Does it work if you use telepathy to speak the command word?

Nope!

There are rules that state the word has to be verbal.

 This is my new favorite item, not for exploration but for the combat factor of SURPRISE BOAT ATTACK!

How fast does it go?

I guess it'd be up to the DM for that. I personally would use certain ship stats like a galley (minus the weaponry of course) and probably just cut the stats in half or something like that.

Hey guys, I have a player who wants to use the command word to drop the 24ft. ship on enemies. My first question is can some do this as a single action? How long does it take to unfold. Second, What would the damage assigned to drop this per 10ft.? He also says that because it's a magic item it would not take damage? There is mention that magic items do not damage, but also that as in a magic net that it can be damaged. 

Thanks in advance

I'm not a dm, but i would say use the rules for taking damage when falling as a player but calculate it as if the boat were a player and multiply the damage by 2 or 3 based on if they chose the medium or large boat. Then apply the damage to the damage to the intended target. As for the boat taking damage, maybe roll 1 or 2 d100s and add them together. Use that number as a maximum number of times you can smash the boat on enemey before the magic item breaks.

Thank you!!!!

I would say no. Throwing the box to a height where that is even remotely possible would be an action, speaking the command word is also an action, and I would think that it would take longer to unfold and grow than fall

I might also house rule that like other more common magic items once the magic item completes its function the object functions like a regular ship, meaning it can be damaged. 

Quote from ResearchBoi >>

I'm not a dm

 Then what are you doing here?!

Magic items aren't supposed to be known by the players (right)?

Quote from Fireslayer999 >>

Quote from ResearchBoi>>

I'm not a dm

 Then what are you doing here?!

Magic items aren't supposed to be known by the players (right)?

 imo just because you're a player doesn't mean you have to be walking into a campaign completely blind. As long as you don't metagame about it knowing about the item isn't an issue at all.

Quote from Averyonakael >>

I would say no. Throwing the box to a height where that is even remotely possible would be an action, speaking the command word is also an action, and I would think that it would take longer to unfold and grow than fall

 Two people.  One throws the box, the other says the command word!

Quote from Melakesh >>

He also says that because it's a magic item it would not take damage? There is mention that magic items do not damage, but also that as in a magic net that it can be damaged.

 Most magic items are not indestructible, but have resistance to all damage. It's only artifacts that are impossible to destroy except in a specific and usually very difficult way. See chapter 7 of the DMG. Unfortunately it looks like this information may have been left out of the basic rules.

There's a random Minor Property (Also in DMG Chapter 7) where the item becomes almost unbreakable, so it's possible for magic items to be extremely durable, but it (like many things) is ultimately up to the DM.

Honestly in a living breathing world full of magical items I don't really think it's possible to met a game about what items exist because you can just ask a vendor or a priest or an enchanter or anything about these items. And if we're being truly realistic there's a ton of items that we don't even know exist and that's the beauty of Homebrew

I plan on leaving this folded in a cave with a random gem inside. I'll cackle as my players will try to identify the gem, take it, and leave this behind

Quote from Retosius_the_sky_flame >>

I guess it'd be up to the DM for that. I personally would use certain ship stats like a galley (minus the weaponry of course) and probably just cut the stats in half or something like that.

Looking at the various vehicles on dndbeyond (https://www.dndbeyond.com/vehicles), the closest is the Keelboat.  But that is 2.5 times as long and wide as the ship form of the folding boat.  The Keelboat doesn't say how deep it is, though, but it does only show one level, so we can probably assume that's irrelevant.  This would means the ship form has 6.25 times less area, but as a DM, I'd probably just quarter various values of the keelboat that might depend on size or even fudge it because it's magic and the Keelboat isn't.  I'd probably keep the speed about the same, though.

Two questions. 1. Would the ship form weigh at least one ton?  2. Does anyone have a decent illustration of that the ship form would look like?