[Trances]

I know there have been heaps of attemps and failures in the past
but how much longer can the current ones last
Are there any plans at all for the future of these runs ? No just manly ferries but the entire old fleet that services the Harbour ?

 

[MrPC]

Care to guess how long the four freshwater class ferries' predecessors had been in service for?

Oh, bugger it, here's the basics:

Bellubera: 1910 - 1973
South Steyne: 1938 - 1975
Baragoola: 1922 - 1982
North Head: 1913 - 1985
(Others had shorter lives, and the Lady class ferries did play a role on the Manly route from around the time of the unceremonious decommissioning of the South Steyne until the arrival of the Queenscliff and the Narrabeen, but AFAIK the above were the mainstays of the regular speed service in the private operators' years (Port Jackson & Manly til 1972; then Brambles til 1974) and the early UTA/STA years)

cf the current ferries
Freshwater: 1982 -
Queenscliff: 1983 -
Narrabeen: 1984 -
Collaroy: 1988 -

I'd say the Freshwater class has a loooooong way to go yet.

 

[hornetfig]

...in fact, IIRC, the Freshwater class are currently in overhaul, which suggests that there's 10+ years left in them.

 

[Fabian]

Trances, The Jetcats were supposed to be replaced by the Supercats back in 2000-01 but apparently they were taken out of service and placed on inner harbour servies because they couldn't cope with the swells at the heads. The trip's were longer than the jetcats themselves with a trip on a supercat taking 20 mins compared to 14-15 minutes for a jetcat.

Anyway the jetcats do a good job at present.

...in fact, IIRC, the Freshwater class are currently in overhaul, which suggests that there's 10+ years left in them.

Weren't they overhauled a few years back?

Their exteriors were done up. The windows were tinted, while the Freshwater, Narrabeen & Queenscliff got the outdoor decks on their second level like the Collaroy. There were also major renovations to the interior with new seating and wooden floors.

 

[Trances]

guess they can all last a while yet then

 

[hornetfig]

well, maybe Collaroy went through that programmed overhaul then?

 

[MrPC]

Last time I was on the Collaroy, it had an interior refurbishment done already, losing its lower level catering facilities in the process, it had already lost its ocean certification and its stabilizers, and the other three had been equipped with external decks on the top floor which the Collaroy always had.

I guess that means it's now officially a Freshwater class, and presumably the overhaul would have happened at the same time as the refurbishment.

 

[Fabian]

Here's a shot of the interior of the Collaroy that I took yesterday. This has been repeated across the Freshwater class. The wooden floors attempt to recreate the interior it's predecessors had and the seating is stylish. The objective of the interior refurbishment was really to recreate the experience of travelling on the Manly Ferry in the way it was in previous generations.

This is how the Manly ferries look at present. Notice the tinted windows and external decks compared with before

Before

After

And Trances here's a shot of a Supercat which were supposed to succed the jetcat. the now operate on the Watsons Bay run

I also have to critise the supercats for the amount of water that was splashing onto the outdoor deck at the rear of the boat (the one on the main level). It was like it was raining (when really it wasn't)

 

[Samantha 24]

Does anyone know what happened to the jetcats, I used to love going on them

 

[smeghead]

Uh, I'm quite sure they're still around, operating half-hourly on weekdays.

 

[Fabian]

Does anyone know what happened to the jetcats, I used to love going on them

They only operate in peak hour & hourly on weekends.

If one of the Freshwater Ferries break down, the entire fleet can also be used to replace the ferry with all three jetcats running on that service. However they can only provide 75 % of seating for one ferry (a jetcat seats 250 people whilst a Freshwater ferry can carry 1000) or 750 seats. This happened when the Queenscliff was out of service for two months last year. A recent breakdown of the same ferry resulted in the same thing.

 

[MrPC]

If one of the Freshwater Ferries break down, the entire fleet can also be used to replace the ferry with all three jetcats running on that service. However they can only provide 75 % of seating for one ferry (a jetcat seats 250 people whilst a Freshwater ferry can carry 1000). This happened when the Queenscliff was out of service for two months last year. A recent breakdown of the same ferry resulted in the same thing.

Yes, but by the time you get the third Jetcat loaded and underway, the first one has probably made a round trip and could then make a fourth run (i.e. 100%).

 

[Fabian]

Yes, but by the time you get the third Jetcat loaded and underway, the first one has probably made a round trip and could then make a fourth run (i.e. 100%).

To ensure that they depart on time in such situations they allow people to board the jetcats up to 10 minutes before departure time. I remember last year on one occassion that a jetcat was allowed to depart Manly Wharf seven minutes before it's actual departure time as it was full.

They will fill a jetcat to capacity and then allow it to leave a few minutes early as to enable the other jetcats to dock so passengers can board and to ensure that all commuters leave on time. It is common that jetcats may be docked on both sides of the wharf to ensure quick boarding with commuters being directed to the one until it's filled up

As jetcats take half the time to do the run they are replacing the last one can leave up to 10 minutes late and still get to Manly in time.They don't do round trips either upon completing their run. They have to act like the freshwater ferry. They all travel together on the "one" service.

Also they may not require all jetcats for some services they are replacing. When the Queenscliff was out, there were some off peak services that only required two jetcats with the third placed on standby.