Mail boats or postal boats are a
boat
A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.
Small boats are typically found on inl ...
or
ship
A ship is a large watercraft that travels the world's oceans and other sufficiently deep waterways, carrying cargo or passengers, or in support of specialized missions, such as defense, research, and fishing. Ships are generally distinguishe ...
used for the delivery of
mail
The mail or post is a system for physically transporting postcards, letters, and parcels. A postal service can be private or public, though many governments place restrictions on private systems. Since the mid-19th century, national postal sys ...
and sometimes transportation of goods, people and vehicles in communities where bodies of water commonly separate or separated settlements, towns or cities often where bridges were or are not available. They were or are also used where
water transport
Maritime transport (or ocean transport) and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people ( passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used thro ...
is more efficient or cost effective or other means of transport to the destination is impractical even when roads or flights may be another option.
Nearly any type or size of boat or ship may be used as a mail boat, or mail ship, and the size of the boat may be determined by the needs of the communities it serves or by environmental factors which may influence the boats design for protection of crew, passengers, and items for transport, or requiring lesser draft for shallower waters.
Sometimes a
mail jumper jumps off the boat to exchange inbound and outbound mail while the mail boat continues slow movement rather than docking.
Modern day use
Mail boats are still in use for some communities and may become tourist attractions, or a means of
slow travel while still serving the purpose of mail transit.
The inter-island commerce of some countries depend heavily on mail boat services.
In these areas the mail boat may be large enough to carry a number of vehicles including
tractor-trailers.
See also
*
Dispatch boat
Dispatch boats were small boats, and sometimes large ships, tasked to carry military dispatches from ship to ship or from ship to shore or, in some cases from shore to shore. Dispatch boats were employed when other means of transmitting a message w ...
*
Packet boat
Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th ...
*
Royal Mail Ship
Royal Mail Ship (sometimes Steam-ship or Steamer), usually seen in its abbreviated form RMS, is the ship prefix used for seagoing vessels that carry mail under contract to the British Royal Mail. The designation dates back to 1840. Any vessel ...
, ships authorized by the British Royal Mail to courier mail across bodies of water, from one nautical postal depot to another
References
Mail boat
Postal infrastructure
Postal vehicles
Postal history
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