger deck, nav bridge deck) |deck_clearance=15 ft 2 in–15 ft 10 in (4.6–4.8 m) |ramps= |power= |propulsion={{Convert|5000|hp|abbr=on}} total from two [[diesel engine]]s |speed={{convert|16|kn|lk=in}} |capacity= *1,200 passengers (1,090 on international service) *''Sealth'': 90 vehicles (30 tall vehicles) *Others: 124 vehicles (24 tall vehicles) |crew=14 |notes= }} }} The '''''Issaquah'' class''' are a series of six auto and passenger ferries built for the [[Washington State Ferries]] system in the late 1970s until the early 1980s.
Originally, each vessel was built to accommodate 100 vehicles and 1,200 passengers but were built with accommodations to add an additional car deck. In the early to mid-1990s, five of the six vessels were modified with the additional car deck. The lone exception is the {{ship|MV|Sealth}}, which Washington State Ferries assigns to the [[Anacortes–San Juan Islands ferry|San Juan Islands route]] in the summer, where her additional capacity for tall vehicles without the second deck has proven useful.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The M/V Sealth |url=http://www.evergreenfleet.com/sealthtoday.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728200412/http://www.evergreenfleet.com/sealthtoday.html |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |access-date=December 20, 2021 |website=Evergreen Fleet}}</ref>
The ''Chelan'' was upgraded to international [[International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea|SOLAS]] safety standards in 2005, allowing her to make the crossing between Anacortes and Sidney, British Columbia.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The International Ferry to Sidney--The M/V CHELAN |url=http://www.evergreenfleet.com/chelantoday.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728200254/http://www.evergreenfleet.com/chelantoday.html |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |access-date=December 20, 2021 |website=Evergreen Fleet}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Issaquah Class |url=http://www.evergreenfleet.com/issaquahs.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728200254/http://www.evergreenfleet.com/issaquahs.html |archive-date=July 28, 2020 |access-date=December 20, 2021 |website=Evergreen Fleet}}</ref>
== History ==
The ''Issaquah'' class got off to a problematic start, when the $106 million contract to build the six ferries was awarded to Marine Power and Equipment (MP&E) on April 6, 1978. The company had no prior experience building large vessels, and it was later revealed that some lawmakers may have personally benefited from the contract being awarded to MP&E.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Duff |date=January 8, 1986 |title=Unanswered Questions - Taxpayers Lose in Marine Power Deal |page=C6 |work=[[Seattle Post-Intelligencer]] |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/0EB0482D8CBE2F90 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 20, 2021 |via=[[NewsBank]]}}</ref>
As it built the ''Issaquah'' class, MP&E was accused of substituting cheap materials and cheap labor and groups said that it was enabled by poor oversight by the Washington State Department of Transportation. The largest problem with the ferries was the propulsion system. Prior vessels purchased for Washington State Ferries had used a [[diesel–electric transmission]], where diesel engines turned an electric generator, which produced electricity, which in turn was used to power electric motors that turned the propellers. Instead MP&E chose a more traditional setup with diesel engines turning the propellers through a series of clutches and gearboxes, which turned out to be extremely problematic causing the vessels to ram the terminal piers, and in one case, inadvertently dropping into reverse while docked, causing a car to fall into the water.<ref>{{Cite news |date=September 9, 2013 |title=The evolution of WSF ferries over the decade |work=Kingston Community News |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/14916DA9CBE2ADC8 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 20, 2021 |via=[[NewsBank]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Whitely |first=Walter |last2=Hatch |first2=Peyton |date=June 25, 1985 |title=STATE SETTLES SUIT FOR $8 MILLION |page=B1 |work=[[Seattle Times]] |url=https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/document-view?p=AWNB&docref=news/0EB5314D22C3FA74 |url-access=subscription |access-date=December 20, 2021 |via=[[NewsBank]]}}</ref>
== Vessels == Ferries in this class include:
* {{Ship|MV|Cathlamet||2}} – (Auto capacity increased in 1993) * {{Ship|MV|Chelan||2}} – (Auto capacity increased in 2001, upgraded to meet SOLAS safety standards) * {{Ship|MV|Issaquah||2}} – (Auto capacity increased in 1989) * {{Ship|MV|Kitsap||2}} – (Auto capacity increased in 1992) * {{Ship|MV|Kittitas||2}} – (Auto capacity increased in 1990) * {{Ship|MV|Sealth||2}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/your_wsf/our_fleet/index.cfm?fuseaction=classes Washington State Ferries class information] *[http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/your_wsf/index.cfm?fuseaction=our_history Washington State Ferries class history] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121012062424/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Ferries/yourwsf/ |date=October 12, 2012 }}
{{WSF Ferry Classes}}
[[Category:Washington State Ferries vessel classes]] [[Category:Ferry classes]]
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