These boats are like the axe thats been in the family 100 years - worn out five handles and two heads. The boats originally had a steel hull and auto deck with wooden passenger cabins and pilot houses. Black ball enclosed the breezeways around the stacks with an expanded wooden passenger cabin. Washington State Ferries Widened the hulls in 1958 to accomodate "modern" autos such as Edsels. This widening involved adding a new hull around the original, and I have been told, interior hull inspections are not for the claustrophobic. The 1980's rebuild replaced the wooden structure with steel, and replaced the diesel engines. Some of the original brass fittings have been retained and I think the rebuild was done tastefully. For railroad content: Does anyone know if these boats were ballasted like the San Mateo with brake shoes?