By far the best way to survive a tsunami is to get to high ground before it hits.
If you take a look at the "before" and "after" photos of the recent tsunamis in SE Asia and Japan, you soon realize that the only buildings likely to survive a big tsunami are really large, stoutly built and heavily reinforced steel and concrete structures. Any wood frame building, and even brick and masonry buildings are likely to be destroyed by a tsunami.
Likewise for boats, only larger very sturdy vessels are likely to survive intact. Tsunamis usually come as a series of waves. Often the later arriving waves are the biggest. If you look at any of the numerous videos of the recent tsunamis you will see that by the time the later waves arrive, the water is full of debris (all those destroyed houses and wood frame apartments), cars, and other junk. Smaller boats are likely to get chewed up and destroyed among all that debris.
If a tsunami is coming, run like hell to high ground. If there is no accessible high ground then run to the top of the biggest, stoutest building or other structure.
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"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas any more."
-Dorothy, in The Wizard of Oz