Named for a small constellation, Hydrus became the brightest star in San Francisco’s Water Emergency Transportation Authority (WETA) fleet in April.
The 135-foot aluminum catamaran also set the bar for greenest in the group, a noteworthy contribution in California’s quest for cleaner air and water.
The art of moving an ever-increasing number of commuters in this port city is an unrelenting challenge — perhaps struggle is a better word. The Golden HYDRUS Gate and Bay bridges are choked. Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) is congested. The streets of San Francisco are clogged. The ferries are crowded.
To take some of the heat off, WETA, hit with a 74 percent increase in ridership since 2012, is undergoing an aggressive expansion of its fleet and terminals. Hydrus is the first in a series of four ferries scheduled to join the WETA fleet in the next two years, replacing M/V Encinal on the AlamedaSan Francisco run. Designed by Incat Crowther and costing $15.1 million, Hydrus has seating for 400 passengers and racks for more than 50 bicycles.
The first two ferries, Hydrus and Cetus, which was delivered in July, were constructed in a joint venture between Nichols Brothers Boat Builders on Whidbey Island, Wash., and Kvichak Marine, now a Vigor company, at its Ballard shipyard on Seattle’s Ship Canal. The third and fourth ferries are being built solely at Vigor.
The construction process for Hydrus and Cetus repeated that of the four Gemini-class fast ferries delivered to WETA in 2009. Nichols Brothers built the superstructures and Kvichak began the hulls and decks prior to becoming a Vigor company. Once Vigor installed the propulsion systems, the catamaran hulls were towed to Whidbey Island to take on the superstructures, and then delivered to San Francisco.
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