NSW Ferry Discussion until December 2017.

[Tonymercury]

Its more likely to be a private function.

[boronia]

On the Heritage Centre website:

The Royal Australian Navy Heritage Centre will be closed Saturday, 8th July and re-open on Sunday, 9th July 2017

[Roderick Smith]

Four interesting links:
First link which had nothing to do with Sydney was deleted.Admin.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-01-26/a ... ce/6046514
http://www.smartcruisersydney.com.au/bo ... -ferry-nye
http://www.smartcruisersydney.com.au/bo ... dney-ferry

Roderick

[neilrex]

https://www.ipart.nsw.gov.au/Home/Indus ... -July-2017

The apparent claim that car travel is an alternative to the ferry, to go to Mackerell Beach or Lovett Bay, seems like a strange claim.

[Fleet Lists]

On Transport Info there is a special timetable for the Eastern Suburns F7 for Saturday 8th July where no services call at Garden Island. The next day the timetable reverts to normal.

There is an alert "On Saturday 8 July, F7 Eastern Suburbs and private ferry services will not stop at Garden Island Wharf." No reason given.

Similarly there is a one day special timetable for the Captain Cook Garden Island and Manly service.

They seem to go to a lot more trouble with special timetables for ferry services than they do for buses.

Again new timetable up showing no Garden Island services from 31st July to 25th August with normal services resuming 26th August.

Nothing on http://www.navy.gov.au/history/museums/ ... age-centre.

[Fleet Lists]

An alert has just come up

From Monday 31 July until Friday 25 August, F7 Eastern Suburbs and private ferry services will not stop at Garden Island Wharf, which will be closed for planned maintenance work.

[Fleet Lists]

And it appears that Chiswick Wharf will reopen on 31st July with a new Parramatta River timetable from that date again including Chiswick wharf.
Alerts have not been updates a yet and the route 437 timetable does not show a finishing date as yet.

[Fleet Lists]

Manly Fast Ferry

[Fleet Lists]

from https://transportnsw.info/alerts#/6008288

From 10.30pm on Thursday 10 August, F3 Parramatta River ferry services will not run from Birchgrove Wharf, which will be temporarily closed for overnight maintenance. The last ferry will be the 22:20 service towards Parramatta.

Normal service will resume the following morning.

Nothing further yet on Chiswick reopening.

[flitter]

Nothing further yet on Chiswick reopening.

Thought I heard on the ferry this week that it's opening on Monday? Looked pretty finished on Thursday...

[Fleet Lists]

The alert has been updated to read

Details
From Wednesday 1 February until Sunday 30 July, Chiswick Wharf will be temporarily closed for upgrade works. Ferry services will resume from Monday 31 July.

Shuttle bus service route 437 will run between Chiswick shopping centre and Abbotsford Wharf, to connect passengers with Parramatta River ferry services while the wharf is closed.

But no news item.

[Fleet Lists]

Transport Info has new Captain Cook timetables for all routes except Lane Cove River starting 9th August 2017.

[Roderick Smith]

The search box isn't finding this item.

Roderick.

