An Itchen ferry is seen bow-on, aground on legs on muddy shingle at Woolston, with a motor launch and an open boat anchored afloat behind it, and to the right, two men in a rowing boat. An industrial chimney is prominent on the opposite shore. The Itchen ferry's shallow, long keel and hollow lines below the waterline are seen clearly. The boat's bowsprit and a lowered foresail are in place. What appears to be the boom is hoisted almost in line with the mast, as if to clear room for work on deck.