All American Marine delivers first of two King County cats

MV Sally Fox, the first of two new 105 ft x 33 ft aluminum catamaran ferries ordered by King County's Marine Division

MARCH 30, 2015 — Bellingham, WA, based All American Marine, Inc. (AAM) has delivered MV Sally Fox, the first of two new 105 ft x 33 ft aluminum catamaran ferries ordered by King County’s Marine Division as replacement vessels for its scheduled water taxi service.

All American Marine was awarded the contract and issued the Notice to Proceed for the identical vessels at the start of 2014.

Sally Fox is the first U.S. Coast Guard Sub-chapter “K” inspected passenger vessel built and delivered under new guidelines that make it possible for boat builders to design and implement suitable structural fire protection in very low fire load spaces in the construction of weight-sensitive high speed passenger vessels. These new 5A Space Performance Guidelines were issued in a Memorandum regarding NVIC 9-97 Ch-1. The Memorandum is a result of the Quality Partnership working group between the U.S. Coast Guard and the Passenger Vessel Association.

The new ferry will operate in the Puget Sound providing passenger-only service from Vashon Island to downtown Seattle. The sister vessel, MV Doc Maynard is still under construction at All American’s shipyard and is set to be delivered this fall for operations from West Seattle to downtown.

“We are honored to have this opportunity to construct world-class passenger ferries that are fuel efficient, dependable, and cost-effective,” said All American Marine CEO, Matt Mullett.

King County’s two new vessels will be supported by a third All American Marine built catamaran, Spirit of Kingston, which was acquired by the County in 2013.

AAM partnered with naval architecture firm, Teknicraft Design Ltd., of Auckland, New Zealand for the hull design. The advanced hull shape was custom designed using digital modeling and Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) analysis testing.

The hull design is complemented by Teknicraft’s signature integration of a wave piercer positioned between the catamaran sponsons to break up wave action and ensure reduced drag while enhancing passenger comfort.

All American Marine is the exclusive builder for Teknicraft Design Ltd. catamarans in North America.

The water taxi is powered by twin Cummins QSK-50 tier III engines, rated at 1,800 bhp @ 1,900 rpm and driving twin propellers to provide a service speed of 28 knots.

The design features interior seating for 250 with 28 additional outdoor seats available on the upper aft deck.

The layout of each passenger deck was configured to help streamline the boarding and disembarking process. The main deck is ADA-accessible and the cabin includes designated seating areas for those with disabilities. The aft deck includes a staggered height bicycle storage rack with accommodation for 26 bicycles.

As an environmentally friendly alternative to paint, the decks are covered with peel-and-stick non-slip tread and the exterior of the superstructure is wrapped in UV-stable vinyl.

“It is exciting to be building Subchapter-K vessels while being a part of creating highly advanced passenger vessel designs using new technology,” says AAM’s Vice President of Business Development, Joe Hudspeth.