PORT TOWNSEND — The nine-month-old MV Chetzemoka was back in service Wednesday after being out of commission for one day while it underwent repairs.
A defective keel cooler, which cycles fresh water through the ship’s generator, was temporarily fixed, said Marta Coursey, Washington State Ferries spokeswoman.
The Coast Guard approved the temporary repair for the ferry that carries vehicles and passengers between Port Townsend and Coupeville on Whidbey Island, but a permanent fix will be necessary in the near future, Coursey said.
“We are now awaiting a part that may take one or more weeks to arrive from Wisconsin where it is being manufactured,” Coursey said in an email.
“We have not finalized the decision on which shipyard has capacity to dry-dock the Chetzemoka and I don’t expect we will have that information for a few days at minimum.”
Coursey said the cost of the repair cannot be determined until its completion.
The 64-car Chetzemoka began service in November, replacing the smaller Steilacoom II that the state had leased from Pierce County to ply the route alone.
The Chetzemoka was joined by the MV Salish in July, marking the first time in three years that two ferries were servicing the route.
That made a difference to people traveling across Admiralty Inlet, according to figures from the state ferries system.
The Chetzemoka carried 159,239 people from Nov. 15 through June 30, up 16 percent compared with 2010, the agency said.
After the Salish went into service, the boats carried 23,132 vehicles, up 35 percent compared with 2010, the state ferries system said.
Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Teresa Verraes said she noticed that “sidewalks are bustling every weekend” this summer and attributed that at least partially to two-boat service.
But when the schedules change unexpectedly or a boat goes out of service, “it shakes people’s confidence,” she said.
More riders doesn’t necessarily translate into increased downtown business.
“Just because ferry ridership is up, it doesn’t mean that people have the time to get out of their cars and spend money,” said Mickey Davis, who owns the Subway across from the ferry terminal.
“My business is actually down, but whether that has anything to do with ferry ridership or anything besides the recession is unknown.”
Joann Saul, owner of Fins Coastal Cuisine, said the weather is a factor, since a lot of her business is outside diners — who have not materialized.
“I’m really happy we have the second ferry to bring people here, but I don’t think it’s made a difference to me,” she said.
“In general, business is down, but that may be because of the weather.
“Usually by this time of the year, I have built up some reserves for the winter, but that hasn’t happened, and I’m scared to death.”
Sport Townsend sales clerk Jerine Binney said the store has enjoyed a good summer but said, “I don’t know if that has anything to do with the second ferry coming or going.”
Verraes said she would like to see local merchants be more systematic in tracking who visits their businesses from different locations in order to exploit those avenues.
As for repairing the Chetzemoka, she hopes it can be done during the week “because there is a lot going here during the weekends through the summer, and people need to be able to get here.”
Two-boat service is scheduled to continue until Oct. 10, at which time the Salish is expected to be taken off the route and substitute other state ferries on other routes so boats can be repaired or maintained.
The Chezemoka and Salish were two of three Kwa-di Tabil Class ferryboats contracted by the state at a cost of $213.2 million.
The third, the MV Kennewick, will work the Point Defiance-to-Tahlequah route once it enters service this winter.
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Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
