Took mrs meaneyedcatz for the annual fall color drive this Saturday. Missouri sure is a beautiful state, especially in the Ozarks. My mother was born in Pulaski county near the Clifty creek natural bridge in a log cabin. My father was born in Shannon county in a town that is so far back in the hills and forest it’s not even a community anymore. It is impossible to get to Gang Missouri without a 4wd truck. Don’t take your Subaru.
Anyway, our drives in the country always bring back memories of my childhood.
I remembered my first ferry boat ride. It was on the Current river aboard the powder mill ferry on hwy 106. The ferry Was first river powered. Using a rudder the front was turned upstream and then the current slowly pushed the boat across and pulling on the guide ropes helped also. Then mechanical technology came along and a one cylinder Briggs and Stratton engine pushed it across. The ferry did not have gates on either end or ramps that lifted. Good brakes were important! I remember crying like a baby knowing we were going to sink in an ocean called the current river ( actually I was a baby). There is one ferry operating on the current at Akers.

Since then I have used the ferry’s on the Illinois river and the Mississippi River countless times and it’s actually really fun. It’s like going back in time for 15 minutes.

Have you ever had the opportunity to cross on a ferry boat?

I've been on a couple of small ferries like you're talking about, but the real fun is taking the BIG 200-400 car ferries like the ones on Puget Sound. The ferry ride from Seattle to Bremerton has always been one of my favorites. The ride is about 45 minutes long and navigates around and in between islands in the San Juan's.

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Send lawyers, guns & money...

I was at Aberdeen proving grounds Maryland going to an Army school and when the school was over I gave a young private a ride home as it was on my way home. He lived in some little town in West Virginia. The only way into the town was by ferry as the bridge washed out a few months earlier. The streets in town were mostly dirt and you started hearing dueling banjos playing in your head. When I got back on the ferry the attendant said no charge and gave me back what I had paid to first cross over. HE said he didn’t realize I was bring Clem’s boy back from the Army.

We have ridden a number of ferries in Iowa, Wisconsin, Texas (gulf of Mexico)and Arkansas over the years. Always enjoyable.


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I've ridden the ferry in Southport NC and a much smaller one driving to Burlington VT.
Pretty sure I'm forgetting one or two- there is a ferry going to Kelley's Island on Lake Eric, and I was there a few times as a kid.

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I crossed a river in the UK on one of those wire/current powered rafts. It would tilt at odd angles and water would lap in a little, but the guy operating it seemed unconcerned. Another time I crossed The Solent in a hydrofoil. Noisy beast, but damned fast. File:Shearwater 3.jpg - Wikipedia
The ferries I really wanted to travel on were the big hovercraft that went between Dover and Calais, but I never got the chance. They were some machines. SR.N4 - Wikipedia

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Release the Kraken

Been on ferry's from as far back as I can remember.
Before the Verrazano Bridge connected Brooklyn and Staten Island, we took the ferry across NY Harbor regularly.
The Port Jeff and Orient Point ferries across Long Island Sound.
Canada Ferry Nova Scotia to Newfoundland.
Alaska Marine Highway, Haines AK to Vancouver Island Canada
Alaska Marine Highway, Homer AK to Kodiak Island AK.
The Nanaimo B.C. Canada to Vancouver B.C. Canada.
The Port Angeles WA to Victoria BC Ferry.
The Needles Cable Ferry across Arrow Lake B.C. Canada.
Numerous Fjord ferries in Norway.
The Kristiansand Norway to Hirtshals Denmark ferry.
Isla Mujeres Island ferry, Yucatan Mexico.
St. Thomas to St. John ferry, U.S.V.I.
Patras Greece to Brindisi Italy Ferry
Standup Gondola ferry across Grand Canal, Venice IT

There is a ferry crossing the Willamette River about 20 minutes’ drive from where I live and it offers a back way into Salem that’s faster than using just roads despite occasionally having to wait five or ten minutes, so I’ve been using a ferry every few weeks or so for decades.

Only drawback: If the river is running low, the off-ramp connection angle is so steep I usually scrape my van’s front bumper.

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The last time I was on a ferry boat was in 2007, returning from a motorcycle trip that took me up into Canada and through New England.

