Pattaya - Hua Hin Passenger Ferry A Reality

[Beardog]

I went to the shop that had this ship being finished & toured it when I was looking for how they applied the sandcoat on the deck. It is 4 kilometers from my house.

The ship seems to be pretty well built & way seaworthy. It has a wide berm & should be able to handle very high seas.

The ferry I took in Indonesia (a 10 hr trip was way under built than the new rig.) The builders really went all out & I was very impressed with the degree of craftsmanship & love that went into building it. The Farang that I talked with which was the super on the job had a great team. I used to work on a catamaran on day tours 22 meters that handled 8-10 ft swells no problem & the berth is very wide for a cat. I think the vessel is quite seaworthy & should have minimal problems unless moored to close to the shore in a tsunami.

I have nothing to do with the boat operation whatsoever. It really is a deluxe build- unlike the other shwag style (oh my god we are going to die) narrow hull vessels used in Thailand. I never been to Hua hin but that ship looks like it would be ultra comfortable & reliable as well. That being said as a boat owner & captain in Hawaii all ships or boats are subject to failure. Sea water is a killer on moving crafts. I judge the sturdiness of a vessel by if the ship was out of power or wind & went broadside to the waves would it flip over. Unless your watching perfect storm, I doubt if this vessel went adrift it would capsize.

Now if it is a money making adventure that is yet to see. The owners really must be rich -cause this ship looks like it was built for the rich & famous, not the typical Thai ferry's used in Thailand.

If this was used in Hawaii this ship would be considered a very sweet ride the way it was built.

Beardog

[Jimmyd]

So why isn't it running then?

[jeanpierre]

The new catamaran that will ply the high seas between Pattaya and Hua Hin was launched this week.

(A similar boat will be used to ferry people from the mainland near Trat to Koh Mak.)

Youtube video

In any other civilized country in the world, this floating-creation' would never ever be able to obtain a license to carry (ferry) people for money across a stretch of water such as what is proposed in this particular case. This cat has been built for maximum 'pasenger-outlook-enjoyment' but far below the minimum requirements for the safety of those same passengers.

We're talking about a chunck of water where it can (and invariably does !) 'spook', as we sailors call it. The large windows and the way too high super-structure (steering-house on the top) are potential helpless victims to high-running seas and would not last very long, even in moderate 'spook' conditions. This boat, in my humble opinion (I was born on the sea and sailed her all my life) is an accident waiting to happen !

Sofar he boat; now about this launch clip. The only thing which comes to mind is "Mickey Mouse". And if they really believe that setting of some firecrackers, to ward off evil spirits, will keep this vessel and its pasengers safe, they are surely kidding themselves ! !

Again; such a 'pleasure-craft' contraption would never achieve a Lloyd's rating beyond 1/2 nM off shore (if that) and that has something to do with 'insurability', you figure out the conclussions of that.

I, for one, would never ever risk that crossing (from Pattaya to Hua-hin) on a vessel like his, even if my life depended on it: and it most certainly would !

It will be interesting to see if and how the owner of this "fairy ferry" gets licensed by the responsible authorities; I'll be following this one up, since I truly believe that this is a "crime in the making".

JGK/Pattaya

PS: Re-enforcing this 'Mikey Mouse ambiance' is the statement by the owner about the road-trip taking 9.5 hours . . . . . and he expects ME to trust HIM with my and my family's lives on 'that' thing ? ? Got to be kidding !

I think you may be right.

On the other hand, I have plied the routes between the UK and the Continent for years.

Some of the cats and the the jetfoils or even the hovercrafts used, in quite heavy seas, made me wonder if all would be safe.

I experienced many rough crossings, up till Windforce 11, and with the highspeed cats up till 8.

But the cats ride the waves, the Holyman cats pierce the waves.

And like the cat in Pattaya, the cats in Europe were very high, had lots of glass, but were also very wide.

And most of them were licensed to waves of 3 to 4 meters.

So maybe, just maybe, it is not as bad as it seems to look.

However, the construction might not deter me from making a ride, but what about the seamanship of the crew?

sorry the hooverspeeds and cattamarans dover calais stay in harber wind force 9

[happylarry]

I have been trying to view the video but the owners have removed it from youtube.

Does that say anything????

HL

[balo]

I have been trying to view the video but the owners have removed it from youtube.

Does that say anything????

HL

Maybe it sunk ?

[JimsKnight]

dam_n, looks like I'm riding to Hua Hin instead of boating it!

[c721671]

This website says the service begins November 19, 2010

Link: http://thailivingferry.com/

[Langsuan Man]

Pretty good post for a new member c721671

The web site is short on details but the price of 1,200 THB is touted as introductory , so who knows what the final price will be

But a web site announcement doesn't make it a reality

We will see after the 19th

[craigt3365]

This would be great. I love the jazz festival in HH, but just don't want to be bothered with the drive. If the weather was nice, I bet it would be a great trip.

[wpcoe]

The web site is short on details but the price of 1,200 THB is touted as introductory , so who knows what the final price will be

From their Press Release:

"The one way trip fare will be 1600baht and for return 3000baht.

In November and December there will be promotions from 1200baht."

But, yeah, let's wait until it has actually started, and then see how long it continues. One mystery, though, is that they advertise three times per week, but don't mention which days. Since it is starting on 19November, probably Friday is one of the days?

[Thailivingferry]

The web site is short on details but the price of 1,200 THB is touted as introductory , so who knows what the final price will be

From their Press Release:

"The one way trip fare will be 1600baht and for return 3000baht.

In November and December there will be promotions from 1200baht."

But, yeah, let's wait until it has actually started, and then see how long it continues. One mystery, though, is that they advertise three times per week, but don't mention which days. Since it is starting on 19November, probably Friday is one of the days?

