The Bay Area has an ultramodern new ferry. Meet ‘Karl the boat'
You cannot name your San Francisco Bay Ferry vessel after a human being or a corporation. Never duplicate the name of another ship operating in San Francisco Bay. And perhaps most importantly, be very careful when taking suggestions from hormonal middle schoolers.
The transit agency received 'a lot of nominees from sixth-, seventh-, eighth-grade boys, which we didn't understand,' ferry spokesman Thomas Hall said. 'And then when we did understand, from talking to our own children, we said, 'Oh, no, that's off the list.''
SF Bay Ferry settled on 'Karl' for its new ultramodern vessel, which passed under the Golden Gate Bridge at 3 a.m. two weeks ago after a 30-hour voyage from Seattle, where it was built. The name is a Bay Area insider nod to the anthropomorphization of San Francisco's marine layer, which showed up in 2010 on social media as Karl the Fog. Karl the boat will be christened this Friday, and the new 320-passenger ferry starts taking passengers in May.
But first the Chronicle got a tour. The system's first four-engine ferry and California's cleanest workhorse ferry yet — a 'Tier 4' diesel particulate filter boat that traps soot from the engine exhaust — Karl was built as the next step in the system's quest for a zero-emissions fleet. Karl is cleaner, faster and more versatile, leading to in-house comparisons to a famous Golden State Warriors do-a-bit-of-everything player.
'These were initially designed as the Iguodalas of the fleet,' Hall said. 'They're fast enough to work out of Vallejo, big enough for all of the routes and small enough to fit in all of the marinas.'
Karl and its under-construction twin Zalophus, the scientific name for a sea lion, were named by Bay Area students who last year presented more than 350 nominations that were whittled down to 12, then voted on publicly. Other finalists included 'Painted Lady' and 'Chowder'; the latter was narrowly beaten by Zalophus and could appear on the side of a future ferry.
There were sports-related nominations, too, including nods to Willie Mays and seafaring ex-Warriors star Klay Thompson, who was a ferry rider before he bought his own boat and started commuting to Chase Center from across the bay.
'We did get some nominations to call it 'Say Hey,'' Hall said. ''Splash Brother' I thought was a pretty good nomination that didn't make it through the process.'
Hall said when Sigma was a popular nomination, he asked his teen daughter to explain the Gen Alpha term. 'She said 'No, don't name your boat that.'' (It loosely translates to a lone wolf-type of dominant male.)
Karl is a Dorado class boat, a sister ship to the sleek and fast Dorado and Delphinus, which launched in 2022 and 2024, respectively. But Karl and the Zalophus have subtle differences, including an enclosed top deck and a four-engine configuration that add speed, but also the option to conserve fuel on shorter runs. KARL is painted in all caps on the side of the ferry.
Taking Chronicle journalists on a run through the Napa River into San Pablo Bay, veteran captain Chris San Miguel used the name frequently during radio chatter with the Coast Guard and other boats. ('Karl copies, thank you.')
'It's going to take a little while to get used to it,' San Miguel said, laughing.
Adding to the confusion: Karl will likely be a regular on the Vallejo run, where there's a regular deckhand named Carl.
San Miguel started in 1989 as an engineer on the Bay Breeze, now the fleet's oldest boat that is overdue for retirement. He says Karl's controls are 'just plain smoother,' moving laterally with jets of water instead of propellers and a rudder.
The inside is sleek and white, looking more like a sterile 'Star Trek' spaceship corridor than the grimier 1980s and 1990s ferries still in the system. The prime spot for passengers may be the back of the top deck, where bar-style seats surround an elevated table like a lounge on a cruise ship; part of the ferry system's shifting functions which include things like shuttles to Giants games and special scenic Fleet Week runs.
'It works wonderfully for a commute and it will work wonderfully for those summer days, when people don't have a destination in mind and want to hang out on the water,' Hall said. 'It's a commuter boat and a party boat all in one.'
But there's always a younger, faster, cleaner boat coming into town. Next after Karl and Zalophus are three battery-powered ferries holding 150 passengers each, set to arrive in 2027. They'll shuttle riders on the system's shortest routes from the Ferry Building, including Treasure Island and Mission Bay. Battery-powered boats with room for 450 passengers are coming in 2028.
Until then, Karl the boat will rule local waterways.
'Once you know the history,' Captain San Miguel said, 'it fits the bay.'
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