Alanna Harpel's Shimmering Ship

A Large, shimmering ship made of spectral arcane energy into existence in an unoccupied space of your choosing on the ground or on the surface of a liquid within range. It glows with dim light in a 10 foot radius and appears however you choose, outfitted with rigging, sails, and a compass. The ship hovers 12 inches off the ground or surface. The ship is intangible. Any creature that sees the spell can make an Investigation check against your spell save DC, and realize the ship is an illusion on a success. They automatically succeed if they are familiar with this spell. Creatures you designate, however, treat it as a physical object.

A designated creature can enter or exit the ship using 5 feet of movement. By holding the tiller, an occupant can direct the ship to gently skim above the ground at a speed of 10 feet per round. A creature with proficiency in Water Vehicles can instead manipulate the sails and rigging as if the ship were a real sailboat on water. A breeze of fresh air always fills the sails, and under the direction of such a creature, it has a speed of 40 feet (possibly more if moving with a strong prevailing wind). Casting Gust allows the ship to surge forward an extra 5 feet. More powerful wind spells are likely to allow it to move significantly faster or have to do difficult tacking maneuvers to move forward. The DM may call for Water Vehicles checks to try to get the boat to make sharp turns or sail against a strong prevailing wind.

The caster can also concentrate on a Gust of Wind spell simultaneously. If their concentration is broken, both spells end.

The ship always stays just above the ground or surface, so it ignores most difficult terrain. If it moves over a drop-off, it gently drifts down, as per Feather Fall.

The boat can hold up to 2 Medium or Small creatures. Large creatures count as 4, Huge as 16, and Tiny as 1/4. You can alternatively make a Medium boat that can only hold 1.

At Higher Levels. When cast with a higher level spell slot, the boat improves, getting faster and being able to created larger. Its speed increases by 5 feet per level of the spell above 1st. With a 3rd level slot, you can make a Huge ship (hold up to 8), at 5th, a Gargantuan ship (holds up to 32), at 7th, a Gargantuan ship (holds up to 64), and at 9th, a Gargantuan ship that holds up to 128. Additionally, the maximum duration increases by 10 minutes per slot level above 1st. Additionally, a Huge or larger ship comes equipped with a crow's nest if you choose. A creature can climb 10 feet up to the crow's nest (plus 5 feet per 2 levels above 3rd) without making a check, due to the rope ladder. A creature in the crow's nest has advantage on Perception checks, Nature checks to predict the weather, Cartographer's Tools and Survival checks to map the surrounding landscape or figure out their present location, and disadvantage on Stealth checks. A Huge ship comes with a small lower level if you wish. A Gargantuan ship may have multiple levels, if the DM permits. Keep in mind that the ship is an illusion- it is somewhat see-through, and does not provide cover or prevent attacks from coming through.