MV Salish

MV Salish in the Admiralty Inlet (2011)
History
Name:	MV Salish
Owner:	Washington State Ferries
Operator:	Washington State Ferries
Route:	Port Townsend-Coupeville (Keystone) (summer and shoulder season), relief vessel (winter)
Builder:	Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle
Maiden voyage:	June 30, 2011
In service:	July 1, 2011
Status:	In Service
General characteristics
Class and type:	Kwa-di Tabil-class auto/passenger ferry
Length:	273 ft 8 in (83.4 m)
Deck clearance:	15 ft 10 in (4.83 m)
Propulsion:	Diesel, Variable Pitch Propeller
Capacity:	64 vehicles

MV Salish is a Kwa-di Tabil-class ferry built at Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle, Washington for the Washington State Ferries. The vessel was put into service on July 1, 2011 on the Port Townsend-Coupeville (Keystone, Whidbey Island) route.

The Salish served the Port Townsend-Coupeville run for the second summer in a row in 2012. In winter 2011 she spent about a week doing the inter-island run in the San Juans due to the MV Evergreen State being out of service. The Salish is a back-up vessel in the winter 2012–13 season that will come into service as needed when other ferries undergo maintenance.

The Salish's design is based on that of the MV Island Home ferry that is owned by The Woods Hole, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority. The particular class has had some mechanical issues, causing some in Washington to question the use of the design.

The Salish shares the design of its sister, the MV Chetzemoka. The design is somewhat unusual for a Washington State Ferry, as the vessel has two elevators, multiple stair wells, and a smoke stack on the same side of the ferry, instead of being symmetrical, aside from having a single elevator on one side of a typical Washington State Ferry. This oddity in design, has given the vessels a pronounced 1 degree list, causing some to call the vessels "Eileen" (I lean). When the boat is loaded, the list is not noticeable.

This vessel was used as an emergency replacement vessel on the well traveled Bremerton-Seattle run, during this time it was observed the overpowered and diesel fuel-hungry engines couldn't make the 16 knot speed they were designed for and could do at best 12.8 knots (earning the nickname M/V slowish) resulting in major travel delays on top of the reduced capacity one would expect from this small vessel.