mailboat

Letter-carrying craft

A mailboat is a boat that carries mail, especially one operating on a regular route between ports or along a coastline.

Before reliable roads and rail, mailboats were essential for communication between coastal towns and islands: The mailboat arrives twice a week.

Some historic routes persist as tourist attractions.

historical

packet

Small sealed container

steamerVapor-powered vessel
clipperFast ship or trimmer
Age of SailEra of wind-propelled ships

colonial · transatlantic · scheduled service · Cunard · trading routes · emigrant · passenger service · ocean liner

postal

letters

Alphabetic characters or mail

correspondenceExchanged written communication
postageFee for mailing
stampsPostal payment adhesives

envelopes · postmark · parcels · postmaster · delivery · dispatch · sorting · addresses · postcard · philately

vessel

packet ship

Scheduled sailing vessel carrying mail and cargo

ferryVessel for scheduled crossings
cutterOne who severs
tenderSoft or sore

launch · RMS · island ferry · passenger ferry · interisland

route

harbor

Safe anchorage for ships

portDocking place for ships
quayWaterfront loading platform
wharfShip docking structure

dock · schedule · voyage · passage · crossing · arrival · departure · anchorage · call · stopover

Opposites

mode of mail transport

mailboatmail train

Railway cars carrying letters

mail plane · mail truck · mail coach · mail van · stagecoach

maritime purpose

mailboatwarship

Armed naval vessel

battleship · cargo ship · cruise ship · freighter · naval vessel

Phrases

full mailbox
mailbox keyOpens residential post receptacle
voice mailboxPhone message storage system
community mailboxShared postal receptacle for residents
rural mailboxCurbside container for correspondence
mailbox theftUnlawful taking of delivered correspondence

Family

mailbox, mailboats

Familiarity: Top 500,000
Profile: Used worldwide · Timeless · Concrete · Everyday, not technical · Rated G