The catamaran will be running every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

It will go from Pattaya 08:30 in the morning and back from Hua Hin 01:30 in the afternoon.

If you have any other questions just feel free to PM me or ask here.

Edited November 15, 2010 by Rimmer

[canopus1969]

The web site is short on details but the price of 1,200 THB is touted as introductory , so who knows what the final price will be

From their Press Release:

"The one way trip fare will be 1600baht and for return 3000baht.

In November and December there will be promotions from 1200baht."

But, yeah, let's wait until it has actually started, and then see how long it continues. One mystery, though, is that they advertise three times per week, but don't mention which days. Since it is starting on 19November, probably Friday is one of the days?

The catamaran will be running every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

It will go from Pattaya 08:30 in the morning and back from Hua Hin 01:30 in the afternoon.

If you have any other questions just feel free to PM me or ask here.

Excellent news and a big thank you for getting this venture up and running.

[ESB7]

The web site is short on details but the price of 1,200 THB is touted as introductory , so who knows what the final price will be

From their Press Release:

"The one way trip fare will be 1600baht and for return 3000baht.

In November and December there will be promotions from 1200baht."

But, yeah, let's wait until it has actually started, and then see how long it continues. One mystery, though, is that they advertise three times per week, but don't mention which days. Since it is starting on 19November, probably Friday is one of the days?

The catamaran will be running every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.

It will go from Pattaya 08:30 in the morning and back from Hua Hin 01:30 in the afternoon.

If you have any other questions just feel free to PM me or ask here.

Excellent news and a big thank you for getting this venture up and running.

The crossing says to Pak Nam Pran, It was previously stated it would be Cha am, the Tessaban have just finished a 10.5 million Baht refurb of the pier which everyone here understood was to coincide with the ferry....is it a 2 stop ferry ?

[neilf]

this service will end up like the last time they tried it approx 15 years ago......no demand, will last few months tops.

who wants to go to Hua hin.......not many

who wants to go to hua hin daily ....even fewer

wh wants to risk life going to hua hin.....

Agreed. I did some maths and market research on this a few years ago and it just wasn't feasible to ofer this service with the prospective demand.

Best and safest way to go to Hua Hin is by plane. From Bangkok to hua Hin about 40 minutes, and not expensive.

You can drive in a couple of hours. The plane is small, expensive, has (had) baggage restrictions etc. From farther away, very good but not from somewhere as near as Bangkok.

if you can drive from pattaya to hua hin in a ciple of hours please sell me your car / truck / flying car

[Spalpeen]

So can I take it that several trial crossings have been completed in the kind of sea conditions that have prevailed for the last few weeks?

As there are no other passenger ferry services operating far out in the gulf I'd also be curious to know what kind of rescue service is available at mid journey. I've never seen a sea rescue helicopter in Thailand and assistance by boat would be a good 90 minutes away.

[ESB7]

So can I take it that several trial crossings have been completed in the kind of sea conditions that have prevailed for the last few weeks?

As there are no other passenger ferry services operating far out in the gulf I'd also be curious to know what kind of rescue service is available at mid journey. I've never seen a sea rescue helicopter in Thailand and assistance by boat would be a good 90 minutes away.

Dont worry about that, they have narrowed the boat name to a choice of two, not sure if its the Herald of Free Enterprise or The Marchiness.

[smedly]

So can I take it that several trial crossings have been completed in the kind of sea conditions that have prevailed for the last few weeks?

As there are no other passenger ferry services operating far out in the gulf I'd also be curious to know what kind of rescue service is available at mid journey. I've never seen a sea rescue helicopter in Thailand and assistance by boat would be a good 90 minutes away.

Dont worry about that, they have narrowed the boat name to a choice of two, not sure if its the Herald of Free Enterprise or The Marchiness.

they should have taken this Idea and really went to town on it, bigger boat possibly able to take a few cars and bikes then I would see this as a viable business, looking at that boat and the possible safety implications I would prefer to ride through Bangkok, the gulf of Thailand can be pretty rough at times

[laban]

Sounds interesting this boat.

Who is it owned by and who runs the company - their press release and website says nothing at all.

I would not be comfortable going on a ''ferry'' unless I knew about the owners and their safety record - there has been too many boat accidents over the years in Thailand!

[pontious]

Did it run on 19th Nov? --------- Sunday 21 Nov crossings have been cancelled.

[BB1950]

I have been trying to view the video but the owners have removed it from youtube.

Does that say anything????

HL

I think someone posted the wrong link. here's the video:

Edited November 21, 2010 by BB1950

[Oink]

Has anyone actually done the trip yet? A report would be good!!

[crusty]

That boat just looks plain unsafe, even if it could survive rough seas loaded with passengers from a sailability point of view is it structurely sound and wouldn't just break up if it hit heavy weather, I don't think I would even go to larn island on that thing.

Agreed. It looks like a joke boat built to some local boatyard's dream of what a ferry should look like. Why on earth didn't they order one of the aluminium catamarans, built in Bangkok Shipyard with Australian specialists, Lomprayah now has four running from Chumpon to Samui and Don Sak. It's a proven design and like aircraft you dont <deleted> around with an unknown design when carrying paying passengers.

As ferry routes are licensed by the Communications Ministry, this smells of a local politician venture. Don't go near it as they don't even specify what International marine standards it was built to. Go look at www.austal.com to see a real ocean ferry. Grrrr

[Oink]

I have seen some Pics and it does not appear to have Radar.

[Amdesign]

There are rumours that farang-captain of this catamaran was taken by immigration. Anyone heard about that?

Edited December 6, 2010 by Amdesign

[brianw]

there is talk that the ferry company are thinking of purchasing HMS ARK ROYAL which has now been decomisioned