Editing Cable ferry (section)

==Types==
[[File:Sackville ferry gnangarra-21.jpg|thumb|Winding mechanism on the [[Sackville Ferry]] in [[New South Wales]], Australia]]
Cable ferries can be typified by their size and construction, their usage (passenger, animal, vehicle) and requirements (length of crossing, amount of other shipping), their cables (wire rope, chain, or both), and their propulsion (water current, engine, manual).

The choice of cable depends partially on the requirements of the crossing but also on the historical context. For example, the numerous cable ferries across Australian and Canadian rivers seem to use wire rope exclusively, whereas the older crossings across busy tidal rivers in England all use chain. In Germany, several river crossings were originally [[reaction ferry|reaction ferries]] and later kept a wire rope for holding position but introduced a chain for propulsion.<ref name="part 3">{{cite web |last1=Schmidt |first1=Theo |title=Efficiency of Cable Ferries – Part 3 |url=https://hupi.org/HPeJ/0034/0034.html |website=hupi.org |publisher=Human Power eJournal |access-date=2024-01-04 |ref=hpej}}</ref>

The reaction ferry uses the power of the river to tack across the current; the powered cable ferry uses engines or electric motors (e.g., the [[Canby Ferry]] in the U.S. State of Oregon) to wind itself across; or is hand-operated, such as the [[Stratford-upon-Avon chain ferry]] in the UK and the [[Saugatuck Chain Ferry]] in [[Saugatuck, Michigan]], United States.

Powered cable ferries use powered wheels or drums on board the vessel to pull itself along by the cables. The chains or wire ropes can be used with a sufficient amount of slack to allow sinking below the surface as the ferry moves away, allowing other vessels to pass without becoming snared or trapped. Chain ferries in strong tidal currents use two chains, those in inland rivers often only one chain on the upstream side. Some cable ferries use a wire rope on the upstream side in order to hold the position and a chain on the downstream side for propulsion.

A special type are electrically powered overhead-cable ferries like [[Straussee Ferry]], which have an onboard propulsion unit and can float free, but are connected to the overhead wire for the power supply, using an electrical cable that slides along the cable as the ferry moves.

A very rare type are cable-ferries that are not propelled by themselves but rather are pulled from land side. An example of such a cable ferry was the Kungälv – Fästningsholmen ferry in Sweden.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Schweden Fährstellen |url=http://www.fjordfaehren.de/ssf/s_faehrstellen.htm |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=fjordfaehren.de}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Schweden und Finnland |url=http://www.fjordfaehren.de/ssf/foto/webbilder/kungaelv.htm |access-date=2023-02-21 |website=fjordfaehren.de}}</ref> Today, the Jonen ferry in the Netherlands is pulled by a winch on the banks. These cable ferries can be operated electrically without having to provide electricity by rechargeable batteries or an overhead wire. Saving the weight of the engine on board, these ferries can also be operated using less energy.

Two or more ferries can be provided in order to increase availability and capacity and as a backup during maintenance, as with the [[Torpoint Ferry]].