Kitsap Transit agrees to fund renovations for Admiral Pete

The Admiral Pete, which ferries passengers between Port Orchard and Bremerton, will be enlarged to handle up to 120 people. - Jeff Rhodes/Staff Photo
Jeff Rhodes/Staff Photo
The Admiral Pete, which ferries passengers between Port Orchard and Bremerton, will be enlarged to handle up to 120 people.

By KAITLIN STROHSCHEIN
Port Orchard Independent Reporter
September 22, 2010 · 10:45 AM

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Kitsap Transit’s board of commissioners voted on Tuesday to spend about $2.3 million for local foot ferries.

Of that, $965,000 was designated for stretching and retooling the 15-year-old Admiral Pete, which runs between Port Orchard and Bremerton, and about $1.4 million to buy a spare sister ship.

The Admiral Pete currently holds about 85 people.

“We have days where that’s not quite enough on rush-hour trips,” said Richard Hayes, executive director of Kitsap Transit.

After stretching the small catamaran, it will hold 120 people.

“We suspect that the 120 people will work for 10 to 20 years at the growth rate of the program,” Hayes said.

The commissioners also designated money to change out the 15-year-old engines, which will mean that the boat produces “vastly lower emissions,” according to Hayes.

The new, spare ferry will be identical to the stretched Admiral Pete, and will only typically be used while the Admiral Pete or its sister ship are going through an inspection.

Kitsap Transit will save about $50,000 per year by using the spare boat instead of renting a boat to pick up the trips that would otherwise be missed during the inspections.

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