We crossed the Long Island Sound from New London, Connecticut to Orient Point, New York...got to see the US Coast Guard Academy, and a submarine heading in toward the base at New London...

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Running Water S.D. to Niobrara Nebraska. It ran into the late 60s, I think. Built a bridge across in the late 90s. It was a real adventure for a young kid in the late 50s. Also Seattle to Bremerton, I was a little older then.

Lots of times.

I live near 2 river mouths. Sado and Tagus.

Tagus crossing:







Sado crossing:

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Expect the unexpected

@ Beemerguy53

Funny. On your 3rd photo there's the USCGC Eagle. On my 2nd photo you can see one of her sister ships at the distance NRP Sagres.

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Expect the unexpected

Wow it's been a long time. I use to take the Staten Island Ferry many years ago. Nice little trip into NY.

Best Ferry ride was in Sweden, to Goetland ( spelling ) Island. It was a 3 hour trip, Sweden is beautiful.

I have taken a few over the years.
The 3 that are most memorable were from New London Ct to Greenpoint Li with the car.
St John New Brunswick to Halifax Nova Scotia. The best was from Portsmouth England to Caen France-to see the Normandy invasion beaches. These are all car ferries. Lots of people ferries. None I think are spectacular.


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John 1:17
NRA Life Benefactor

I drive a fuel truck. Our company's specialty is taking care of towboats that push barges on the rivers around Pittsburgh. One of our customers was contracted to push a ferry flat over to the power plant on Brunot Island..just downriver from the point. When I fueled the boat they would get me on the flat first. If there wasn't any traffic that needed moved we would just sit at the ramp. Sometimes they would be busy and load the flat with cars and trucks and I'd get to ride back and forth. I enjoyed that delivery in the summer....hated it in the winter

These I definitely remember:
Staten Island, NY ferry
Lewes, DE-Cape May, NJ ferry
Southport, NC-Fort Fisher, NC ferry
Jamestown, VA-Williamsburg, VA ferry.

I have ridden on every ferry you have in your post. I grew up in Reynolds county and remember the Akers ferry well when it was current driven with no propulsion other then water.
I remember once crossing it on a school bus. They made all the students get out and ride the ferry first and then went back and got the bus.
After being discharged from the Navy I moved about 45 miles north of St. Louis where I've ridden on the Winfield, golden eagle and the Brussels ferries.
The few times I needed to go to Grafton or Alton it was faster to take the ferries then to go by highway only.

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SWHF #595

...it was a very pleasant and relaxing trip. I don't know about when the weather gets rough, though.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

I've done it twice, both salt and fresh water. The first was going from Woods Hole to Martha's Vineyard. The next time was crossing Lake Champlain, Burlington Vt to Plattsburgh NY.
I'm hoping to coat least one more. I'd like try the ride from Portland ME to Nova Scotia Canada.

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AKA- Da Plummah
CANCER SUCKS!

When I was a kid, the Staten Island Ferry was a nickel each way ( now it is free). Dad was stationed at Ft. Wadsworth, and I, at age 8, and my brother, age 6, would cash in pop bottles. Mom and Dad knew nothing of our exploits, but we would ride over to Manhattan and wander around. If we could scrape up 25 cents each, we had enough to ride the ferry both ways and get a hot dog with sauerkraut from a push cart vendor in Battery Park.

Since then I have ridden numerous ferries, including one at Lake Powell and another on the Texas Coast.

Someday I want to day the ferry over from Nova Scotia to Newfoundland to visit the place of my birth.

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Only a cold warrior

We have a ferry across the St. Johns River at Mayport. I’ve done it many times. It’s more fun than any theme park ride (not to mention way cheaper), probably because it’s real.

Have ridden a number, big like Vancouver to the Island,
Remember - our tour bus is on the truck deck, not the car deck.
Meanwhile down in SW Indiana N of Evansville let’s Cross the old Wabash.
Got a picture in the garage if I could find it.
The main boat isn’t that large, maybe 6 cars.
The Power unit boat hooks to the side of the main boat with a swivel connection.
So it swings and reverses direction to push the main boat back and forth across the Wabash.
Damn these Hoosiers are clever!

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

Only one. Heading east across Lake Champlain from New York to Vermont.
I kept my eyes peeled for Champ to no avail.

