In doing so, it allows the A379 road between Kingsbridge and Torbay to bypass the narrow streets in the centre of Kingswear and Dartmouth.

The ferry is owned and operated by the Dartmouth–Kingswear Floating Bridge Company, and a toll is charged.

Unusually, although it used cables for guidance, it was actually propelled by paddle wheels, a characteristic it shared with the Bac du Sauvage in France.

[1] Early in 2008, the Dartmouth–Kingswear Floating Bridge Company signed a contract for the construction of a replacement ferry.

On 13 February 2005 the weather and other conditions caused the guide cables on No.7 to come loose, and the ferry, loaded with 15 cars and 34 passengers, to drift towards the sea.