Well, I went and made a War Galley model; then coupled it with some ripple/splash effects and a primitive reflection, and got this:

Note that the game doesn't look quite as good in motion; the "3d water" effect is the result of a bumpy lake bottom combined with some good water texturing.

War Galley description:

The first warship available to you, it is buildable in the second era. It is useful for scouting and ferrying units across rivers, but can also be used for combat if necessary. It features an iron-bound wooden ram and a complement of archers to deal with water-borne threats, and can transport up to ten troops (no siege or cavalry). It is vulnerable to fire and crush damage, as it is too slow to get out of the way. To defend against it, use archers with fire arrows, ballista, or catapults.

Vital Statistics:

Health: 400

Turn Speed: 30 degrees per second

Moving Speed: ~1/2 map square per second.

Range: 80 Pixels (5 map squares)

Damage:

<P> 20

<S> 0

<C> 500 (ram)

<F> 50 (when fire arrows are equipped)

Armor:

<P> 80%

<S> 100%

<C> 20%

<F> 5%

Notes on ramming: Ramming is in many ways the ultimate sea weapon. By manually issuing the Ram order, you can cause your ships to accelerate forwards until they either hit an enemy ship, or run out of energy. A successful ram will destroy any ship it hits. (and can heavily damage docks as well) After performing the Ramming maneuver, the unit doing so will have to recover for ~60 seconds, during which time it cannot move at all. (although it can still fire)