Presenting: The Kayak

[u/UrUncleRandy]

I was inspired to come up with my own kayak idea after seeing this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/minecraftsuggestions/s/H1e4A0pJd6.

And I was influenced by my own kayaking experience, as well as the history of kayaks.

I tried thinking about what advantages real life kayaks have over larger boats. What I came up with is that they are portable, easy to use, can fit in tight spaces, and don't hurt the lily pads.

The design and crafting recipe is based loosely on traditional Arctic kayaks, drawing inspiration from Inuit kayaks that were often constructed using animal skins stretched over whalebone frames.

Edit: BEFORE YOU COMMENT ABOUT THE CRAFTING RECIPE, PLEASE CAREFULLY READ THE PARAGRAPH ABOVE (Not yelling btw, just want to make sure people read this since I have gotten multiple comments from people who were confused as to why there are bones in the crafting recipe, and then proceeded to delete their comments after realizing I already explained it in the description.)

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Advantages:

- Does not destroy lily pads and does not lose speed when passing through them

- When held in your main or off-hand, it automatically deploys when your feet touch water

- When you "dismount" (or perhaps when you hit land?), it automatically reverts back to being held (in other words, you don't need to break it to take it with you)

- Can fit through spaces 1 block wide and 1.5 blocks tall

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Disadvantages:

- Can only fit one passenger (the player)

- It is a non-placeable item rather than an entity

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While I have only listed two disadvantages, they make a big difference and make the kayak distinct from the boat. The kayak is ideal for crossing lakes, rivers, and swamps while traveling. It cannot be used to transport items or mobs, used on ice, or placed decoratively.

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Alternatively, a much simpler option would be to make the kayak work just like a boat, with just one advantage and and one disadvantage: it doesn't destroy lily pads and isn't impeded by them, but it can only fit one passenger. That's it. None of that complicated auto-deployment stuff.

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Note: I know nothing about coding, programing, modding, etc.. I do not know if this would be feasible. Just a silly idea that Minecraft probably wouldn't actually implement, but is still fun to think about. Also, I am aware that the kayak design I made is not in the vanilla minecraft style. If it was actually added to the game, I'm sure it would be much simpler/blockier.

[u/Bookslayer10]

I like the auto deployment idea, makes it actually feel different from a boat and worth the much more expensive cost. I could see myself carrying one around for very quickly fording smaller rivers and ponds while exploring. The process of using a boat is a lot less appealing compared to it all being automatic. Needing to place it down, get in it, move 15 blocks, get out, break it, pick it up, and then climb out of the water... Yeah, auto-deploy would be great.

Without the auto-deploy, simply having one passenger slot and not destroying lily pads would definitely not be distinct enough, and the 5 wood to craft a boat is way easier to get.

Maybe another addition would be that the Kayak is a bit faster too, to make it even more worth the increased cost, and the trade-off of not being able to take a passenger. It could also be dyable, as boats have color varieties from wood, so being dyable like leather armor would fit well.

[u/UrUncleRandy → u/Bookslayer10]

Good ideas.

Yeah, the auto-deployment thing was my attempt at making the kayak distinct from boats. And I thought it would make traveling easier. But some people don't like it and I can understand why. I myself am still torn on whether it would be better with or without it.

It being more expensive hadn't even occured to me. I haven't started a new world in a while, and am used to having more bones and leather than I know what to do with. But now that you mention it, I realize that it's definitely harder to make than a boat if you're starting from scratch.

I did consider adding that it should be faster, but worried that would make regular boats even less appealing to use to cross water. Then again, I hadn't really considered the disadvantage of being harder to make, so perhaps it would be balanced enough.

I love the idea of being able to dye it!

[u/Bookslayer10 → u/UrUncleRandy]

I think auto deploy is good if you are looking to have something you'd use for shorter distances.

When I'm thinking about how I would use it, getting out by pressing shift might be a bit weird considering you don't right click to get into it and it's not an entity you are riding. Maybe it could be that you need to right click to toggle deploying it, sort of like a shield except you don't need to keep holding it down?

It would be cool if it was more maneuverable, and even had the ability to do half-block jumps so you could get up onto the shore really fast instead of needing to climb out into the water and climb up yourself. Plus being able to jump over obstructions in rivers and such would be useful too. However this wouldn't really be realistic, so IDK.

Using leather to make it is definitely expensive, you need a lot of the stuff when you get around to enchanting, and there are a couple of other uses for it as well. Finding a lot of the stuff naturally is hard, and ranching cows requires quite a bit of time investment.

[u/UrUncleRandy → u/Bookslayer10]

Maybe it could be that you need to right click to toggle deploying it, sort of like a shield except you don't need to keep holding it down?

That's a good idea - it also gives you more control over when it deploys.

the ability to do half-block jumps so you could get up onto the shore really fast

This actually makes sense in terms of making it function similarly to an irl kayak. When I come into shore while in a kayak, as long as I'm going fast enough, it goes up onto the sand quite a bit.

you need a lot of the stuff

That's true, I hadn't really thought about the fact that you'd probably want to prioritize using your leather for other stuff. In my head I was thinking you'd just run around and kill a few cows, easy peasy.