[harry8]

Always? Ferries are boats, demonstrably not true there as they dock both sides.

[DonHopkins]

And "fore" and "aft" are useful to disambiguate the ends of boats that flip 90 degrees in pitch, because the front becomes the top and the back becomes the bottom.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULvLeK9O7fY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shPATcV9Dzw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQxQfQU_hsk

[seabass-labrax]

An excellent way to remove unwanted crew members!