Nothing is routine yet on the M/V Chetzemoka.

It's an entirely new design for the Washington State Department of Transportation's ferry fleet (the nation's largest), and it's plying the most challenging route in terms of weather, tides and harbors.

It's a big change from the smaller Steilacoom II, and from the Steel Electrics on this route from 1983 to 2007.

Everything is different: How terminal parking lanes are managed, how vehicles are loaded and unloaded, how passengers move about the boat, how the boat moves about in the wind, and even the eats for purchase in the ship's galley (clam chowder and beer are now available).

"Everybody is just fascinated with the fact that we have a new boat," said Stan Standley, a Port Ludlow resident and 11-year Washington State Ferries employee. "They are enjoying the heck out of it. It's a very customer-friendly boat."

Standley is an able-bodied seaman who, four years ago, came to the Port Townsend route aboard Klickitat and Nisqually, then the Steilacoom II and now the Chetzemoka. There are many reasons to be happy with the new boat (the first new state ferry since 1999), but it also poses unique physical differences for which crew and customers must contend, and which someday may be routine, but which for now are new experiences.

‘Tight in this tunnel’

First and foremost, the car deck is tight: A few vehicle side mirrors were broken within two weeks, and orange traffic py lons have become supplemental parking aids.

"She's pretty doggone tight in this tunnel," said Standley, standing on the car deck with 63 vehicles on board. "We've got to be diligent in the way we load things."

The Chetzemoka sets fleet loading routines on its ear for two basic reasons:

• Three of the six vehicle parking lanes have height restrictions (7 feet, 4 inches maximum, 7-2 preferred).

• The loading/unloading sequence must account for the vessel’s list.

What follows is an explanation of how the new ferry is being used, not a judgment about whether it is good or bad. Here's the lowdown:

Vessel list

WSF approved the Kwa-di Tabil class of ferries (Chetzemoka in 2010, Salish in 2011 and Kennewick in 2012) as a new design based on the Island Home from Massachusetts. That East Coast design and this West Coast design have an intentional list. No other WSF ferry has had such a noticeable tilt.

Some people have speculated the list to be 4 degrees or more. WSF officially announced it is 1 degree. According to an unofficial level bubble on the ferry's bridge, the list is 2.5 to 3 degrees.

Double-ended boats like this ferry have a No. 1 end and a No. 2 end. Port (left) and starboard (right) are defined by the No. 1 end. Chetzemoka’s No. 1 end is parked in Port Townsend, so technically the port side has the list.

Crew members generally talk to passengers about the ferry's “high side” and the “low side,” because it's easier in terms of obvious direction.

The list is all about weight distribution. Instead of an interior "tower" for stairwells, elevator, exhaust, etc. on each side of a ferry or one in the middle, this design has one tower and consequently, it weighs down one side of the vessel.

WSF crew and officials have said the list does not interfere with safety, vessel speed or docking ability.

The intention is that vehicle weight rights the list for transit. That's been true with less than a full load, and when heavy semi-trucks are on board. These first few weeks of operation have shown that when the ferry has a full load of only cars and SUVs, a list remains, because there's not enough weight to spread around, crew members have observed. When it's not a full load, few, if any, cars are parked on the ferry's low side.

Orange cones

The Chetzemoka is a different shape than the Steel Electrics, the only other state-owned ferries that could navigate Whidbey Island's narrow Keystone Harbor. That's led to some adjustment of wooden dolphins and other terminal hardware. (Remember, Whidbey Island folks did not want a terminal relocation at Keystone.)

The Chetzemoka loads and unloads using one lane, not two, as most other ferry terminals, and that is because of the vessel list, and the rubberized end of the ramps at the Keystone and Port Townsend terminals. There is a 6- to 8-inch gap between the apron and the ferry deck's low side. Other terminals have articulated aprons with corner flaps that compensate for such gaps. The PT and Keystone docks have older, straight aprons.

The gap is not always so noticeable, depending on tides and the weight being carried, crew noted. But it's enough of a potential hazard that orange traffic cones are now placed at both terminals to direct all traffic toward the vessel's high side – one lane on, one lane off. Someday, the terminals could be upgraded with articulated ramps.

High to low

WSF has not and does not guarantee motorists that being early at the terminal means being first on (or off) the boat. On this ferry route, vehicles with reservations are loaded ahead of those on standby but with semi-trucks involved, loading could be out of sequence.

Now, the loading routine is such that last vehicles on the ferry are among first off, and among the first on could be last off.

