"The ferry operation consists of five boats, each of which can carry approximately 70 vehicles, 500 passengers and six crewmembers. Each ferry is capable of carrying eight 18-wheel trucks weighing 80,000 pounds each. All of the boats are double-ended with a pilothouse on each end, and the Captain changes from one pilothouse to the other to go in the opposite direction. The Gibb Gilchrist is a traditionally powered and steered vessel. The R.C. Lanier, D.C. Greer, Ray Stoker, Jr. and R.H. Dedman, the four newest ferries, employ a "cycloidal propulsion" system. Instead of conventional propellers and rudders, power is obtained from two vertical cycloidal propulsors, one at each end of the boat. This technology allows the ferry to make 360 degree turns or to move sideways with no forward or backward movement. It also allows the Captain to make quicker stops or slow the vessel much more rapidly than conventionally propelled boats. All of the boats are named after former Texas Transportation Commission members except the Gibb Gilchrist. Mr. Gilchrist was the State Highway Engineer twice during his career with the department."
For more information on the Galveston Island Ferry, please see the The Urinals of Galveston Island Ferry Terminal.