How would I make a functional boat?

I would like to make a fishing game as my first game to make and I am wondering how I would make a boat. What I plan is for you to be able to drive the boat and you can turn it off and then start fishing with a fishing rod (a topic to be). I am not sure how I would start, would it be a vehicle I could enter or would it be apart of my character’s mesh. Please give insight.