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I told you not to use Lifebuoy

Yes, I’ve rode on a few, including the large ferries of the Alaska Maritime Highway, traveling from Bellingham, WA to Haines, AK, via the inside passage. As an Alaskan cop we could ride the ferry for free if we worked as the ship’s security. They allowed one cop per trip. I did it twice when moving to and from Alaska. It was a great experience.

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213th FBINA

Not counting all the riverboats in Pittsburgh, I think we were on one from Corpus Christie to an island & hung out there for a while on the beach with the kids. But we didn't have to ride it back. I think on the North end there was a bridge or something. Can't remember?

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There's a Monster on the loose

The North Carolina Ferry System is the second-largest state-run ferry system in the United States, operating 21 boats on seven regular routes across five bodies of water.

Not only have I ridden on a ferry, I worked on one in the mid to late 70's.

It's been closed since about 2014 but at one time was the longest continuously running ferry on the Mississippi River. It began operations in 1853.

Bridgehunter.com | Canton Ferry

Once upon a time in a kingdom far to the northeast I rode a ferry from Cape May NJ to Lewis DE and back just to waste a couple of hours.

For some bizarre reason folks are pushing for the return of a passenger ferry between St Pete and Tampa.

Someday I should take the ferry from Ft. DeSoto to Egmont Key just to say I have done that.

We're talking car ferries, right?

I've taken the Ferry at Morrison on the Gasconade River when it was still operating. I've also taken the Winfield Ferry across the Mississippi. I've watched the Akers Ferry operate but I don't believe I've ever taken it (didn't need to get to the other side).

But the grandest ferry I've ever taken was the Badger, which operates between Wisconsin and Michigan and makes a four hour crossing on Lake Michigan. They have a restaurant and bar, video games, a movie screen, etc.

As for people ferries, I've taken those a number of places, but those are really just boats, right?

I live in a town that has a ferry. Millersburg, PA is home to the last wooden double stern-wheel paddle boats operating in the USA. It has a fleet of two boats today and is suspected to have been transporting since the mid-1700's. If you are ever in south-central PA, it is worth taking a ride.Millersburg Ferry Boat Association – Enjoy a Ride into the Past

I've been on the Staten Island Ferry at least 100 times. Last time I took the wife who had never been to NYC, she was blown away, especially if you leave from Manhattan and go back- it's free. Worst ferry of all time was in 1973, Oostende Belgium to Dover, 6 1/2 hours across the North Sea. Waves were 30 feet high, it was like something out of a movie. I'd hate to have been the clean up crew after that trip. Joe

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Wisdom chases me; I'm faster

With our Outer Banks barrier islands, the state-run ferries are not only inexpensive and useful but also sometimes the only way to access the islands. They vary from a short 20 minute ride from Hatteras Island over to Ocracoke Island to 2-hour-plus rides to Ocracoke from the Inner Banks mainland towns of Swanquarter and Cedar Island. There are also ferries crossing the wide Pamlico and Neuse Rivers from mainland departure points, and the previously mentioned coastal ferry from mainland Southport, NC to historic Fort Fisher, also part of a long barrier island. I've ridden most of these and the rest are on my bucket list.

I've also ridden the ferries from Woods Hole, Mass., over to Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, as well as private passenger-only ones from New Bedford, Mass. over to pretty little Cuttyhunk Island in the Elizabeth Islands chain and also to Nantucket. Great rides all.

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Ukraine -- now more than ever

Surrounded by water here, so in addition crossed the Rhein, and the Channel..yes, Hovercraft.
Earlier: The Straits pre-bridge. Lake Charlevoix. Does the Badger across lake Michigan count? Oh, wait: Chain ferry at Saugatuck. Beaver Island too. Count keeps growing, that's just how it is here.

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It's what I do, not what I am.

The only real ferry I can think of being on was Hong Kong to Shenzen China.

Ferry was a catamaran it went was fast. Was a cool rainy day with a few good waves. The ferry terminal was like an airport as it's an international port. I remember being so tired with only a few hours of sleep in a hotel getting off from a sixteen-hour flight.

Took it one time on my motorcycle back around 2001 when I first moved to FL.