The Chetzemoka is generally loaded starting with the high side, to account for the list.

There are six lanes (not numbered), viewed this way when boarding the No. 1 end in Port Townsend: On the low side (to your right) is one 7-foot-4-inch height lane that runs in its own tunnel between the outer bulkhead and the tower. The deck crew tries to send cars or small SUVs down this outer lane, because alongside it is the ADA wheelchair-access route leading to the public elevator. Since it's the low side, it's often the last to be filled and that means smaller vehicles are last in line.

The two lanes on the high side (to your far left) are also height restricted, leaving three lanes in the "middle" for full-size vehicles. But the interior lane along the tower has unintended size limits of its own.

Watch your mirrors

At a level perfect to wipe out side mirrors is extended, handle-like tube iron (the size to support a basketball backboard) on each side of pedestrian openings for the freight elevator at the No. 2 end, and the passenger elevator and stairway access toward No. 1 end. The iron is on both sides of the tower openings, but is not a big issue for the outer lane because of the painted ADA path that keeps cars some distance from the tower.

But in the interior lane, it's a different story. The steel barriers are wrapped in black and yellow to alert drivers of the hazard. A few car mirrors were wiped out in the first few weeks of use, and the deck crew set out orange traffic pylons.

"People know that yellow and black means caution, but to the everyday driver, it gets masked," Standley said. "The orange cones are reflective and easy to recognize."

There's also another parking hazard along the tower. At hubcap level are two steel-encased electrical outlet boxes, which one crewman said could be a "can opener" if brushed by a vehicle edging close to the bulkhead. The one in the bulkhead's center is the most problematic, but no vehicles have hit it, to date.

Neither feature would be a problem if the ferry had a 12-inch curb between the parking lane and the bulkhead, common throughout the fleet.

Dark car deck

This car deck has no windows (also unique to WSF), so there's less natural light, plus three of the parking lanes have low ceilings. If you want to stay in your car and read, turn on a light.

There is no restroom on the car deck.

Overall, the parking lanes are wide enough, but there seems to be less space between lanes than with other WSF boats.

It's a tight fit, and coupled with the presence of semi-trucks and large RVs, deck crewman Standley said, drivers are infringing on the yellow paint separating the lanes, exacerbating the problem. Attentive drivers with self-folding side mirrors are using that feature. Standley said that if asked, deck crew could fold and unfold mirrors as it helps with access.

The ferry's crews are learning and adapting. At a safety meeting about two weeks ago, one crewman said, he recommended that when called to turn out in "bunker gear" for firefighting, the responders use the passenger cabin to access fore and aft, rather than the car deck, because the space between vehicles is so tight.

ADA access

WSF allows motorists with a "disabled persons" parking permit to ask at the terminal ticket booth for ADA parking on board. For example, ask for parking to allow access via driver's side rear, or vehicle rear, etc. That info is radioed to the deck crew. The requests are handled on a first-come, first-served basis. It's especially important on the Chetzemoka because of the tight parking conditions, lane restrictions and elevator location.

Getting topside

Because of how the ferry must be loaded, it is possible for people leaving their parked vehicle to cross multiple lanes onto which vehicles are being funneled – more so than on other WSF boats. Be careful!

There are stairways on both the high and low side. Get upstairs via the high side (stairway leading through each end of the bicycle mezzanine) and the low side (main stairway and elevator by No. 1 end). Note: The public elevator has been having problems.

Unloading

The unloading sequence is routine: Walk-ons are the first off (to one side of the orange cones), followed by bicyclists. Those cyclists who want to walk their bikes off disembark with the pedestrians. Motorcycles follow the cyclists off.

Vehicle unloading typically starts with the four cars nearest the front. The bulk of the ferry's remaining vehicles are then unloaded from the low side (starting with the outer lane, often the last cars aboard) over to the high side. The high side ends with the two height-restricted lanes in which some of the first cars aboard are parked.

"It is a way different routine," Standley said in early December.

The galley

Galley service was removed from this route before the Steel Electrics went out of service, so anything is a step up from vending machines.

CDX Corp. (based in Mukilteo), the ferry's food concession vendor, established a galley crew on the day's first sailing from Keystone. The menu includes hot dogs, chicken, Ivar's clam chowder, hot drinks, cold drinks and snacks. Beer and wine is available.

Galley crew Lori Sills said most customers are appreciative of the service. She's worked on four ferries and said, "This galley set-up is completely different, but mostly, I think it's better."

