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For clueless "decisionmakers" I 100% agree, but this? Seriously: “A lot of the engineers, researchers, and planners … have the best intentions, but they don’t a

For clueless "decisionmakers" I 100% agree, but this? Seriously: “A lot of the engineers, researchers, and planners … have the best intentions, but they don’t always understand the reality of what it means to live in a rural community…” What other solution is there to a ferry, when a bridge/tunnel is out of a question? Relocation?

nehal3m 4y ago
The point is that a technologically advanced ferry is more difficult to maintain in remote regions. I would speculate that 2 smaller diesel ferries would fit design requirements better. Maybe less stringent environmental requirements would be in order, to allow for simpler technology (the net benefit being you don't have to fly parts halfway across the planet every time the fancy ferry breaks down). Ultimately people who don't live in the environments things are being designed for might be predisposed to assume that advanced is better (or even the only option). The article argues that this is not always the case and we should take that into account.
willyt 4y ago
Maybe the organisation that bought the ferry should enforce the contract they have with the ferry supplier so that the ferry works properly? Maybe the contract should have included a service plan? It’s a four hour drive to a city of 100k people in a province full of ferries so not that hard to have a maintenance agreement, surely? Sounds like a one-off procurement screw-up. Not an endemic problem.
- willyt 4y ago
  Scotland, Norway, Finland and Sweden the Faroe Isles all seem to manage it. Norway has replaced most of thier short haul ro-ro ferries with battery electric ones based on brand new technology and many of them will be further away from a city than this. If you look at the size of the slipways on satellite and the length and exposure of the crossing you can see that it’s not a problem that can be solved by a pontoon with an outboard on it. It is a what would be a 10 car ferry with a crew of 4 people in Scotland one of whom would be a mechanic. If the engine goes wrong, the EMS displays a code and the service tech from Cummins or Caterpillar or MTE comes and fixes it, not the local car mechanic. You can’t buy a new 1600hp engine that can be serviced like this anymore, they cost more than £100k and the local guy is only trusted to do oil and filter changes. Maybe that’s bad but then you need to change the course of diesel engine design philosophy at a global sized company to solve this problem. Not going to happen.
strken 4y ago
A reliable ferry with a purely mechanical engine repairable with common automotive/boat parts, but which doesn't meet emissions standards because it doesn't use electronic fuel injection? Two ferries? A ferry with four outboards on the back and more in storage, so the operator can swap them out when they break?
- alistairSH 4y ago
  A ferry with four outboards on the back I think you just proved the point the article was making. You aren't pushing a blue-water, RoRo ferry [1] with a couple of outboards. 1 - https://www.gov.nl.ca/ti/files/ferryservices-schedules-photos-veteranweb.jpg https://www.gov.nl.ca/ti/files/ferryservices-schedules-photo...
  - strken 4y ago
    I'm a guy on the internet engineering a four-paragraph HN post about unreliable ferries in general, not a shipwright building a ferry for the Change Islands. The article isn't about me, it's about the process whereby the actual, real, physical ferry is out for 4 months out of 6.

nehal3m 4y ago

The point is that a technologically advanced ferry is more difficult to maintain in remote regions. I would speculate that 2 smaller diesel ferries would fit design requirements better. Maybe less stringent environmental requirements would be in order, to allow for simpler technology (the net benefit being you don't have to fly parts halfway across the planet every time the fancy ferry breaks down). Ultimately people who don't live in the environments things are being designed for might be predisposed to assume that advanced is better (or even the only option). The article argues that this is not always the case and we should take that into account.

willyt 4y ago

Maybe the organisation that bought the ferry should enforce the contract they have with the ferry supplier so that the ferry works properly? Maybe the contract should have included a service plan? It’s a four hour drive to a city of 100k people in a province full of ferries so not that hard to have a maintenance agreement, surely? Sounds like a one-off procurement screw-up. Not an endemic problem.

willyt 4y ago
Scotland, Norway, Finland and Sweden the Faroe Isles all seem to manage it. Norway has replaced most of thier short haul ro-ro ferries with battery electric ones based on brand new technology and many of them will be further away from a city than this. If you look at the size of the slipways on satellite and the length and exposure of the crossing you can see that it’s not a problem that can be solved by a pontoon with an outboard on it. It is a what would be a 10 car ferry with a crew of 4 people in Scotland one of whom would be a mechanic. If the engine goes wrong, the EMS displays a code and the service tech from Cummins or Caterpillar or MTE comes and fixes it, not the local car mechanic. You can’t buy a new 1600hp engine that can be serviced like this anymore, they cost more than £100k and the local guy is only trusted to do oil and filter changes. Maybe that’s bad but then you need to change the course of diesel engine design philosophy at a global sized company to solve this problem. Not going to happen.

strken 4y ago

A reliable ferry with a purely mechanical engine repairable with common automotive/boat parts, but which doesn't meet emissions standards because it doesn't use electronic fuel injection? Two ferries? A ferry with four outboards on the back and more in storage, so the operator can swap them out when they break?

alistairSH 4y ago
A ferry with four outboards on the back I think you just proved the point the article was making. You aren't pushing a blue-water, RoRo ferry [1] with a couple of outboards. 1 - https://www.gov.nl.ca/ti/files/ferryservices-schedules-photos-veteranweb.jpg https://www.gov.nl.ca/ti/files/ferryservices-schedules-photo...
- strken 4y ago
  I'm a guy on the internet engineering a four-paragraph HN post about unreliable ferries in general, not a shipwright building a ferry for the Change Islands. The article isn't about me, it's about the process whereby the actual, real, physical ferry is out for 4 months out of 6.