Tutorials/Water elevator

Water elevators are a quick and easy way to go up or down in a vertical manner.

In comparison to the Water Ladder, the Water Elevator is less efficient. In terms of space the Water Elevator uses more, yet can look nicer at times. The Water Elevator uses many more blocks than a Water Ladder.

Building a water paternoster
A water paternoster requires Water Bucket and any blocks that are not affected by gravity. To operate a water paternoster efficiently a Boat is required.

  Build a 4 X 8 outline on the ground where you want the bottom of the water paternoster to go.  Afterwards build up from the frame, making sure to leave a door. do not fill in the inside (leave it hollow). Build this as high as you need to go  At the top make a 4 by 4 grid, filling it in as seen in the picture (Just below the 4 by 4 grid)  Place Water at the back part of this grid, then delete the blocks directly beneath the source. Once the water flows to the bottom delete all the blocks except the ones present at the back of the source blocks, these are needed to stop the boat from falling off. Once done place two blocks at the bottom of the other side of the elevator.  Place water on the prementioned blocks. A dip as seen in this picture should be formed. Place your Boat in the dip and it should loop round the structure, even when you are in it. IF the structure is tall it is possible for it to run multiple boats safely 

Resources
Forum text tutorial-uses the same pictures as above with permission.

Youtube Video Guide

Simple Vertical Water Elevator
This Water Elevator design requires two Water Bucket's, and a Boat. It plays on the Boat Physics section of Minepedia: "Boats cannot be swamped by going underwater: they will rise upward whenever they are in water. As a result, a vertical column of water can serve as an elevator for boats, as part of a flume ride, long-distance transport, or boat dispenser."

This design can be used in any 2x space to a minimum of 2x2, and can operate at any height, from bedrock to the sky. In the tutorial below it is built in a 2x4 mineshaft.

  First decide where you would like your elevator, how about at the bottom of a mine, for example.  Next dig out a 2x1 hole in the ground so that the ground does not flood, directly under the surface which will become your elevator.  Flood the top of the elevator so that the water falls into the 2x1 hole that you have just dug.  Once the water has fallen into the hole, place your Boat down on the ground, and push it into the water.  The Boat will begin to rise once the water touches the bottom of the boat. Quickly Right-Click to enter the boat, and you can ride it all the way to the top. 

Leave yourself at least 6 blocks worth of airspace above your Water Elevator, as you will pick up a lot of momentum and can take a bit of damage when rising into solid blocks.

Use this style elevator whenever you want to quickly travel up or down, with minimal effort involved. Here is an example of a flying castle in the sky, using fountains as the means of entrance:



Resources
Boat - Minepedia