DL&W Ferry Boats

Thumbing thru Dave Sweetland's book last night....has several excellent color pic's of 3-4 boats in the fleet circa early 1950's.

I never noticed this before but every boat only had 2 rather modest size life boats hanging from rigging off the pilot house deck amidships. A couple of life preservers are visible hanging near the upper level boarding ramps. Can someone confirm my vague recollection/suspician that there were large racks with dozens of life jackets located within the enclosed areas of these ferries ?

Anyone recall the maximum capacity #'s for the boats and the typical number of crewmen on board ?

It would appear that if Gawd-forbid anything went wrong out on the Hudson, those on board would have had to locate a life jacket rack pronto, get into it and then be expected to take a swan dive overboard and make a swim for it ! The 2 life boats only looked capable of holding maybe 30-40 people max.

Can someone relate the above to today's extended use of similar boats in service via the Staten Island Ferry operations ?

Without getting too tied up in the chapter and verse of the Coast Guard regs. on this subject, not all passenger vessels are required to have enough lifeboat capacity for everyone on board. Ocean going ships, yes because if one goes down it may be quite some time before help arrives. In the case of a harbor ferry it's presumed that rescue would be almost immediate due to the proximity of other vessels and land being nearby. Therefore you don't see lifeboats that can handle the 1500+ people a SI ferry is rated to carry. Actually, the role of these boats is more intended for man overboard recovery and evacuation of the injured and handicapped than for wholesale abandon ship use. Yes, the E-L ferries had, and the SI ferries and all passenger vessels have lifejackets (actually called PFD's- personal flotation devices) for everyone on board. The ferries and most larger commercial vessels carry them in racks hung from the overhead (ceiling to landlubbers) from which they can be pulled in the event of emergency. And yes, if an abandon ship evolution was ever actually needed you'd have to get a PFD; make sure it's the proper size (Adult> 90 lbs; Child<90 lbs); figure out how to put it on; execute a, um, water entry maneuver; get away from the hull; and wait to be picked up.

I remember on the enclosed parts of the upper deck the ceilings were a sea of orange life vests that could be pulled down quite easily. They were held up there by wood lathing that would easily give when a vest was pulled.

Yes, the wood lath method is probably the simplest and most common and you'll find it on most all ferries, Circle Line boats, party fishing boats and similar vessels. It makes a lot of PFD's readily accessible and visible to a large number of people quickly, while keeping them out of the hands of jerks who would want to play with or vandalize them or throw them overboard for amusement. It also has the advantage of permitting the free flow of air over the stored PFD's thus eliminating the mold and mildew problem that can develop if they're stored in closed lockers or compartments. It also eliminates the need to devote deck space to storing them and at the same time the hundreds of visible PFD's provide quiet psychological reassurance to those who are nervous about being on board....Us sailors ain't always as dumb as we act.

The main reason ferryboats were pretty safe was becasue of a "little" boat named the General Slocum - http://www.general-slocum.com/

Car Floater
S. Plainfield, NJ
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/railmarineops/

The most modern E-L ferries (1906 class) and the last to be in service were certificated for 1,986 passengers each. Don't know actual crew sizes but a good guess for steam powered boats would have been 4 officers (Captain, Pilot (SI ferry calls them Asst. Capts.), Mate and Engineer. Plus a helmsman, lee helmsman (engine order telegraph operator/telephone talker), and a couple of deckhands. Below decks, in addition to the engineer, there'd have been a main controlman (throttle and other engine controls), auxiliaryman (pumps, fans, etc.), maybe an electrician on boats that old, an oiler, and a fireman/watertender. Say a crew of 12-15 officers and certificated people. Plus whatever non certificated crew (not associated with vessel operation) such as snack bar or newsstand workers, shoe shiners, bartenders, etc. As some of the boats converted to diesel towards the end, crew sizes dropped a lot, especially in the engine room which probably only then needed one or two people, especially if the main propulsion plant was operated directly from the bridge. In that case the total crew was probably only the 3 deck officers, the 2 deckhands and an engineman. Less than half the size of a steamer. Just like on the rails, steam gave way to diesel and jobs disappeared.

I rode the last EL ferry to Hoboken. Upon arrival at Hoboken it is my recollection that many passengers were affected by a sudden fear that the the sinking of the ferry was imminent and accordingly seized a life presever (a/k/a PFD). If I looked hard enough, and given the expiration of the statute of limitations, I might even find one.

The CNJ ferries also had life preservers stowed overhead in the passenger compartment ceiling and elsewhere. The C NJ ferries also had a few rafts on the roof, if I recall correctly.

More on life vests, etc....

On the Star Ferry in Hong Kong and the hydrofoils that go from there to Macau and the Pearl River area, there isn't a single life boat or life vest on board. Scary.

Ken,
My Father &I were on that last trip too.He worked at 100 Church St
for quite awhile.Do you remember which boat that was?We got life
vests from it but that was a long time ago.That was quite a
scene in Hoboken.LOL!!!

I don't recall offhand, but a net seach might find it. Or if I come across the photos I took. The life vest may have the boat's name stenciled on it.

I believe it was the "Elmira"...I'll check tonight, and yes, the name is stenciled on the PFD's!

I believe you are correct...it was the last boat I rode about a week before abandonment and it is the boat shown in most last day pictures.

Yes, it was the Elmira, built in 1905....last day was 11/22/1967...the end of RR ferry service across the Hudson. The CNJ service ended on April 25, 1967.

I rode the last CNJ ferry and the last train out of Jersey City Terminal as far as Bayonne West 8th Street. I drove to Hoboken for the last EL ferry runs.