Ships

Build a ship, sail it, fight at sea.

Last updated: 2026-09-27 12:44 PM EST.

What counts as a ship

10 to 1000 blocks. At least a quarter wooden planks or slabs. Touching water. Between Y 50 and Y 80.
Most building blocks are fine: glass, stairs, slabs, doors, fences, chests, furnaces, lanterns, beds.
Dirt, stone, cobblestone and sand are not. One bad block stops the whole ship.

Build on your own town's land where it touches water. Ships only launch there. That spot is your harbour.

Control	What it does
`/pilot Ship`	Take the helm. No sign needed. Chests, animals and dropped items on deck come along.
`/cruise north`	Sail that way until told otherwise. Also south, east, west.
`/cruise off`	Stop.
Stick, right-click	One step the way you face.
Stick, left-click	The ship follows you as you walk. Left-click again to stop.
`/rotate left`	Quarter turn left.
`/rotate right`	Quarter turn right.
Sign `[helm]`	A wheel. Right-click turns clockwise, left-click the other way.

Seagrass and kelp never block a ship. While you pilot, nobody else can break its blocks.

Command	What it does
`/manoverboard`	Back on deck within 30 seconds of falling in. Not inside a bay: you swim.
`/shiphome`	Ship goes to its harbour. You must be piloting: board, `/pilot Ship`, then this.
`/release`	Drop the helm. The ship is just blocks. Anyone can take them unless a claim protects the water.

Dying does not lose your ship. It usually goes home on its own.
Logging out or being kicked sends it home. If it stayed at sea: rejoin, board, pilot, /shiphome.
Captain dies in a boarding: ship goes home with the crew. Captain dies any other time: only the ship goes home.

Sea zones are capture zones you reach by ship. Open times, rules and rewards are on that page.
To capture one, sail in on a piloted ship and stay aboard. Your crew counts too. Swimming or rowing in does nothing.
If an enemy ship is already in the zone, sail in anyway: the two ships dock and freeze, and the crews fight on deck. When a captain dies, their ship goes home with the survivors.
Inside a zone, /manoverboard does not work: you swim. Nobody outside can hurt you, and you cannot hurt anyone outside.