Obviously, there are a lot of different sizes and styles of ferries. From the pictures in above posts some of those ferries are small ships. I've ridden the Staten Island Ferry when I was in New York and it's a lot different that river crossing ferries in middle America. Even the ferry that I've used that crosses Mobile Bay in Alabama and the one that crosses at Galveston are small compared those in the northeast and northwest.

When I plan a motorcycle trip I try to include alternate routes that include a ferry crossing. One of my favorites is the Peel Ferry across Bull Shoals Lake in northern Arkansas. This ferry boat used to cross the Arkansas River at the Toad Suck crossing back in the 1960's and 70's, but the Arkansas Highway Department relocated it to Bull Shoals Lake when the new Toad Suck Bridge was completed across the Arkansas.




Just about my favorite ferry crossing is across the Mississippi River between the Missouri boothill and Kentucky. The Dorena-Hickman Ferry is off the beaten path but is worth the trip if you've ever wanted to cross the Mighty Mississip on a ferry. I've crossed here numerous times while guiding motorcycle groups and it's always a highlight of the trip.

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- Change it back -

Ferry Boats a few times! Did the one on Lake Champlain a lot, as we were going to Vermont to a drag strip up there in the 60s


Here are a couple that I really enjoyed!

Up in Canada one year (98 or 99) and took a car/people ferry to cross a big body of water, it was around the QE2 highway. (funny thing it was free for both people and vechicles)

Queen Emma Pontoon Bridge, Willemstad, Curacao, they also had a ferry that we took.

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14 S&W Revs none with locks!

But just a friendly reminder and a warning, in case you’re not into 80s music ....

Rode the ferry between Newport News and Norfolk many times before the Hampton Roads tunnel existed. Also the Jamestown ferry.
What I won’t do however is get on a ferry in Asia , Africa or some parts of Europe as they seem to sink on a regular basis

Was in Seattle on business many years ago and needed to go out to
Whidbey Island for a meeting. Went North from Seattle about 20 miles
to Mukilteo. The Ferry is operated by the State, so the cost is very
reasonable. The ride is only 15 or 20 minutes, and the experience was
great. Whidbey Island is home of the Naval Air Station. Some of the
scenes in An Officer and A Gentleman were filmed there.

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In Omnia Paratus

OP, you should be close to the ferry at Bull Shoals Lake, connects Mo. to
Ar. highways, only operates during daylight hours. Also if you have a truck or other large vehicle you will need a recent proof of weight from an approved scales. I take it most times when I visit my nephew in Mo.
I am sure more folks than I have ridden the ferry at New Orleans on the
Mississippi.

Speaking of Arkansas- the very first Ferry I ever rode went from Friars Point, MS to Helena, AR.
Way back, there was a bridge over the Big Muddy at Greenville.
Going N, next bridge was Memphis.

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

I've been on two car ferries. One was the Jamestown, VA-Williamsburg, VA ferry. I'm surprised no one has mentioned this one-White's Ferry that crosses the Potomac between Maryland and Virginia.

White's Ferry - Wikipedia

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John 3:16
WAR EAGLE!

I’ve ridden the Peel ferry many times. Most recent was last August.





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Me thinks anything that takes you across a river is a ferry. Even though we generally only use the word when they move cars.

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Expect the unexpected

Many times:

Ferry from Vallejo to Fishermen's Wharf in Cali.
Iselton Ferry (?) in the Sacramento Delta.
Ferry on Roosevelt Lake in WA.
Others I don't remember.

Back when I was growing up I went to NYC with my dad, and we went out on the Staten Island Ferry. The fare was a nickel if I remember correctly.

Back around 1960, Pop and I took a car ferry running from Michigan into Ontario.

The last time I rode a ferry boat was on the Eastern Shore of Maryland from Crisfield out to Smith Island (home of the 7 layer Smith Island cake).

Any ship that floats on water can sink under it. Anywhere, anytime.

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Expect the unexpected

Back when I was younger and foolish my Buddy Bob and I hired a homemade plywood outrigger from the Bataan Peninsula to Corregidor.
Right across the Manila ship channel with big ugly rusty freighters!

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NRA LIFE MEMBER

That thing looks scary top heavy. Is the power part permanently attached to the car deck for stability?