Minecraft's vast oceans have always felt underutilized, with vanilla boats offering little more than basic transportation. Fortunately, the modding community has stepped up with incredible boat and ship mods that add new vessels, physics, automation, and combat capabilities. Whether you want historically inspired ships, customizable builds, or automated logistics, these mods will transform your seafaring experience. All are compatible with recent versions like 1.21.x, and most support Fabric, Forge, or NeoForge. Here are the 6 best Minecraft boat mods, ranked by popularity, features, and innovation.
Table of Contents
1. Small Ships [Fabric & Forge]
The undisputed king of boat mods, Small Ships boasts over 40 million downloads on CurseForge alone. This vanilla-friendly mod adds medieval-inspired vessels perfect for exploration, trade, and naval warfare. Craft cogs, briggs, galleys, and drakkars, each with unique stats like passenger capacity (up to 11), inventory slots (up to 162), speed (30-45 km/h), and hull HP (200-400). New in recent updates: cannons for blasting sea monsters or foes! Ships adapt to biomes (faster in cold/warm waters), can be dyed, named, repaired, and even leashed. Controls are intuitive: right-click to board, R for sails, Space for cannons.
Key Features:
- 4 ship types with cannons and biome bonuses
- Massive storage and multi-passenger support
- Realistic sailing mechanics
Compatibility: Minecraft 1.21.4 (Fabric/Forge/NeoForge)
Download: CurseForge | Modrinth
2. Boatload
With nearly 19 million downloads, Boatload keeps things simple yet essential by enhancing vanilla boats without overhauling the game. Craft large boats (carry 4 entities, including horses), boats with chests for storage, furnace boats for powered speed boosts (fuel with coal), and banner boats for style. Large boats are slower but versatile for group travel.
Key Features:
- Boats with chests, furnaces, and banners
- Large boats for mobs and players
- Easy crafting with vanilla items
Compatibility: Minecraft 1.21.1 (NeoForge/Forge)
Download: CurseForge
3. Eureka! Ships! for Valkyrien Skies
For creative builders, Eureka! Ships! (6 million+ downloads) lets you construct ships from any blocks and bring them to life with physics. Place a Ship Helm, assemble (shift + right-click), and sail your floating fortress. Requires Valkyrien Skies for physics, but stabilizing forces make it user-friendly. Perfect for mobile bases or epic armadas.
Key Features:
- Block-by-block ship building
- Realistic (simplified) physics
- Compatible with modded blocks
Compatibility: Minecraft 1.20.1 (Forge/Fabric; recently updated Jan 2026)
Download: CurseForge
4. Aleki's Nifty Ships
This gem (5.9 million downloads) introduces a new generation of detailed, vanilla-style ships you can find unfinished on beaches and complete yourself. Customize with paint, dyes, banners, and cannons. Enjoy realistic sailing, icebreaker upgrades, anchors, and container support (shulkers, furnaces). Battle with land/sea cannons!
Key Features:
- Discoverable unfinished ships
- Full customization and upgrades
- Naval combat and docking
Compatibility: Minecraft 1.20.1 (Forge/NeoForge)
Download: CurseForge
5. Cargo Boats
A fresh 1.21.1 mod ideal for automation enthusiasts, Cargo Boats adds motorboats for cheap long-distance item/fluid transport. Program routes with docks and buoys, power with RF, and use elevators. Great for tech packs.
Key Features:
- Automated pathfinding boats
- Dock/buoy networks
- Item/fluid/energy transfer
Compatibility: Minecraft 1.21.1
Download: CurseForge
6. DaVinci's Vessels
A classic with 7.8 million downloads, this mod turns any structure into a boat, airship, or sub by adding control blocks. Supports working blocks like chests and furnaces on mobile bases. While older, it's timeless for creative vessels (requires MovingWorld).
Key Features:
- Any build becomes a vessel
- Airships and subs
- Configurable size limits
Compatibility: Up to 1.12.2 (legacy)
Download: CurseForge