A ferry is a large or small boat that is used to take people, vehicles or goods across large bodies of water, such as seas, lakes and rivers. Different kinds of boats are used as ferries.

Ferries dock (stop) at specially built places where there are ramps from the ferry to the shore so that passengers can walk off and, in the case of large ferries, vehicles can be driven off the ferry.  Ferries that carry vehicles have a huge ramp that is lowered to the dock to allow vehicles to drive on and off. Passengers park their vehicles and go upstairs where there are seats and facilities for them during the trip.

Ferries in Sydney, Australia

Sydney in Australia is one city that has a regular ferry service that runs every day carrying passengers to different parts of Sydney Harbour. The city is spreads out along the sides of a big harbour and consequently is central to people’s lives: workers use ferries to commute to and from work, people use ferries as regular transport for events and excursions, and tourists travel on them to get to see the sights of Sydney.

Sydney Harbour ferries are double-ended ferries, in a design that is common to many cities in the world, well suited to the many trips each makes daily.

Double-ended ferries are built so that they can be sailed back and forth without the need to turn around. 

Hovercrafts and hydrofoils

Invented by Christopher Cockerell in 1956, hydrofoils and hovercrafts are  fast, passenger-carrying ferries.

A hovercraft is a vehicle that floats over any smooth surface on a cushion of air that has been forced under the craft by a powerful fan. The air is pushed downwards by the fan against the surface the craft is floating over, causing the craft to lift.

A fabric ‘skirt’ keeps the cushion of air contained and prevents it from escaping. Once the craft is lifted, thrust is created to move it forward either by the engine that creates lift or by a separate engine. Steering the hovercraft is done by rudders behind the fan which are controlled by handlebars at the front of the craft.

Hovercraft come in many sizes. Large craft are used as passenger ferries. Hovercraft are used by the armed forces and for search and rescue. Small hovercraft l are used for racing and other leisure pursuits. They hover over any flat surface, including water, ice, snow, sand, mud and grass and can travel at speeds up to 70 km/h.

A hydrofoil is a boat that has a pair of special wings similar to those of a plane. These enable the boat to lift its hull out of the water when it is moving. This means that much less of the hull is in the water, which means less drag and therefore more speed. It’s also a smoother ride for the passengers.

Catamarans

Catamarans are boats with twin hulls instead of one hull like traditional boats.  They are used for very large ferries that travel at high-speed. The largest of these can carry up to 1500 people and more than 300 cars.

Cable ferries

Sometimes a cable ferry is used to travel short distances across a river. This kind of ferry is pulled across the river by cables which are connected to each shore.

On board a ferry

On ferries there are seats for the passengers. Some seats are inside the ferry and some are on the deck in the open air. Some ferries have restaurants and shops where passengers can buy food.  On very large ferries there are cabins where passengers can sleep. The crew sails the ferry and takes care of passengers. There are life jackets for passengers in case of an emergency or an accident. There is also safety equipment in case they need to fight a fire on board. 

It’s a good idea to get information from more than one source! 

Read and listen to an explanation of how hydrofoils work

https://www.funkidslive.com/learn/seans-ships/how-do-hydrofoils-work/

Read more about hovercraft

https://www.twinkl.com.au/teaching-wiki/hovercraft

Watch a video here that shows how to make a hovercraft out of a CD:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wedl2y2ORXA

Read this kidcyber page for more about ships:

Ships and boats, a timeline