I was messing around with boats and I discovered that boats can ride on land as well as on water. (1.9 Pre-Release 1)
I expected it to not move at all, but the boat worked amazingly.
1) Place boat on ground
2) Get in boat
3) Ride around like on water
Environment
Windows 8
Though it is true boats do work on land, it is in no way as fast as in water.