PORT TOWNSEND — The MV Salish finished its initial sea trials last week and is scheduled for delivery to Washington State Ferries on Thursday.
The Salish is expected to join the MV Chetzemoka on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route in July.
“We are on time and within the budget,” said state ferries system spokeswoman Marta Coursey on Friday.
“Everything is going well.”
Sea trials for the new ferry took place Monday through Wednesday with state ferries system Deputy Chief George Capacci and other personnel aboard to witness the demonstration of stopping distances, steering and other operational tests.
It is scheduled to be towed to the Todd Pacific Shipyards facility in Seattle before being transferred to state ferries system control.
Then, it will be taken to Eagle Harbor in Bainbridge Island, where the crew will be trained before test runs are made on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route.
No firm schedule for the tests have been established.
The Salish, a 64-vehicle ferry, is the second of three Kwa-di Tabil Class boats contracted by the state at a cost of $213.2 million to be built by Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle.
The first, the Chetzemoka, began service on the Port Townsend-Coupeville run in November while the third, the Kennewick — destined for the Point Defiance-to-Tahlequah route once it enters service sometime this winter — is now under construction.
The Chetzemoka was slated to go into service in August but was delayed until November because of problems with the fixed-pitch propeller.
The new ferry will have a variable-pitch propeller, which will make it easier to maneuver, the state ferries system said.
Coursey said Friday she did not expect the Salish to have any problems navigating Keystone Harbor due to the variable-pitch propeller system.
The Salish and the Chetzemoka will both operate on the route until Sept. 25, at which time one of the boats will be used to cover routes throughout the system as boats are taken in for servicing, the state ferries system said.
Two-boat service on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route will resume in the spring.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
