A door closed on Kauai while the development of a brand new Hawaii ferry service marches forward.
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28 thoughts on “Hawaii Ferry Saga: One Door Opens Wide, Another Slams Shut”
A door closed on Kauai while the development of a brand new Hawaii ferry service marches forward.
I rode on one of these in the late ’70’s when Boeing tested them in Seattle. When we pulled away from the dock, the vessel bobbed in the water like a cork until it turned around and got going fast enought to get up it’s skis. I was shocked how quickly it was possible to get sea sick.
The problem was that the hydroflil cost as much as a 737 and was a massive gas hog. All of the energy nessary to keep it up on the skis came from the fuel. It’s possible the wing of the Seaglider will provide enough lift that the fuel use problems will be better.
The hydrofoil never made any business sense. It was developed after the recession in the mid-’70’s basically to give the engineers some to do and in hope to land a navy contract
We should have a ferry like Alaska’s Marine Railway System that is owned by the state. The ferries are capable of moving large construction vehicles, regular cars and people to the different towns/ports. These ferries are regular ships that can handle different ocean conditions. You can ride one from Bellingham WA and go to Juneau and Anchorage. I had an enjoyable trip.