Small boat used to ferry supplies to ships moored away from the shore
A bumboat is a small boat used to ferry supplies to ships moored away from the shore. The name comes from the combination of the Dutch word for a canoe—""boomschuit" ("boom"" meaning "tree"), and "boat".
In Tobias Smollett's 1748 novel, "The Adventures of Roderick Random", a "bumboat woman" conducts business with sailors imprisoned on board a pressing tender moored near the Tower Wharf on the Thames River, London, England.
In "HMS Pinafore", W. S. Gilbert describes Little Buttercup as a Bumboat Woman.
In Singapore, the term "bumboat" is applied to small water taxis and boats that take tourists on short tours.
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