Oldest state ferry officially retired After 62 years of service, the M/V Evergreen State is decommissioned

"Washington State Ferries' first custom-built vessel, the M/V Evergreen State, joins the Seattle/Bainbridge route. Photo: October 1954" -Washington State Ferries. Photo courtesy WSDOT. "Washington State Ferries' first custom-built vessel, the M/V Evergreen State, joins the Seattle/Bainbridge route. Photo: October 1954" -Washington State Ferries. Photo courtesy WSDOT. Photo: Courtesy WSDOT Photo: Courtesy WSDOT Image 1 of / 27 Caption Close Oldest state ferry officially retired 1 / 27 Back to Gallery

After more than 60 years of carrying passengers and their vehicles around Puget Sound, the M/V Evergreen State ferry has been retired and will soon go up for sale.

Built and put into service in 1954, the state's oldest ferry was the first to be custom-built for the Washington State Ferries system. With room for 87 cars, it was, at the time, the largest ferry on the West Coast, the Washington State Department of Transportation said in a news release.

"While it's bittersweet to say goodbye, difficulty locating replacement parts and maintaining a vintage vessel are also factors that make it time for the Evergreen State to retire," said Washington State Ferries Chief of Staff Elizabeth Kosa in the release.

Two new, 144-car Olympic Class ferries have been built and put into service in the last two years, with a third under construction and a fourth set to begin construction this month. Those are meant to replace the many older boats currently in use in the ferry system.

The Evergreen State was the first of the Evergreen State Class of ferries, outfitted with two motors salvaged from WWII-era destroyers, and originally built to serve the Bainbridge-Seattle route. But the traffic there quickly outgrew the vessel's capacity and it was moved to the San Juan Islands route, said Ian Sterling of Washington State Ferries' communications department.

For the next 56 years, the Evergreen State primarily served the San Juans, with occasional shifts on other routes, Sterling said.

The boat filled in for other vessels getting maintenance or repairs last summer and made its last sailing in November.

The boat was involved in a number of rescues at sea, including on Jan. 26, 2003, when a passenger spotted an overturned kayaker yelling for help near the Fauntleroy dock in West Seattle.

Crew aboard the Evergreen State sounded the man-overboard bell and launched a rescue boat to pull the nearly hypothermic man from the water, Sterling said. The man, in a thank-you letter, later credited the crew with saving his life.

The vessel will soon be posted for sale through the state's surplus property process. Someone could own a piece of ferry history.

Daniel DeMay covers Seattle culture, business and transportation for seattlepi.com. He can be reached at 206-448-8362 or danieldemay@seattlepi.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Daniel_DeMay.