Is making a boat in minecraft even possible at the moment?

if you're near bamboo, bamboo planks make a raft rather than a boat. same recipe, floats the same, just looks different. a boat and a chest in the grid gives you a chest boat too, which is the one you want for long trips.

yeah, it's never gone anywhere. five planks, three along the bottom and one up each side. are you trying it in the little inventory grid? that's 2x2 and it won't fit, you need an actual crafting table. same wood type for all five as well, mixing oak and birch gives you nothing.