The Seattle-Winslow ferry is a ferry route across Puget Sound

Puget Sound

Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...

 between Seattle and Winslow, Washington

Winslow, Washington

Winslow is the name of the downtown area of the city of Bainbridge Island, Washington, and is the original name of the city. It encompasses the area around the main street, Winslow Way, and is made up of approximately overlooking Eagle Harbor....

, on Bainbridge Island. The route is also called the Seattle-Bainbridge ferry. Since 1951 the only ferries employed on the route have belonged to the Washington state ferry system

Washington State Ferries

Washington State Ferries is a passenger and automobile ferry service owned and operated by the Washington State Department of Transportation that serves communities on Puget Sound and in the San Juan Islands. It is the most used ferry system in the world and the largest passenger and automobile...

, currently the largest ferry system in the United States.

Description

This ferry route is 8.6 miles long, with terminals at Colman Dock

Colman Dock

Colman Dock, also called Pier 52 is an important ferry terminal in Seattle, Washington. The original pier is no longer in existence, but the terminal used by the Washington State Ferry system, and is still called “Colman Dock”-Location:...

 in Seattle and, on Bainbridge Island, at Winslow. Near the Winslow terminal is the main shipyard for the Washington State Ferry system.

History

Before ferries were dominant on Puget Sound, the route was served by passenger and freight-carrying steamboats. The wooden steamship Florence K was placed on the by the Eagle Harbor Transportation Co., until 1915 when the company put the new steamer Bainbridge on the route, and shifted Florence K to the Seattle – Port Washington route.

In 1949, the Chippewa served on the route, except during summers, when Chippewa was transferred to the Anacortes-Sidney route. From 1951 to 1968, the main ferry on the route was the Tillikum (capacity: 1,200 passengers, 87 automobiles), with the steam ferry San Mateo occasionally running as an extra boat. Another vessel used on the route was the Illahee.

In 1968, with increasing demand exceeding vehicle capacity, Tillikum was reassigned to the Edmonds-Kingston route, and replaced by the Superferry class

Super Class ferry

The Super Class ferries are 144-car class ferries operated by Washington State Ferries. In addition, they can carry up to 2500 passengers.- History :...

 boats Kaleetan and Elwha, both with capacities of 2,500 passengers and 160 (originally) automobiles.

Current status

Assigned to the route as of June 2011 were the Jumbo Mark II class ferries

Jumbo Mark II Class ferry

The Jumbo Mark II Class ferries were built for Washington State Ferries between 1997 and 1999, at Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle. Each ferry can carry up to 2500 passengers and 202 vehicles, making them the largest ferries in the system, and are the second longest double-ended ferries in the...

 Puyallup and Wenatchee, each with a capacity of 2,500 passengers and a maximum of 202 vehicles.