Wonder why this was never tested. ¤shrugs¤... Anyway, the hitbox is in the bottom left corner of the boat. Just as easy as the 2nd pier strat and roughly 3-4 seconds faster... Don't stand too near of the pole or you won't be able to shoot.

Well that's actually really simple. I remember testing first-pier strats before, but I stood a lot further back. Didn't know it would be this trivial just by moving a bit closer to the edge. If you fall in, I'm guessing it teleports you back up again, right?

Ah, ok. Unfortunately, no, after falling in you won't be teleported back, so there's some risk to it in that sense.