V3RT's Basic Boats
- By
Turn your Minecraft boat builds into fully functional vessels! Fully survival-friendly, V3RT's Basic Boats lets you build, launch, and sail your own creations across the waters.
V3RT's Basic Boats
A while back, I built a really cool houseboat in Minecraft. Every time I looked at it, I couldn't help but wish I could actually sail it around instead of leaving it sitting in one spot.
So, I decided to do something about it.
That's how V3RT's Basic Boats came to life! A fully survival-friendly mod that lets you turn your own boat builds into functional, movable vessels!
Build a boat out of any blocks you like: a fishing skiff, a two-story houseboat or a full galleon. Add a Steering Wheel, some Coal Engines and an Anchor, and take it out on the water. You and your friends can walk around the deck, go below and look over the rail while the ship moves. When you reach your destination, drop the Anchor and the ship turns back into real blocks, so you can open chests, sleep in beds and keep building.
This is the first Minecraft Mod that I ever released, I am sure there will be other game versions people are interested in, or bugs needing fixed! Join my discord to stay up to date, report a bug, or suggest updates to the mod!
Features
Sail any build. Up to 16,384 blocks by default, including multi-level ships with interiors. Stairs, slabs, doors, lanterns, chests and other decorative blocks come along too.
Walk on deck while sailing. Players can move freely around a moving ship without falling through or sliding off.
Coal-powered engines. Bigger ships need more engines, and extra engines make you faster. Engines only burn fuel while the ship is moving, and you can refuel at sea.
Drop anchor anywhere. The ship becomes normal blocks in place. Raise the anchor to sail again. Chests keep their contents through the whole trip.
Blueprints. Save any ship design to a file, then rebuild it anywhere. A ghost preview shows where it will go, and you can rotate it.
A Survival shipyard. The Boat Constructor builds a ship from a blueprint over time, using materials you deposit. Pause or cancel at any time, and unused materials are returned.
Creative tools. Blueprints place instantly in Creative, and the Test Motor powers a ship of any size without fuel.
Built for performance. Ships are drawn as a single cached mesh, and the network and save data are compact, so large ships stay smooth in multiplayer.
Getting started
1. Build your boat on water.
2. Add a Steering Wheel, Coal Engines and an Anchor. Every ship needs exactly one wheel and at least one anchor. You need one engine per 50 blocks. Right-click the engines with coal to fuel them.
3. Outline it with the Boat Planner & Quill. Right-click two opposite corners, name your ship, then choose Save Blueprint & Launch.
4. Take the helm. Right-click the Steering Wheel. **W/S** set the throttle, **A/D** steer, and **Shift** lets go.
5. Drop the Anchor to park. Right-click it again to set sail.
You can relaunch a docked boat at any time from the Boat Builder.
Blocks & items
| Boat Planner & Quill | Outline a build with two corner clicks and save it as a blueprint. |
| Boat Planner | Holds a saved blueprint. Shows a ghost preview of the ship. Press **R** to rotate it. Green means it fits, red means it doesn't. |
| Boat Builder | Launch boats that are already built, or browse your blueprints and load one into an empty Boat Planner & Quill. |
| Boat Constructor | Survival shipyard. Give it a Boat Planner with a marked build site and the materials, and it builds the ship for you. |
| Steering Wheel | Every ship needs exactly one. |
| Coal Engine | Burns coal, charcoal or coal blocks, and only while moving. Refuel by right-clicking it, even at sea. |
| Anchor | Every ship needs one. Drop it to turn the ship into blocks, raise it to sail. |
| Test Motor | Creative only. Powers a ship of any size without fuel. |
Recipes
Boat Planner & Quill Recipe
Boat Builder Recipe
Boat Constructor Recipe
Coal Engine Recipe
Steering Wheel Recipe
Anchor Recipe
Every recipe appears in your recipe book once you pick up one of its ingredients.
Blueprints
Blueprints are saved as `.nbt` files in the `boatplans` folder of your game or server directory, so you can back them up or share them with friends. In Creative, a Boat Planner places the ship instantly. In Survival, the Boat Constructor builds it from materials.
Config
Server owners can change the following in `config/v3rtsbasicboats-common.toml`:
- blocks per engine
- speed
- fuel efficiency
- maximum ship size
- Boat Constructor build times and range
- whether blueprints are shared between all players
## Multiplayer
Install the mod on **both the server and every player's game**, and make sure everyone has the same version.
## FAQ
**Why won't my boat launch?**
The message tells you what's missing. The usual causes are no Anchor, too few fueled Coal Engines, more than one Steering Wheel, or a boat that isn't sitting in water.
**Can I use chests while sailing?**
Not while the ship is moving. Drop the Anchor first. Everything you stored before setting off is still there.
**How do I make my ship faster?**
Add more fueled Coal Engines than the minimum. Each extra full set of engines adds speed, up to 2.5× by default.
V3RT's Basic Boats Team
