When the Washington state ferry Tillikum entered service in 1959, Albert Rosellini was in his first term as governor and Dwight Eisenhower was in his second as president.
The showy tail fins of Chevrolet and Plymouth sedans on its car deck could have made a killer whale jealous. The auto-and-driver fare to cross Puget Sound was $1.75.
Back then, the Tillikum was one of three Evergreen State-class ferries. Around a decade ago, the other two were decommissioned. However, that won’t happen anytime soon for the Tillikum. It must sail long past its expected retirement date because Washington State Ferries is so short on vessels, it cannot afford to let go of a single boat. Decommissioning is now projected in 2033 for this remarkably long-lived ferryboat.
“She’s a sweetheart,” said Captain Justin McCaughan of the boat he and the crew affectionately call the “Tilly.”
“She’s a little underpowered, but she is fairly maneuverable,” continued McCaughan during an interview in the teak-trimmed pilothouse. “She’s more reliable than a lot of our newer boats because she is simpler.”
McCaughan said he trusted this “moving piece of history” to last until new boats join the fleet. The controls and instruments in the pilothouse have been repeatedly modernized. But the mates at the helm go gentle on the throttles to protect the ancient machinery down below.
“Because we want to keep her around, we take it easy on this boat,” McCaughan said as the ferry chugged toward Friday Harbor. “So, we are not using maximum power unless we really need maximum power. We try to bring the throttles up slowly.”
The 87-car, 310-foot Tillikum was constructed in 1958 by the long-defunct Puget Sound Bridge and Drydock Company. Its drive motors were salvaged from a surplus World War II Navy ship. Replacement parts to keep it running sometimes have to be fabricated from scratch at the ferry system’s maintenance yard or are stripped from Tilly’s mothballed sibling, the Klahowya.
Only one active vehicle ferry in America is older. The SS Badger, which was launched in 1953, sails daily during the warmer half of the year across the midsection of Lake Michigan. The 410-foot, coal-burning steamship is a floating, moving National Historic Landmark. The Tillikum burns conventional diesel for propulsion.
The view from the engine room
Below the Tillikum’s car deck, the vintage engines and diesel generators make a deafening din. Tight passageways wind past twisty pipes, conduits, valves and steel going every which way.
Inside a sound-insulated, air-conditioned engine control room, the chief engineer and two oilers monitor tiers of analog dials and gauges from the past century. Modern digital screens glow on another side of the room, mixed in with blinking instruments that could date to a mid-life overhaul in 1994.
The hull looks good and the ship’s steel, while old, “was done properly,” vouched Chief Engineer Alex Stamati.
“As long as they give us the time in drydock and maintenance money, we can keep the boat running,” said oiler Earl Clark. “The longer it lives, obviously the more expensive it is going to get.”
“She can last to 80 or 90 [years old] with proper maintenance, absolutely,” Stamati added.
So what about retirement?
The state ferry system is in a race against time to build new ferries before its aging vessels conk out. Five ferries now in operation are more than 50 years old. At 67, the Tillikum is the grande dame.
So far, the state Legislature has only been able to scrape together enough money to order three new ferries due to their high price. The first of those hybrid-electric boats isn’t expected until 2030. The next vessels are due in 2031 and 2032.
“As we get closer to the first new ferry entering service in 2030, we’ll work with Gov. Bob Ferguson and the Legislature as they decide whether to follow past practice and retire an older vessel as each new one enters service, or invest in keeping our three oldest boats operating longer so we can begin growing the fleet sooner,” ferry system chief Steve Nevey told riders in a recent newsletter.
“We have 21 vessels today, down from 24 in 2015,” Nevey wrote. “One unexpected breakdown can cause a ripple effect across the system.”
Top brass at the ferry system prefer to add one or two relief vessels to the fleet before decommissioning aging boats, if possible. There is also public interest in restoring the long-suspended international run to Vancouver Island from Anacortes, which would require growing the fleet by another vessel.
“Put all of that together and 21 ferries aren’t enough. We need at least 24 to operate our current service,” Nevey said.
The upshot is that the Tillikum will likely be counted on well into her seventh decade. The most recent fleet planning document shared with state lawmakers shows its retirement happening in 2033.
The Tillikum has operated on nearly every Puget Sound route over the past six decades. Today, it’s the slowest member of the state fleet with a listed top cruising speed of 13 knots and is consigned to the San Juan Islands interisland circuit.
Affection, frustration and amazement
The interisland service provided by the Tillikum evokes complex feelings among regular commuters. Some are “amazed” it is still running while others continue to be frustrated with unreliability on a vital route they consider a literal lifeline.
The San Juans interisland service had the lowest rider satisfaction scores of all Puget Sound ferry routes in a survey conducted for the Washington State Transportation Commission earlier this year. The top reasons for dissatisfaction were late departures and arrivals. Other gripes included loading procedures and inadequate parking near the terminals.
“I don’t think it’s fair to equate the service dissatisfaction with the boat,” said frequent rider Justin Paulsen, the San Juan County Council Chair. “I think there’s a lot of love in the county for that boat.”
Across the first three quarters of this year, the Tillikum had 275 sailings completely cancelled out of 6,463 scheduled sailings. The most common cause of those cancellations was lack of sufficient crew. Mechanical problems on the aging ship accounted for 28% of the cancellations.
As much as county leaders praise the Tillikum, they still aspire to establish a competing interisland ferry. Paulsen said the goal is to provide an alternative to the state system that provides greater dependability. It’s unclear where the money to launch this new passenger-only service would come from.
Lopez Island author Iris Graville spent one or two days a week riding the Tillikum as the ferry system’s first writer-in-residence before the COVID-19 pandemic. The venerable boat remains her favorite. She described being charmed by 1950s-era touches such as its brass fixtures, elegant wooden slat benches and swivel chairs in front of a throwback mirrored makeup counter in the ladies room.
“She has those classic features that aren’t found in the newer vessels, like the brass railings and trim,” Graville said. “She just has more of a cozy feeling.”
Graville said she will miss the Tillikum whenever it finally retires, yet is also fully on board with the need to acquire cleaner, modern vessels. Like many San Juan County residents, she has her fingers crossed the aging boat will last until a replacement arrives.
“Anybody who knows any of the history of that vessel has to be wondering that very thing, can it really keep going?” Graville said in an interview. “We know there is usually a lifespan and a limit.”
