Yeah, it's not like those big old things you folks have in Europe; we have them here too in places. This is more of a traditional ferry which was basically a boat, often flat bottomed, that went back and forth on a river, often poled by a man...the ferry man.
They still have one of them in hell you know, and one has to pay the ferryman to get to the other side. (Remember that Chris de Burgh song?)
You're right, it's a floating platform with a motor and a few big internal wheels that pull it back and forth on those cables. Simple but effective.
Yes, my mother liked it :)
Simple but if it works and is cheap to run and safe then all good.
Glad you got out and about, taking in new and positive sensory info sounds good to me.