What does the Type tag do for a boat?

It sets the wood type of the boat. The valid values are oak, spruce, birch, jungle, acacia, and dark_oak. If you don't include a Type tag when summoning, the boat defaults to oak.

How do I change the wood type of a boat that already exists in my world?

Use the /data merge entity command with a target selector. For example: /data merge entity @e[type=boat,limit=1,sort=nearest] {Type:jungle} will change the nearest boat to a jungle boat.

Can I summon a boat with a mob or player already in it?

Yes. Use the Passengers tag with the entity value of the mob you want. For example: /summon boat ~ ~ ~ {Passengers:[{id:zombie}]} spawns a boat with a zombie riding it. Players can't be added this way through commands alone.

What is the Fire NBT tag used for on a boat?

It sets how many game ticks the boat has been on fire. There are 20 ticks per second, so {Fire:60} means the boat burns for 3 seconds. Boats are destroyed by fire pretty quickly, so this is more useful for testing or map-making scenarios.

Do these NBT tags work in Bedrock Edition?

No. NBT tags and the /data command are Java Edition only. Bedrock uses a different command system and doesn't support the same entity data structure.

NBT Tags for Boat in Minecraft Java Edition 1.16-1.20

NBT tags let you control specific properties of entities through commands. For boats, that means you can summon any wood type, add passengers, set fire ticks, and more. Everything here works in Minecraft Java Edition 1.16 through 1.20.

Background

The entity value for a boat in Java Edition 1.16 and later is boat. This covers all six variants: oak, spruce, birch, jungle, acacia, and dark oak. You use this entity value with commands like /summon and /data.

NBT tags always go inside curly braces, like {Type:birch}. When combining multiple tags, separate them with commas: {Type:birch, Passengers:[{id:llama}]}.

List of NBT Tags for Boat

Here are all the NBT tags available for the boat entity in Java Edition 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19, and 1.20:

NBT Tag	Value (Description)	Works With
Type	oak (oak wood boat) spruce (spruce wood boat) birch (birch wood boat) jungle (jungle wood boat) acacia (acacia wood boat) dark_oak (dark oak wood boat) Example {Type:dark_oak}	/summon /data
Pos	coordinate (the xyz position where the boat currently is) Example {Pos:{x:-255.888617739718d,y:64.0d,z:186.8149890186918d}}	/data
Fire	ticks (how many game ticks until the boat stops being on fire, 20 ticks = 1 second) Example {Fire:60}	/summon /data
PortalCooldown	ticks (how many game ticks before the boat can pass through a portal again) Example {PortalCooldown:120}	/summon /data
id	boat (the entity value for a boat, used inside the Passengers tag) Example {id:boat}	/summon
Passengers	The mob riding in the boat. Use the entity value for whichever mob you want as a passenger. Example (llama as passenger) Passengers:[{id:llama}]	/summon /data

Command Examples

Summon an acacia boat at your current position:

/summon boat ~ ~ ~ {Type:acacia}

Summon a dark oak boat with a llama already riding in it:

/summon boat ~ ~ ~ {Type:dark_oak, Passengers:[{id:llama}]}

Using Target Selectors with Boats

The @e target selector lets you target existing entities in your world. Pair it with type=boat to select boats specifically:

@e[type=boat]

Target Selector Examples

Change the nearest boat to a jungle boat:

/data merge entity @e[type=boat,limit=1,sort=nearest] {Type:jungle}

Kill every boat in the world:

/kill @e[type=boat]

How to Use These Commands

Open Minecraft Java Edition 1.16 or later.
Make sure cheats are on, or that you have command access in your world.
Press T to open chat, or press / to go straight to the command prompt.
Type or paste your command and press Enter.
For /data commands, the boat needs to already exist in your world. Use /summon first if it doesn’t.

Version Notes

These NBT tags work in Java Edition 1.16, 1.17, 1.18, 1.19, and 1.20. If you’re on an older version like 1.14/1.15 or 1.11/1.12, the tag structure is a bit different. Also worth knowing: in 1.19, Mojang split some boat variants into separate entity types (like oak_boat, spruce_boat), so if the generic boat entity value stops working in a future version, try the wood-specific variant instead.