On Saturday, a large crowd gathered on the passenger ferry dock, festooned with balloons, to dedicate the new water taxi. The 100-foot catamaran is named after former islander Sally Fox, who championed such service before she died in 2007.

In his remarks at the ceremony, King County Executive Dow Constantine noted that he first began work on water taxi service more than two decades ago, when he was a young staffer to then-county councilmember Greg Nichols.

This new vessel, which will begin service later this month, will strengthen the county’s water taxi service, he said, as it is 50 percent larger than the old boat and more reliable. Among those he thanked were Sen. Sharon Nelson and King County Councilmember Joe McDermott, who also addressed the crowd, saying it was “a new day” for water taxi service and heralding Fox. “The community could not have chosen a better name for this vessel,” he said.

The new vessel and its sister ship, the Doc Maynard, were funded almost entirely by federal grants. Design and construction of the two — the Doc Maynard is still being built in Bellingham — is expected to cost around $12 million.