Jumbo-class ferry

The Jumbo class are two ferries that were built by Washington State Ferries in 1972 to supersede the Super class. They have a capacity of 2,000 passengers and 188 vehicles.

Jumbo-class ferry MV Spokane, 2013
Class overview
Builders	Todd Shipyards, Seattle, Washington
Operators	Washington State Ferries
Preceded by	Super class
Succeeded by	Jumbo Mark II class
Built	1972
In service	1973–present
Planned	4
Completed	2
Cancelled	2
Active	2
General characteristics [1]
Type	Auto/passenger ferry
Tonnage	3,246 GT
Displacement	4,859 long tons (4,937 t)
Length	440 ft (130 m)
Beam	87 ft (27 m)
Draft	18 ft (5.5 m)
Deck clearance	15 ft 8 in (4.78 m)
Installed power	11,500 hp (8,576 kW) total from four diesel engines
Propulsion	Diesel–electric
Speed	18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph)
Capacity	2,000 passengers 188 vehicles (originally 206 vehicles, 60 tall vehicles)

Ferries in this class:

• MV Spokane
• MV Walla Walla

History

By the late 1960s, Washington State Ferries was in need of new vessels to replace its aging fleet that required expensive upkeep. The extremely busy Seattle–Bainbridge Island ferry route was also outgrowing the Super-class ferries that were delivered just five years earlier.^[2]

The solution was an even larger class of vessels. Instead of just expanding the Super class, the state picked a new design from Phillip Spaulding, that would have a long, low look. This new Jumbo-class vessel would be 440 ft (130 m) long, 87 ft (27 m) wide and could accommodate 206 vehicles, at the time, the largest double-ended ferries in the world.^[2]

Todd Shipyards in Seattle was awarded the contract to construct two vessels, with plans to order two more if the ferries worked out. While the agency was pleased with the vessels, the funding for the second set of two ships never materialized.^[2]

The Jumbo-class vessels would be assigned to the Seattle–Bainbridge route for more than two decades, before they were displaced by the even larger Jumbo Mark-II-class ferries. Since then, the Jumbo-class vessels have been primarily assigned to the Edmonds–Kingston and Seattle–Bremerton routes.^[2]