Parts of a Ferry Boat – Labeled Car Ferry Diagram

All 13 parts on the diagram

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Start here: 8 main parts 8

Vehicle deck (car deck) Vehicles drive along it from end to end of the ship.
Bridge The ship is steered and navigated from here.
Funnel It carries the engines' exhaust up and away.
Stern ramp Folded up it is also the door that closes the stern. Shown raised.
Propeller It turns in the water and pushes the ship along.
Bow visor (bow door) It opens the bow so vehicles can reach the bow ramp. Shown swung up.
Bow ramp Vehicles that drove on over the stern ramp drive off here.
Lifeboat A motor boat carried for use in an emergency.

On top 1

Radar It picks out other ships and the shore. The crew can then steer clear of them.

Hull and stern 2

Mooring winch It hauls in the lines that hold the ship to the quay.
Bow thruster It pushes the bow sideways, which makes docking easier.

Lifeboats and liferafts 2

Davit A pair of them lifts and lowers each lifeboat.
Liferaft An inflatable raft packed in a round container until it is needed.

How this list was compiled: Part names checked on 2026-09-30, a name kept only when both of these use it. (1) Wärtsilä Encyclopedia of Marine and Energy Technology, the entries Bow doors, Ramps, Deck, Bridge, Wheelhouse, Funnel, Mast, Lifeboat, Davits, Liferaft, Mooring winch, Bow thruster and Rudder, https://www.wartsila.com/encyclopedia/term/bow-doors and the other terms (bow visor and clam-type bow door, bow and stern ramps, car decks, bridge, funnel, radar on the mast, lifeboat, davits, liferaft in its container, mooring winch, bow thruster, propeller). (2) Wikipedia: Roll-on/roll-off, Bow visor, Cruiseferry, Funnel (ship), Marine radar, Lifeboat (shipboard), Davit, Mooring, Maneuvering thruster, Propeller (vehicle decks, bow doors and ramps, stern ramp, car decks, funnel, marine radar, lifeboats and liferafts, davits, mooring winches, bow thrusters, propeller). The wording of every label, hint and fact is our own. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-09-30 from plain geometry: a composite ferry of no one operator or builder, with no name or funnel mark. Licence: own work

How it works

These are the parts of a ferry boat that carries cars: a roll-on/roll-off ferry. Vehicles drive on at one end and off at the other, so its own parts are doors, ramps and a long deck for vehicles.

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Two drawings

View 1 shows the whole ferry with the sea and the side of the hull cut away: the vehicle deck, the stern ramp folded up, the bridge, the funnel, the radar, a mooring winch, and the propeller and bow thruster under the water. View 2 enlarges the open bow, with the bow visor up and the bow ramp down on the quay, and a lifeboat under its davits beside two liferaft containers.

Drive on, drive off

Vehicles drive on over the stern ramp, park on the vehicle deck, and drive off through the bow once the visor has lifted and the bow ramp is down. Nobody has to turn round on board.

Parts of a ferry you will not find on a cruise ship: the bow door, the ramps and the vehicle deck.
A liferaft waits folded inside its round container; a lifeboat is a complete boat with a motor.

Questions and answers

What are the parts of a ferry called?

On a car ferry: the hull with its vehicle deck inside, a ramp at the stern, and a bow visor and ramp at the bow. Above are the passenger decks, the bridge, the funnel and the mast with its radar, and lifeboats under davits.

What is the front of a ferry that opens called?

The bow visor, one kind of bow door. The whole front of the bow is hinged and swings up, which opens the way to the bow ramp. Some ferries have a bow door in two halves that open sideways instead.

What is the car deck on a ferry?

The vehicle deck: a long deck inside the hull where cars and trucks park for the crossing. They reach it over a ramp at the stern or the bow.

What is a davit on a ship?

A lifting arm at the side of the ship. A pair of davits holds each lifeboat, and swings it out and lowers it to the water when it is needed.