Flåten ligger ved kysten.

Because Norwegian usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

• flåte = raft / fleet
• flåten = the raft / the fleet

So instead of using a separate word like the, Norwegian often adds a suffix:

• båt = boat
• båten = the boat

It depends on context. Flåte can mean:

• raft
• fleet

So flåten can mean the raft or the fleet. The wider context tells you which one is intended.

Norwegian often uses position/location verbs where English simply uses to be.

Here, ligger is the present tense of å ligge, which often means:

• lies
• is lying
• is located

So Flåten ligger ved kysten is more natural than using er if you want to describe where something is located.

English says:

• The raft is by the coast

Norwegian often prefers:

• Flåten ligger ved kysten

Ligger is the present tense of å ligge.

Some useful forms are:

• å ligge = to lie / to be situated
• ligger = lies / is lying / is located
• lå = lay / was located
• har ligget = has lain / has been located

So in this sentence, ligger means the situation is happening now or is a general present fact.

Ved usually means by, near, or alongside.

In this sentence, ved kysten means something like:

• by the coast
• near the coast

It does not usually mean directly on the coast. It suggests proximity.

For the same reason as flåten: the noun is definite.

• kyst = coast
• kysten = the coast

So ved kysten means by the coast, not just by coast.

Sometimes, but it changes the nuance.

• ved kysten = by/near the coast
• på kysten = often more like on the coast, along the coast, or in a coastal area

So ved kysten is a better choice if something is simply located close to the coastline.

No. This sentence has very normal main-clause word order:

• Flåten = subject
• ligger = verb
• ved kysten = prepositional phrase

So it follows the pattern:

Subject + verb + place

This is very similar to English.

Yes. That is also correct.

Norwegian is a verb-second language, so if you move ved kysten to the front, the verb still has to stay in second position:

• Flåten ligger ved kysten
• Ved kysten ligger flåten

Both are grammatical, but the second version gives a little more emphasis to ved kysten.

A rough guide:

• flåten → the å sounds like the vowel in British law
• ligger → the i is short, like i in sit
• ved → often pronounced with a long e sound
• kysten → the y is a rounded vowel that English does not really have; say ee while rounding your lips

A rough English-style approximation might be:

FLOH-ten LIG-er vehd KYS-ten

But the real Norwegian sounds are a bit different, especially å and y.

Yes. That is very common in Norwegian.

So ligger can describe:

• physical position: Boka ligger på bordet = The book is lying on the table
• geographical location: Byen ligger ved kysten = The city is located by the coast

In your sentence, it most naturally means is located or lies in a location sense.