She's observed lots of people from the Port Townsend side boarding with food and hot drinks, and wondered if that will change once riders know about the galley.

ong>Passenger decks

The passenger mezzanine and main deck have a mix of booths and single seats. Again, it's much different than other WSF boats in that passengers have more out-of-the-way places to sit. The restrooms are basic but fresh.

The walls are decorated with framed photographs, most of them historic and most from the Jefferson County Historical Society. The Klallam tribes are well represented. Photo captions are reversed on two photos.

Stairwells are spacious, although part of the stairwell was built without a protective wire mesh.

The top deck has room to stretch your legs and seats on the high and low side. Sitting by the low side's exhaust stack is not a quiet experience.

Bicycles

This is the fleet's first ferry to dedicate space for bicyclists. There is a 16-step staircase that has a ramp alongside to push your bike from the car deck to the high-side bike mezzanine. This area runs the boat length and has 10 bicycle racks (at least six bikes per rack) and eight pairs of seats. There is room for more racks and seats.

It was quickly discovered that two-seater bicycles, recumbent bikes and bikes loaded with a lot of camping gear are too heavy or awkward to be pushed up and down the special ramp. They've been allowed to move toward the front of the boat.

The learning curve on how the special bike access really works will come to fruition next summer when large groups of cyclists take the ferry route. The mezzanine has room for 70 cyclists, but they can't all leave the mezzanine to gather on the car deck before the ferry docks; how much time it takes a large group of cyclists to walk their bikes down the ramp and exit remains to be seen.

Full load

The Steilacoom II was rated a 50-car boat, but minus any large trucks, could hold 50-57 cars. The Steel Electrics could fit 62-67.

The Chetzemoka is rated a 64-car boat. According to one deck crew member, its first "full" load, on the Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend, comprised 63 vehicles (no semi-trucks, and he said there was space for a few more small cars).

Wind and tides

The larger, more powerful Chetzemoka has been expected to handle the wind on this Admiralty Inlet crossing better than the Steilacoom II – hopefully better than the Steel Electrics. There are three weather zones: Port Townsend Bay, Admiralty Inlet and Keystone Harbor. It may be fine in PT and 40 mph at Keystone.

Between Nov. 15 and Dec. 8, Chetzemoka missed 16 round-trip sailings due to high winds and heavy seas.

Tides are still a problem due to Keystone Harbor. The last sailing from each side was already canceled Dec. 23 due to tides. "Due to the heavy vehicle traffic boarding the vessel," WSF reported at 4:51 p.m., the Chetzemoka was 45 minutes behind schedule. At 5:55 p.m. it was announced the one scheduled round-trip sailing was canceled.

Full crew

The Steel Electrics had eight crew. WSF requested nine on the Chetzemoka, but the U.S. Coast Guard required 10: a master (not called a captain), chief mate, three able-bodied seamen, two ordinary seamen, and, below deck, a chief engineer and two oilers. The third deck crew member is a key asset because of how the vehicle must be loading and unloaded.

Semi-trucks

Semi-truck traffic has been off this route since the Steel Electrics were pulled from service on Nov. 20, 2007. The big rigs are back, with four or five round trips a day on the route. Most of the semis are wood-chip trucks bound for Port Townsend Paper Corp.: four-axle trucks weighing up to 100,000 pounds and three-axle, 80,000-pound trucks.

The shift is a big revenue boost for this route ($73.20 for a 70-foot semi, and $45.75 for a 50-foot truck, such as those of Edensaw Woods, another regular customer). The trucks were paying to ride the Kingston-Edmonds ferry, but having the State Route 20 connection saves hours a day, and mileage.

Two 70-foot trucks almost fill one terminal dock lane; 20 feet is considered average vehicle length.

Reservation system

This route has been used to develop the WSF pilot program for reservations. The next phase planned in 2011 potentially includes a fare deposit to hold the reservation. Presently, reservations come at no cost or penalty for not showing up.

With the 50-car Steilacoom II, regular riders learned to use the reservation system religiously, especially during the summer and on weekends. For the Chetzemoka, 45 of the 64 slots may be reserved in advance. It holds double the walk-on space available, but motorists who want to make sure they are on a certain ferry – get a reservation. It's easy to do on the WSF website.

A welcome change at the Port Townsend terminal: Early next year, the two toll booths are being moved side by side to reduce the line-up of vehicles onto Water Street as there is no ferry traffic holding area.