the vessels and draining the cooling systems. “Winterising is easy because none of the ferries have galleys or bathroom facilities as the routes are no longer than 30 minutes.” The routes all cross the Great South Bay, which is protected water. With shallow water depth ranging from 2.4m to 3m,
Fire Island
Ferries’ vessels must maintain designated courses to avoid sandbars. “We have the ability to run in quite a variety of weather,” said Mr Mooney. “But it does freeze in the winter and we have been shut down for weeks on end when the bay has occasionally iced over. One of our freight boats is designed to break a small amount of ice but it is not ice classed.”
Rainy conditions also present a problem, as each vessel has an open top deck. Mr Mooney commented, “Rain is a disaster in summer, as no passengers want to sit on the top deck, so our capacity is basically cut in half. However we make sure we don’t leave anyone on the dock so during the summer we have a second ferry standing by to take the overflow.” Fire Island Ferries has historically had a family focus and Mr Mooney attributes much of success
its to his father, Edwin, who joined the
company as a deckhand when it was founded in 1948, rising through the ranks to become president in 1971 and chief executive officer in 2000. The original fleet in 1948 comprised four vessels, and only one of these was a purpose-built ferry. Between the 1950s and the 1980s, Fire Island Ferries built up the number of routes it served as other operators dropped out of the market. Over the past few years the firm has been
revitalising its fleet, retiring old vessels and ordering new ferries. In 2008 Rhode Island-based yard, Blount Boats, built the 26m Fire Island Belle for the operator and, last year, Texas builders Gladding-Hearn delivered sistership, Fire Island Queen. “We looked at Gladding-Hearn to build Fire Island Belle in 2008 but they didn’t have a slot for us,” said Mr Mooney. “But when we went back to Blount Boats to order Fire Island Queen, they didn’t have a slot at that point and Gladding- Hearn did!” However, the design of the latter ferry was slightly different. “With every boat you learn a little bit more,” Mr Mooney said. “We changed
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minor things like the sea chest and strainer locations, and the fire proofing insulation inside the engineroom. The engines were moved apart by an extra 15cm so there is more room between them for maintenance. In the wheelhouse we now have dimmers on the upper deck lighting and the lights are amber as opposed to white. The crew like the fact that bright white light is no longer shining in their eyes.”
The vessel actually exceeds US Coast Guard
(USCG) rules which stipulate that every passenger must have 18in (45.7cm) of seating. “We built the boat that we needed and found that we had more stability than bench seats,” added Mr Mooney. Not all US regulations have been effortless
for Fire Island Ferries, however. In December the USCG raised the assumed average weight per person on board a ship from 165 pounds (75kg) to 185 pounds (84kg). This did not seriously affect the firm’s main service, but it also owns a water taxi service and this was impacted. “We had to downgrade our ridership on our water taxis because of the new weight restrictions,” said Mr Mooney. “On the ferries the effect was not so pronounced, as passengers can carry a lot of luggage, but on the water taxis it is just people. The Coast Guard just wants one standard though, so they paint everybody with the same brush.” Fire Island Water Taxi was established in 2004, when the firm bought out another operator. “We gave away most of the existing vessels as they were unserviceable,” Mr Mooney commented. “However there were a few good aluminium boats which we kept and re-engined.” The company
The Fire Island Ferries fleet comprises 28 vessels Passenger Ship Technology I Spring 2012 I 31
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