Looking for a bigger boat? Washington will be auctioning off two decommissioned passenger ferries online this week.
The two vessels - the Hiyu and the M/V Evergreen State - currently sit at Eagle Harbor on Bainbridge Island. The state planned to post them on the state auction website late Tuesday night. Wednesday is the first full day the two ferries will be for sale.
The M/V Evergreen State was built in 1954 and is the state's oldest ferry. The 87-car ferry was constructed to serve the Seattle/Bainbridge route but spent the majority of its career in the San Juan Islands, where it was involved in several rescues at sea, including saving the life of an overturned kayaker in 2003.
The 87-car ferry has World War II drive motors and has ferried passengers and vehicles in the state for more than 60 years. Originally decommissioned in spring 2015, the Evergreen State was called back into service in the summer when other ferries were out of service.
The Hiyu, built in 1967, also officially retired last year. Nicknamed "baby Hiyu," the smaller ferry had room for only 199 passengers and 34 vehicles at max capacity. It ran several routes, including the Point Defiance/Tahlequah and inter-island San Juan routes.
The Hiyu was put in storage for over a decade in the late 1990s, then reemerged as a relief vessel.
Related links:
