# Mail boat

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{{short description|Boat used for the delivery of mail}}
{{redirect|Mailboat|the Jimmy Buffet label|Mailboat Records}}
{{distinguish|Dispatch boat|Packet boat|Boat Mail}}
thumb|right|Large modern day mail boat
thumb|A letter carrier delivering mail by boat to a houseboat during World War I
'''Mail boats''' or '''postal boats''' are a [boat](/source/boat) or [ship](/source/ship) used for the delivery of [mail](/source/mail), and sometimes transportation of goods, people and vehicles, in communities where bodies of water commonly separate settlements, towns or cities, often where bridges are not available.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Early Cape Coral: Mail delivery first came to area by boat|url=https://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/cape-coral/2017/08/18/early-cape-coral-mail-delivery-boat-santiva/571828001/|website=The News-Press|language=en|access-date=2020-05-24}}</ref> They are also used where [water transport](/source/water_transport) 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 ship. 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](/source/Mail_jumping) jumps off the boat to exchange inbound and outbound mail while the mail boat continues slow movement rather than docking.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Barrett|first=Joe|date=2016-06-10|title=Mail Boat Couriers Spring Into Summer|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/mail-boat-couriers-spring-into-summer-1465596702|access-date=2020-05-24|issn=0099-9660}}</ref>

== Modern day use ==
[[File:J.W. Westcott II with 48222 post office.jpg|thumb|The ''[J. W. Westcott II](/source/J._W._Westcott_II)'', a [United States Postal Service](/source/United_States_Postal_Service) mail boat serving the crews of [lake freighters](/source/Lake_freighter) passing [Detroit](/source/Detroit)]]
Mail boats are still in use for some communities<ref>{{Cite web|title=Mail boat still a lifeline for some Oregon residents|url=https://kval.com/outdoors/mail-boat-still-a-lifeline-for-some-oregon-residents|first=DANIEL |last=SIMMONS-RITCHIE |date=2013-01-14|website=KVAL|access-date=2020-05-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Bahamas by mail boat: Can this unique tradition survive?|url=https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/bahamas-mail-boats/index.html|first=Mark |last=Stratton |website=CNN|language=en|access-date=2020-05-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Protected by seclusion, Tangier Island in Chesapeake Bay keeps eye on virus from afar|url=https://www.pilotonline.com/news/health/vp-nw-tangier-island-chesapeake-bay-virus-20200504-42mryefnhbcgbdf7eb6rykrvb4-story.html|last=Finley|first=Ben|website=pilotonline.com|access-date=2020-05-26}}</ref> and may become tourist attractions, or a means of [slow travel](/source/Slow_movement_(culture))<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wGuyDwAAQBAJ|title=Amazing Boat Journeys|date=2019-10-01|publisher=Lonely Planet|isbn=978-1-78868-700-3|language=en}}</ref> while still serving the purpose of mail transit.<ref>{{Cite web|title=A century old, Lake Geneva's mail boat delivers first-class fun|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/ct-lake-geneva-mail-boat-tour-travel-0814-20160726-story.html|last=Rackl|first=Lori|website=chicagotribune.com|access-date=2020-05-24}}</ref>

The inter-island commerce of some countries depend heavily on mail boat services.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Supplies, income fear over Bimini lockdown|url=http://www.tribune242.com/news/2020/may/15/supplies-income-fear-over-bimini-lockdown/|website=www.tribune242.com|language=en|access-date=2020-05-24}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Search for Birds of Paradise in Indonesia, and You'll Find So Much More|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-05-13/search-for-birds-of-paradise-in-indonesia-and-you-ll-find-so-much-more|last=Williams|first=Gisela|date=May 13, 2020|newspaper=Bloomberg.com|access-date=May 25, 2020}}</ref> In these areas the mail boat may be large enough to carry a number of vehicles including [tractor-trailers](/source/Semi-trailer_truck).{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

== See also ==
* [Dispatch boat](/source/Dispatch_boat)
* [Packet boat](/source/Packet_boat)
* [Royal Mail Ship](/source/Royal_Mail_Ship), ships authorized by the British Royal Mail to courier mail across bodies of water, from one nautical postal depot to another

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

Mail boat
Category:Postal vehicles
Category:Postal history

{{Water-transport-stub}}
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Mail boat](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_boat) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mail_boat?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.