Young passengers can now try their hand at pretending to steer the Tokitae ferry on the Mukilteo-Clinton route.

Over the weekend, members of the engine room crew installed a small steering wheel on the No. 1 end of the vessel, which faces Clinton. The wheel is entirely decorative and comes equipped with a phone, buttons and a rudder indicator.

According to Tokitae Staff Chief Engineer Brady Ferguson, the steering station comes from Elwha, a decommissioned state ferry retired in 2020. It’s the original steering stand from 1967 and was once displayed in the passenger cabin of the Elwha. Tokitae’s engine crew cleaned, painted and added things to get it to how it looks today.

“My idea is to have a display that kids can play with, maybe sparking an idea about working on the ferries in their future,” Ferguson said.

And so far, it has been a huge hit with the public. Within the first hour of mounting the new wheel, kids were already getting their pictures taken next to it, Ferguson reported. Other state ferries have displays, but none that kids can play with.