Boat

Boats are rideable objects that can be placed on Water and are used to move faster through big water masses.

Boat Riding
Unlike Minecarts, boats moves accordingly to the player's will. The boat also moves significantly faster than a player on water but is slower than a Minecart. While some movement bugs are still present, it's possible to steer using the WASD keys. Boats also have movement relative to the camera, so a player can maneuver them with the mouse. Boat changes direction if in contact with, a player, another boat, or a mob. If you crash a boat into another boat your boat will be destroyed and the other one will just bump away. Destroyed boats only give you 3 planks and 2 sticks.

Boats can be maneuvered in snow and ice, but are very slow and confined to the same square. Boats cannot be used on Lava.

Like Minecarts, boats can be used to make water slides.

Video that shows how boats works (notice how the player uses waterslides for speed, and how it's possible to elevate boats by waterfalls).

=Patch 1.0.6_01 photo addendum= Boats are no longer destroyed on contact with solid ground immediately. Instead, a boat must get to a certain speed (shown by the water splashees