MV Kittitas

The M/V Kittitas
Career
Name:	MV Kittitas
Owner:	WSDOT
Operator:	Washington State Ferries
Port of registry:	Seattle, Washington,  United States
Builder:	Marine Power and Equipment, Seattle
Completed:	1980 Refit: 1990
Identification:	Official Number: D627507 Call Sign: WYQ9302[1]
General characteristics
Class & type:	Issaquah 130 Class auto/passenger ferry
Length:	328 ft (100.0 m)
Beam:	78 ft 8 in (24.0 m)
Draft:	16 ft 6 in (5.0 m)
Deck clearance:	15 ft 10 in (4.8 m)
Installed power:	Total 5,000 hp from 2 diesel engines
Speed:	16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph)
Capacity:	1200 passengers 124 vehicles (max 26 commercial)[2]

The MV Kittitas is an Issaquah 130 Class ferry operated by Washington State Ferries.

History

The Kittitas was built in 1980, as an Issaquah Class ferry, for service on the Seattle-Bremerton Route. However its capacity was shortly reached and it was moved to the Mukilteo-Clinton route in the late 1980s. In 1990, in order to keep up with growing demand, the Kittitas, along with many of her sister ships were upgraded from Issaquah Class to Issaquah 130 Class ferries, by adding additional vehicle areas above the vehicle areas along the outside edge of the ferry. These upgrades had been planned for in the original design of the vessels. The ferry's passenger cabin was updated in the late 90's, included in the upgrades were the removal of many tables located in the passenger cabin to allow for the bench seats to be spaced closer together in some sections of the ship, the galley area was also upgraded, and the distinctive tiles, in which each ship had its own color scheme on the tiles, were removed and each ship was given a unifying look. Also, considering the environment the ships were built in, many finishing touches were omitted when the ships were built, most of these were restored during this and subsequent facelifts that occurred throughout the 2000s.

Status

As of August 2009, she is serving the Mukilteo-Clinton route.^[3] As October 20, 2010 - November 25, 2010 she was in drydock because a mechanical issue with her controllable pitch propellers. For a few days at a time she and the MV Cathlamet provided service between Edmonds and Clinton due to the Mukilteo dock being worked on. As of June 13, 2011, she is in Dockside in Everett Shipyard. When the Summer 2011 schedule begins, she is planned to go work with the MV Cathlamet on the Mukelteo-Clinton Route. She is not assigned to a route as of June 23, 2012, and is stationed at eagle harbor on bainbridge island. Currently, She works on the Mukilteo-Clinton replacing the M/V Kitsap.

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kittitas (ship, 1980).