By Barry Eberling | DAILY REPUBLIC | May 21, 2009
The Real McCoy Ferry makes its way across the Sacramento river from Ryer Island. The ferry is part of Highway 84 and carries cars across the river 24 hours a day and needs to be replaced with a new boat. Photo by File 2007
FAIRFIELD - The Real McCoy is a real throwback a 64-year-old ferry along the state highway system in an age of bridges.
By summer 2010, it could be history. The state Department of Transportation has awarded a $4.3 million contract to Nicols Brothers of Freeland, Wash., to build a new ferry.
'For more than 63 years, the Real McCoy has diligently been in year-round service for locals and visitors to the area,' Caltrans District Four Director Bijan Sartipi stated in a press release. 'Caltrans is pleased that we can continue to provide this non-stop service with a more modern and environmentally-friendly vessel.'
The Real McCoy ferry is part of rural Highway 84 in eastern Solano County. The vessel crosses from the mainland shore of Cache Slough a few miles north of Rio Vista to Ryer Island, which has about 400 residents, farms and a few marina resorts.
Caltrans has only two ferries. The other is the J-Mack ferry, which carries cars from the eastern end of Ryer Island on Highway 220 across Steamboat Slough.
The Real McCoy debuted in September 1945, a 65-foot-long, flat vessel with a steel hull because World War II restrictions on top lumber made a wooden hull impractical. It was named after state highway engineer G. T. McCoy.
On an average day, the ferry carries about 700 vehicles. It has taken only a few breaks during its long career, including six weeks earlier this year for an overhaul.
See the complete story at the Daily Republic online.
