As a retired Navy sailor and a trained marine rigger I’ve been watching this story for a couple of months with some amusement. I do not mean to belittle the situation nor be an armchair commentator but this was coming right at us months ago.
I know that there is going to be economic concerns in Port Townsend and at the restaurant on the Whidbey side due to the loss of these runs and this just isn’t the time of year for that, as if there is ever a time for lost income. I love those boats, but that’s because I’m self-centered. Being that they are flat-bottomed boats, they can rock and roll at times, and that can remind me of the seven extended deployments I made while I was active duty without being gone for six to 10 months at a whack. It feels good to have a deck under my feet, if only for a half hour. Now back to the news.
These boats are 80 years old. Most boats and ships only last 30 to 40 years. The first one to hit the news (that caught my attention) a couple of months ago needed a stern tube fabricated and installed and the powers that be (WSDOT) thought that the other three “might” also need those tubes. Duh. Folks, 80 years, remember. We darn sure got our money’s worth out of them. As a rigger, I know that you don’t know what you’re getting into as you start repairs on boats. Blame the physics of water and air. Regardless, they knew that they had an extremely large problem facing them. Now most voters know that government can cure anything without money, because we complain every time they ask for more. Last night I heard Ms. Paula Hammond, Secretary of Transportation, mention that to re-hull a boat would cost $40 million, and to build a new boat would cost $45 million. Now it was very late when I heard this, so there is a chance that I heard something wrong, but if I didn’t what are they thinking? Let’s see, after doing the math I come up with a brand new boat for $5 million more than a very old boat on a brand new hull. This is something to think about?
Other option: Maybe tear down both slips, then dredge the channels (yearly cost of dredging needs to be factored in). That does not seem very practical to me, but what do I know? Two things I do know is that Ms. Hammond waited way too long to pull these fine old boats out of service due to safety’s sake (can you imagine what would have been said if one of them would have sunk?), and she should have started the paperwork to acquire money to replace at least two of them if not at the time they pulled the first boat out of service, then at least when they knew about that stern tube.
Enough said, by me anyway. Now I’m going to sit back and watch the finger pointing and the politicians do their bandwagon jumping (Sen. Haugen, I’m shaking my finger at you, where were you a couple of years ago?), and my hat’s off to State Auditor Brian Sonntag for trying to do the right thing as he first learned of the problem.
Tim Turner
Oak Harbor