April 26 2017 6 years after last revamp, Milsons Point wharf undergoes another makeover.
Work on expanding a ferry wharf at Milsons Point on Sydney's north shore will begin on Thursday, just over six years after construction of a new pier was completed.
The latest overhaul means the wharf near Luna Park will be closed for six months, leaving commuters to use the nearby Jeffrey Street wharf at Kirribilli.
A second platform will be constructed to allow two ferries to berth at the same time, as well as extra seating and two covered gangways.
The wharf underwent a revamp in 2010 when a "modern floating pontoon", an undercover waiting area and new walkways and signage were installed.
Transport for NSW said the latest upgrade was needed to support an increase in services outlined in the state government's long-term plans for ferries in 2013.
"The upgrade delivered to the wharf in 2010 was simply to replace the old wharf, which was at the end of its serviceable life," a spokesman said.
But North Sydney councillor Maryann Beregi said expanding the wharf just over six years after it underwent an overhaul reflected poor government planning "It really should have been done right the first time, and not inconvenience everyone," she said. "If proper demographic and needs analysis had been done, this work and expenditure would not need to be done again."
Milsons Point ferry wharf will be closed for six months. Photo: Dean Sewell .
The cost of the upgrade to the Milsons Point wharf has not been disclosed.
Last month, the government announced plans for an extra 85 weekly ferry services on Sydney Harbour this year.
Transport for NSW said it was upgrading wharves around the harbour to cope with the extra demand, which in some cases like Milsons Point would require two ferries to berth simultaneously.
Construction of two new wharves at Barangaroo, on the western edge of the central business district, is due to be completed shortly, several months after the "ferry hub" was scheduled to open.
The first of six new government-owned ferries each capable of carrying up to 400 passengers should also begin regular services in the coming months.
Tasmanian shipbuilder Incat is scheduled to deliver the rest of the 35-metre catamaran ferries by the end of the year. They will be the first new vessels in the government-owned fleet since early last decade.
Related Articles:
Circular Quay new wharves to 'sparkle' .
The problem with Sydney's new ferries .
Sydney tops nation's transport costs. A report by the Australian Automobile Association reveals the average family from western Sydney is paying around $22,000 a year in transport costs.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/six-years-aft ... vrwdn.html

[Roderick Smith]

The search box isn't finding this item.

Roderick.

June 23 2017 Retirement finally tolls for Sydney Harbour's grand old dames.
After decades plying ferry routes, the last of the grand old dames of Sydney Harbour are about to end decades of service.
Lady Northcott has been awaiting her fate at the Balmain Shipyards and the smaller Lady Herron – Sydney's two last double-ended inner-harbour ferries – is likely to make her final run in the coming weeks.
The Lady Herron is one of the two last Lady-class ferries in Sydney. Photo: Nick Moir .
Sydney's Lady-class ferries were named after the wives of NSW governors, and the oldest – which have long since retired from ferry services – date to the 19th century. Some have ended up as party boats over the years and one as a fish factory in Tasmania.
The departure of the last two from regular runs to inner-harbour destinations such as Taronga Zoo has become more certain as the third of six new replacement ferries – the Victor Chang – arrived in Sydney this week from a shipbuilder's yard in Hobart.
Six years after last revamp, ferry wharf undergoes another makeover Transport for NSW, the government authority, declined to comment on exactly when the last two Lady-class ferries would cease services, other than to say that the "plans for the retirement of the older ferries are being finalised".
For devotees and passengers alike, their passing from ferry routes on the inner harbour will mark the end of an era.
The first of the Lady-class ferries, the Lady Mary, a steamer, was pressed into service in 1892. The Lady Northcott entered service in 1975, and the Lady Herron 4 years later.
Independent ferry consultant Robin Sandell said their distinctive feature was their double-ended design, which was considered necessary in the earlier years.
The Lady Northcott has clocked up 42 years of service on Sydney Harbour. Photo: Nick Moir .
"The newer boats are so manoeuvrable that double-ended vessels are not seen as an advantage. Time has simply moved on," he said.
"It's definitely an end of an era. There would be a lot of people who would be sad about it from a sentimental point of view."
Transport Minister Wal Fife, left, and Elizabeth Nash, daughter of the late NSW Governor Sir John Northott, at the christening of Lady Northcott in 1975. Photo: Adrian Greer Michael Short .
The entry into service of their replacements has not been without a hitch.
The first of the new ferries, Catherine Hamlin, has had a series of design flaws, including odour from its toilets circulating back into the passenger cabin through an open window and wheelhouse doors.
Lady Northcott ferry. resting against the Circular Quay concourse, after breaking through the wooden buffers in Aug.1980. Photo: Peter John Moxham .
Details about the ferry obtained by Labor under freedom-of-information laws also shows bollards at its boarding station were placed too far outboard, while the calibration of the rudder angle indicators was deemed unsatisfactory and navigation lights were not visible at the same time from the front of the ferry.
The cost of fixing the defects on Catherine Hamlin, which was originally scheduled to enter service in January, rests with Tasmanian shipbuilder Incat.
The second new ferry, Fred Hollows, had design changes made while still at the shipbuilder, and they will now be undertaken on Catherine Hamlin.
Transport for NSW declined to comment on when the Catherine Hamlin would enter service, saying only that "all six new ferries [will be] in operation later this year to service the increased cross-harbour demand".
The new 35-metre catamaran ferries will cost the government almost $52 million, and will be run by the city's main private operator, Sydney Harbour Ferries.
Two new ferry wharves at Barangaroo on the edge of Sydney's CBD are also expected to open as soon as next week, about 6 months late. They have cost the government $59 million. [opened 26.6].
Related Articles:
The problem with Sydney's new ferries.
http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/retirement-fi ... wu1k3.html

[mandonov]

Roderick, there doesn't need to be a whole new thread for each new news item. Just find a relevant, existing thread and post it there. Also, chances are a news piece from a month and a half ago has already been discussed.

[Fleet Lists]

Those posts were actually posted in this thread and new threads were not created - just a new title on each post. His attention has been drawn to this by the administrators.

[jpp42]

The copyright to these articles rests with their publisher. It is illegal to copy them in this fashion and republish, unless permission is granted. Although newspapers may not actively go after smaller message boards like this, if I were the administrators I would discourage this practice. A more acceptable practice is to post the title, URL of the article, and maybe the first few lines. This way, those who want to read full article can click through to the web site, which is what the publisher wants.

[Daniel]

It is discouraged. Although some users can't be helped. The amount of time spent cleaning up the board from spam and junk posts is incredible.

[tonyp]

I don't think there's a problem with quoting an article and acknowledging the source by way of a URL like Roderick has done above. The problem is when the source isn't acknowledged.

[boronia]

I can recall a similar discussion some time ago.

IIRC it was suggested here that the full article should be copied, as many of the links are not permanent, and the article may not be readable a few months later.

[Swift]

Doesn't this state learn? Why do we have to lose the lady class as well?
Are these new fangled interstate built cash cows for the builder that much better?
Can't we keep the last one of its type on the water in perpetuity to keep a link to our past?
Surely it is safe enough and economic. There was even a young uni aged girl on the news lamenting the loss of this ferry class! If that isn't an indicator of how beloved they are, what is?

[mandonov]

Well using that logic you'd have us still travelling on tall ships to get to Manly...

[jpp42]

The problem with large heritage vessels is their upkeep. Unlike say, trains, you can't just put them in a shed and paint them every decade or so. As long as they're floating they require significant expenditure.

We have saved ferries before, but no one wants to spend the money to restore them - look at the sorry state of Barragoola and Kanangra. The non-profits that control both have no money and basically no prospect of getting any significant money for these boats. South Steyne was in much better condition because they used the restaurant income to cover costs. Now that they've been unceremoniously dumped out of Darling Harbour with no alternative, there's no income and they could easily end up in the same situation.

So I don't think Sydney needs more heritage ferries until we can learn to take care of the ones we have. One way of helping would be for the state government to acknowledge them as part of Transport Heritage NSW and allow orgnasisarions like the Barragoola Preservation Association and the Sydney Heritage Fleet to join as associate members. They should be allowed to compete for grants along side the train and bus organisations. There isn't enough money here to secure their future but it would be a step in the right direction.

[Swift]

Well using that logic you'd have us still travelling on tall ships to get to Manly.Relegate..

That's drawing a long bow. Hardly compares. The last lady class ferries have not dated at all and use the same construction and materials as the latest " fairies ".
They are infinitely updatable. Keep painting them, replace their engines with Euro 7 down the track.
Whatever you do, keep the damned things in regular service and replace everything else. They are exceptionally important.

[Linto63]

No doubt you can continuously overhaul but as they get older the amount of work needing to be done increases and when higher operating costs are factored in, there does come a time. I think you'll find the design and construction of the Lady and Heritage classes is quite different and not just that one is a double ended mono hull vs a single ended catamaran.