Cargo Boats
Cargo Boats adds motorboats that carry items, fluids and energy between docks along long routes, and the Motorboat Programmer schedules their trips.
What it does
A motorboat is placed on water like a regular boat and loads the 3x3 chunks around itself, so it keeps moving while the player is away. Craft the motorboat after the fluid version of the boat is available, since it follows that recipe closely. Two extra docks are crafted alongside it. Items, fluids and energy can be moved to or from any boat within a docked range, and the front side of a dock is marked with an anchor so its orientation is clear.
Long journeys can be planned with optional buoys. A buoy is placed in water as an intermediate node that the motorboat uses for pathing where it is needed, and clever placement can extend a route by about 200 meters. Buoy positions can be offset, buoys have a collision box, and bubble columns can drop boats in elevator fashion. Once docks are placed, the Motorboat Programmer is crafted to set up the route. A Patchouli guide is included, and the mod has a JEI entry.
Cargo Boats runs on client and server, so both the server and every player need it. It requires no other mod and is open source under the Apache License 2.0. Public links for the source code and issue tracker are available. Files are published for NeoForge, for 1.21.1, 26.1, 26.1.1 and 26.1.2, with 26.1.2-1.1.0 as the latest file, released 2026-10-10.
Key features
Automated motorboats
Motorboats run long distance routes on their own and move cargo at a low cost compared with manual transport.
Docked transfers
Items, fluids and energy move between a motorboat and boats within docked range.
Buoy pathing
Optional buoys act as intermediate nodes so motorboats can follow paths that would otherwise be unreachable.
Motorboat Programmer
A crafted programmer sets up routes once the docks are placed.
Chunk loading
A motorboat keeps the 3x3 chunks around it loaded, so the route continues while the player is elsewhere.
Compatibility
Latest build for each game version and loader.
Only full game releases are shown. This mod publishes no snapshot builds.
Questions
Does Cargo Boats need to be installed on the server?
Which versions does Cargo Boats support?
How do buoys help a route?
In the catalog
Cargo Boats is one of 3,932 Transportation mods on ModsFinder, and one of 1,743 Transportation mods for NeoForge. 15,189 mods support Minecraft 26.1.2.
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What the author says
This mod adds item and fluid motorboats that can be automated for cheap long-distance logistics. The motorboat loads a 3x3 of chunks around itself and can be placed just like a regular boat. Then craft 2 or more docks; items, fluids, and/or energy (to power up the motorboat) can be transferred from/to docked boats in…
Official listing
- Modrinth page
- modrinth.com/mod/cargo-boats
- Owner
- lordlandmaster
- Published
- 2025-12-21
- Updated on Modrinth
- 2026-10-10
- Facts verified
- 2026-10-15