I was once on one with a local industrial archaeology group that was allowed on the bridge. While discussing the propulsion of the craft, the skipper demonstrated how it could turn totally around inside of its own space. A twist of the wheel, and there we were, facing back at Manhattan, having pivoted as if around a pole. For a paddler, there are pluses and minuses in this maneuverability. A ferry can get around you quickly but it may also suddenly come dead-on.
Ferries are fast.
With not much of them underwater, since they don t have deep cargo holds, they can pick up a good head of steam quickly. It s easy for you to be lured into a false security and attempt to cross ahead of it only to find that the vessel is atop of you at the point of intersection. Ferries are vulnerable to currents and weather. If seas pick up, all that nimbleness they have in calmer conditions dissipates dramatically. So, as a paddler, you have to have two sets of eyes in considering a ferry, one for calm conditions and one for tempestuous ones.