I think there should be boats that could be built, rather than “crafted”. Say in 3.0, you can craft a vehicle in your inventory, but what about a traditionally built boat? Similar to how you build a base, it would require a frame and bulkheads, that are built seperately and built onto the boat, like a modular segment, and it could be customised how large you wanted it to be, or what it would look like.
Finally when the hull is complete, you can build sails, or add an engine, and you are free to set sail. The boat could be wheeled out into the sea, and you can sail off.
This could work for makeshift vehicles too, building it in pieces and adding on, rather that making it in your inventory. It would add more fun, realism, and customisation options.
Seems feasible to me! With Nelson having items made up of other items, this could be more than doable. While I personally would love to have vehicles that can be fully custom made using components, having basic rafts that you can craft just from the inventory would suit casual players nicely as well.
So instead of crafting a full vehicle (a raft as an example) in your inventory and placing it down, you craft a raft frame and place it down. The frame would be unusable but you add on to it like building a base (and you would need rope to hold them on?) So lets say you grab some plastic barrels and then attach them to the frame. Then you drag it too the water and paddle away.