PORT TOWNSEND — Changes to the software that controls the propeller system on the new Chetzemoka ferry may provide a temporary solution to a problem of excessive propeller drive-train vibration at high speeds, the state ferry system said Thursday.
“We have identified software changes that may prevent the engine from overpowering the propeller used to stop the vessel,” said David Moseley, deputy transportation secretary for Washington State Ferries.
“These new operating guidelines could allow us to operate the Chetzemoka safely and reliably while we continue working to permanently resolve the vibrations,”
First sailing delayed
The 64-car ferry’s first sailing on the Port Townsend-Coupeville route, originally scheduled for Aug. 29, was delayed indefinitely because of the problem discovered in sea trials at the end of last month.
Planning for the city of Port Townsend’s celebration to honor the occasion is now on hold until a new date is announced, Port Townsend City Manager David Timmons said.
Moseley said on Thursday that he did not want to speculate on a date when the Chetzemoka would be in service, but expects that “it won’t be too long.”
More tests next week
The boat’s software will be reconfigured and sea trials will resume next week.
Crew members will test the boat’s behavior as it travels in and out of the narrow Keystone Harbor.
“This is a very difficult area,” Moseley said of the harbor.
“It is a challenge to go through the swift current and be able to stop the boat in time.”
Moseley said the reconfigured propeller would be able to accomplish this.
Rep. Larry Seaquist, D-Gig Harbor, an outspoken critic of the ferry system, has said that the ferry design was at fault.
Moseley stood by the ferry’s design, saying that it came from independent, experienced designers.
Fix root of problem
Jefferson County Ferry Advisory Committee member Tom Thierch said that the ferry system’s explanation of the problem was unspecific, and that he hoped the agency would fix the root of the problem instead of just apply a quick fix.
“If the software change merely masks a more serious, underlying problem, that could have some long-term effects on the reliability of the entire drive system, he said.
“This is kind of like driving your car with a broken engine mount; you can do it, as long as you’re gentle on the accelerator but you do need to fix that mount.”
The Chetzemoka, budgeted at $76.5 million, and a second ferry, the Salish, will replace the 80-year-old Steel Electric ferries that Transportation Secretary Paula Hammond pulled out of service in late November 2007, saying the vessels were unsafe.
Since then, the 50-car ferry Steilacoom II, which the state leases from Pierce County, has sailed the route alone.
The Salish is expected to join the Chetzemoka on the route in spring 2011.
The third ferry will be used on a different route.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
