Boat

A boat is both an item and a vehicle entity.

Obtaining
Boats can be retrieved by repeatedly them until they drop as an item. Tools and Weapons with 4 damage or more can instantly destroy a boat in one swipe.

Trading
Fisherman villagers have a $1/7$ chance to sell one of six types of boats for an emerald as part of their fourth tier trade.

Controls
Press the button on the boat to mount it.

A boat can be exited by pressing the key, pressing down the right analog stick, tapping on the "Leave Boat" button, or pressing the  key. When exiting a boat, the player is placed in the direction the player is facing, or, if facing directly up or down, the player is placed in front of the boat. If possible from the dismounting position, the exiting player will be placed on land.

With a keyboard or gamepad, boats are controlled using the, (turns left),  (turns right), and  keys. Using the key will increase the field of vision, but will not increase speed as if sprinting.

With touchscreen controls, two buttons for steering appear. The right button or key steers to the left, and the left button or key steers to the right. Pressing both buttons moves the boat forward.

Behavior


Boats move according to the player's control or water currents. Boats have the same speed as minecarts. If on land, a boat may still be controlled but extremely slowly. A boat does not turn with mouse-look. A player cannot both move (row) and use items at the same time.

Boats can be used to safely travel through water, and will not be damaged from collisions or from falling. If a boat runs into a lily pad, the block will be broken.

As of update 1.13.2, a player will sustain damage when falling from heights whilst riding a boat.

Boats effectively have just over (exactly 4 damage isn't quite enough to destroy it), and regenerate $1/10$ per tick. When on the ground, they have 0.455 the height of a block.

If a boat is pushed underwater, for instance, if moved under a waterfall, or if moved up or down into a current, it will sink.

Boats can support two riders, including mobs. Mobs can't exit a boat and are trapped until the boat gets destroyed.

Riding a boat will not deplete hunger.


 * Java / Legacy Console Editions
 * Boats move extremely fast while on ice. When moving fast enough, there will be "water spray" visual effect representing the bow wake.  Being in a boat limits the player's mouse-look to the forward 180 degree arc. A boat will break snow layers that it runs into. Players receive no fall damage if falling in a boat.
 * A sunken boat is sunk forever, unable to be retrieved until it is broken by the player.
 * For mobs to enter a boat, they must walk directly on top of it. A mob cannot control the boat.


 * Bedrock Edition
 * A sunken boat will float again when it emerges from the current or the waterfall that is keeping it down.
 * Boats emit smoke when destroyed.
 * Mobs can be 'picked up' by riding a boat near them, and a mob can drive the boat without the aid of the player.

Drops
When destroyed via attacking or other forms of damage such as fire, a boat drops its item form. A boat will not get destroyed if it crashes against a block or lily pad, unlike in versions before Java Edition 1.9, but if it is killed from fall damage, it will drop 3 corresponding planks of the boat's type.

Fuel
A boat can be used as fuel in furnaces, smelting 2 items in the Java and Legacy Console Editions, and 6 items in the Bedrock Edition per boat.

ID
In Bedrock Edition, boats use the following data values:

Entity data
Boats have entity data associated with them that contain various properties of the entity.

Trivia

 * A chest is short enough that a boat will fall onto it rather than crash into it.
 * Sand, red sand, concrete powder, gravel, anvils and dragon eggs drop as items when they fall onto a boat that is in water.
 * Boats travel at fast speeds when on ice. They travel faster on packed ice, and even faster on blue ice.
 * The crafting recipes for boats are the only recipes that can be unlocked in the recipe book without having any items.
 * If the player is standing on a floating boat and the boat is moved, the player's hunger bar will decrease.