{{Infobox ship |section1={{Infobox ship/image |image=RhododendronArriving@Tahlequah.jpg |image_caption=MV ''Rhododendron'' arriving at Tahlequah Ferry Terminal }}

|section2={{Infobox ship/career |hide_header= |name=*1947-1951: ''Gov. Herbert R. O'Conner'' *1951-present: MV ''Rhododendron'' |owner=*1947-1951: [[Chesapeake Bay Ferry System]] *1951-2013: [[Washington State Department of Transportation|WSDOT]] *2013-present: Atlantic Capes Fisheries<ref name="Rhody sold 2013-Kitsap Sun">{{cite news|last=Friedrich|first=Ed|title=Scallop-farming company buys 66-year-old ferry Rhododendron|url=http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2013/feb/27/scallop-farming-company-buys-66-year-old-ferry/#ixzz2M9lKij6S|accessdate=4 March 2013|newspaper=Kitsap Sun|date=27 February 2013}}</ref> |operator=*1947-1951: Claiborne-Annapolis Ferry Company *1951-2012: [[Washington State Ferries]] |registry=1951-present: [[Seattle|Seattle, Washington]], {{flag|United States}} |route= |ordered= |builder=[[Maryland Drydock Company]], [[Baltimore]] |original_cost= |yard_number= |way_number= |laid_down= |launched= |completed=*1947 *Refit: 1990 |christened= |acquired= |maiden_voyage= |in_service= |out_of_service=January 23, 2012 |identification=*{{IMO Number|8836118}} *{{MMSI Number|366772790}} *[[Maritime call sign|Callsign]]: WB6079<ref name="evergreen fleet">[http://www.evergreenfleet.com/rhody.html Rhododendron - The Ferry of the State Flower], evergreenfleet.com</ref> *Official Number: 2516446 |fate= |status=Retired |notes= }}

|section3={{Infobox ship/characteristics |hide_header= |header_caption= |class=''Rhododendron''-class auto/passenger ferry |tonnage=937 |displacement= |length={{convert|227|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |beam={{convert|62|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} |height= |draught= |draft={{convert|10|ft|m|1|abbr=on}} |depth= |decks= |deck_clearance={{convert|13|ft|6|in|m|1|abbr=on}} |ramps= |ice_class= |sail_plan= |power=2,172 hp |propulsion=2 Diesel engines |speed={{convert|11|kn|km/h|0|lk=in|abbr=on}} |capacity=*546 passengers *48 vehicles (max 15 commercial)<ref name="vessel info">[https://web.archive.org/web/20121012141521/http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/vesselwatch/VesselDetail.aspx?vessel_id=27 M/V ''Rhododendron''], Washington State Ferries. Archived from [http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/ferries/vesselwatch/VesselDetail.aspx?vessel_id=27 the original] on 12 October 2012.</ref> |crew= |notes= }} }} The '''Motor Vessel ''Rhododendron''''' was the sole ''Rhododendron''-class ferry operated by [[Washington State Ferries]]. She was named for the [[state flower]] of [[Washington (state)|Washington]], the [[rhododendron]]. She was referred to affectionately as "The Rhody" by residents of [[Vashon, Washington|Vashon Island]].

The ''Rhododendron'' was one of two similar [[Chesapeake Bay]] ferries that were purchased to become part of the WSF fleet in the 1950s; the other being the now-retired [[MV Olympic|MV ''Olympic'']]. The ''Rhododendron'''s former name was the MV ''Governor Herbert R. O'Conor''. She was originally purchased to be used in the interim while other new ferries were being built.

The ferry was retired in January 2012 and was sold in February 2013.<ref name="Rhody sold 2013-Kitsap Sun" /> It is currently anchored in [[Fanny Bay]], [[British Columbia]], where it serves as a storage and operations platform for nearby oyster farming.

==Career== [[File:Washington State Ferry M-V Rhododendron.jpg|thumb|left|''Rhododendron'', circa 1955]] Her original use in Washington from 1953 to 1961 was on a route from the [[Olympic Peninsula]] to the [[Kitsap Peninsula]], near the current site of the [[Hood Canal Bridge]]. Her service there ended when the Hood Canal Bridge was built.<ref name="evergreen fleet"/>

At that time, she was reunited with the ''Olympic'' and reassigned to the [[Mukilteo, Washington|Mukilteo]]-[[Clinton, Washington|Clinton]] route, where she stayed until 1974.<ref name="evergreen fleet"/>

In 1975, [[Washington State Ferries]] (WSF) acquired the [[Port Townsend, Washington|Port Townsend]] to [[Keystone, Island County, Washington|Keystone]] route from a private company and reassigned the ''Rhododendron'' and the ''Olympic'' to this route.<ref name="evergreen fleet"/>

In 1983, the ''Rhododendron'' was mothballed and stored at the WSF maintenance facility at Eagle Harbor. In 1990, the ferry was completely reconditioned, with its rotted superstructure completely replaced.<ref name="evergreen fleet"/>

Due to her construction, she was not permitted to operate more than one mile (1.6&nbsp;km) from shore. Consequently, in 1993 she was assigned to the [[Point Defiance Park|Point Defiance]] to [[Vashon, Washington|Vashon Island]] route, a 12-minute trip that is a total of {{convert|1.5|mi|km}} long. For a short time in 2008 the ''Rhododendron'' was leased to Pierce County for service to [[Anderson Island (Washington)|Anderson Island]].<ref name="evergreen fleet"/>

The ''Rhody'' remained on the Point Defiance-Tahlequah route until she was retired in 2012. Her final scheduled sailing was at 2:10 pm on January 23, 2012, after which she was replaced by the {{MV|Chetzemoka}}.

The state attempted to sell the ship in an [[online auction]] in November 2012, but the [[United States dollar|US$]]300,000 winning bid was later withdrawn.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://komonews.com/news/local/classic-old-state-ferry-not-sold-after-all |title=Classic old state ferry not sold after all |agency=AP |publisher=KOMO News |date=December 1, 2012 |accessdate=July 21, 2016}}</ref> On February 26, 2013, the ''Rhody'' was sold for $275,000 to Island Scallops, who operates scallop farms on Vancouver Island near [[Qualicum Beach]], British Columbia and is a subsidiary of [[Atlantic Capes Fisheries]]. Island Scallops plans to use the ferry as a support vessel based in Fanny Bay, BC and will remove her engines.<ref name="Rhody sold 2013-Kitsap Sun" /><ref name="Rhody sold 2013-KMAS">{{cite news|title=Regional Stories Feb. 28|url=http://masoncountydailynews.com/news/news-page/51052-regional-stories-feb-28|accessdate=4 March 2013|newspaper=Mason County Daily News|date=28 February 2013|author=KMAS News|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20130411073657/http://masoncountydailynews.com/news/news-page/51052-regional-stories-feb-28|archivedate=11 April 2013}}</ref>

On March 11, 2013, the ''Rhododendron'' left Eagle Harbor (slip 1) for the last time, arriving in Fanny Bay on the following day.

==References== {{reflist}}

{{WSF Ferry Classes}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rhododendron, Mv}} [[Category:Washington State Ferries vessels]] [[Category:Washington State Ferries vessel classes]] [[Category:1947 ships]] [[Category:Ships built in Baltimore]]