Steam-Packet New Ferry survey

[John Wright]

2 minutes ago, Non-Believer said:

Vanity object too, IMHO John. Seasonal, expensive to run in both engineering terms and fuel, questionable reliability over the years. We need two plodders.

A government imposed vanity project. The two new CalMac LNG ferries, due to be in service in 2018 and 2019 are now 100% over budget and delayed until late 2020 and 2021. Steel first cut 2016.

[monasqueen]

I've a feeling that the ships should not be on mainstream service after they have reached.. is it 25 or 30 years of age?

If it's 25, there isn't much time left - both Ben and Manannan are over 20 now.

[monasqueen]

2 minutes ago, John Wright said:

The two new CalMac LNG ferries, due to be in service in 2018 and 2019 are now 100% over budget and delayed until late 2020 and 2021. Steel first cut 2016.

And rusting in Ferguson's yard on the Clyde. One of them may be getting some work done on it. The other is a very sorry sight.

[Max Power]

I often wonder if sailings were all timed as overnight, lasting 6-7 hours and arriving early morning, travelling slowly to conserve fuel, would that be a way of reducing fares but charging for extras, meals, cabins, coffees etc etc? It may answer a lot of criticisms, the ferry acts almost as a hotel allowing more time to be spent at the destination so day returns become viable?

[John Wright]

4 minutes ago, monasqueen said:

I've a feeling that the ships should not be on mainstream service after they have reached.. is it 25 or 30 years of age?

If it's 25, there isn't much time left - both Ben and Manannan are over 20 now.

A third of the CalMac fleet is 30+. The surveys prior to purchase said both had another 10 years in them.

[Frances]

If we have only 2 plodders then I suspect the existing peak loading due to the TT will be impossible to handle unless another vessel is chartered at what is the height of the tourist season in Europe - also as Liverpool will be unavailable for the all essential freight service then I suspect one of the pair will at best provide a single daily return trip to Liverpool which makes the cost of a Manx only dock very much a vanity project. Improving the rail link out of Heysham (at one time until mid 60s electrified) with the now excellent rail links from Preston to Liverpool or Manchester looks to me a worthwhile investment

[John Wright]

50 minutes ago, Frances said:

If we have only 2 plodders then I suspect the existing peak loading due to the TT will be impossible to handle unless another vessel is chartered at what is the height of the tourist season in Europe - also as Liverpool will be unavailable for the all essential freight service then I suspect one of the pair will at best provide a single daily return trip to Liverpool which makes the cost of a Manx only dock very much a vanity project. Improving the rail link out of Heysham (at one time until mid 60s electrified) with the now excellent rail links from Preston to Liverpool or Manchester looks to me a worthwhile investment

If you get two “plodders”  with 800 - 850 capacity each and give them a spurt of speed for TT ( 3 hours 15 as opposed to 3 hours 45 ) you could get 5 single journeys per day out of each. So that’s 4000 a day inward. That’s more than Ben and Manannan currently. 
 

As you observe that leaves out Liverpool at 4 hours +. Fully agree Liverpool very much a vanity project and that an improved train connection or luxury coach connection to/from Lancaster and Preston would be good.

[monasqueen]

2 nice fast plodders, that can each do about 25 knots, with Ben as back-up, would be ideal.

[John Wright]

Just now, monasqueen said:

2 nice fast plodders, that can each do about 25 knots, with Ben as back-up, would be ideal.

But ruinously expensive to run at that speed all year round.

[Frances]

The problem with 5 trips is the excessive loading + unloading times required for motor bikes - you can't it seems speed that up - in last couple of years the Racket have allocated an extra hour turnaround and even then usually miss their timings. If the Island does impose a 50mph limit in an attempt to decrease the death rate to something approaching the UK figure then maybe a by then older + wealthier clientele unaccompanied by a bike can be enticed - altho little of the hospitality money would stick 2 x 3daystopover small cruise ship could bring a number for a revamped TT

[monasqueen]

17 hours ago, John Wright said:

But ruinously expensive to run at that speed all year round.

How many ships run at their maximum designed speed all of the time?

Manannan is excruciatingly expensive to run, which is why she takes at least 1/4 hour longer each trip than she was originally advertised to - and even that wasn't at full speed.

The extra speed helps if a few minutes have been lost here and there, like if a vessel has to return to port for an emergency, and gives a bit more margin for loading when on one of the longer crossings. The (say) two round trips per day should be accomplished easily, whether they be to Heysham, Birkenhead, or Dublin.

Ben just does not have that extra margin, and can only plod. She was only built as a freighter with a bit of passenger accommodation thrown on, and then rebuilt to shoehorn a bit more passenger accommodation on board. 

[John Wright]

1 minute ago, monasqueen said:

How many ships run at their maximum designed speed all of the time?

Manannan is excruciatingly expensive to run, which is why she takes at least 1/4 hour longer each trip than she was originally advertised to - and even that wasn't at full speed.

The extra speed helps if a few minutes have been lost here and there, like if a vessel has to return to port for an emergency, and gives a bit more margin for loading when on one of the longer crossings. The (say) two round trips per day should be accomplished easily, whether they be to Heysham, Birkenhead, or Dublin.

Ben just does not have that extra margin, and can only plod. She was only built as a freighter with a bit of passenger accommodation thrown on, and then rebuilt to shoehorn a bit more passenger accommodation on board. 

Which is why I qualified my comment with the words “all year round”

Fully agree that an extra turn of speed would be good, both to play catch up, or to fit in an extra passage,  daily, at peak periods. But the limiting factor at peak periods as @Frances observes, is turn round time when you’re loading 400 bikes and lashing them down

[Albert Tatlock]

On 11/29/2019 at 8:24 PM, John Wright said:

Boat A as now and Boat B operating the same times but in the opposite direction. Sailing in each direction every 6 hours, at least in summer.

All this talk of getting from A to B. Now boat A and boat B. Where the hell is A? And I've never been to B either. Yet everyone seems to want to go to B, usually from A. So I presume A is shit and B is great because everyone heads straight from there to B.

So where's B...and how do I get there from Douglas...as you seem to be inferring this will be on the new steam racket timetable? But I can't seem to see it in there?

I suspect you're just winding us up and there's really no such place as B at all.

[Donald Trumps]

Andy knew

[gettafa]

On 11/28/2019 at 4:06 PM, foxdaleliberationfront said:

They need to improve the on-board entertainment. A pool table in the bar area would be great. 

When Manx Line started up they had a roulette table and a cinema. It only had two films which they used day in day out for months/years. VHS was very much in its infancy, so to be able to watch a film at all, outside of a cinema or on TV,  but on demand, was a sort of big thing. The Italian Job and My Fair Lady I think they were.