Our Survival: Fountain of Youth Boat Guide will tell you how to get a Boat and how you can use it to quickly travel around the island -- and to new Regions.
Quicklinks: How to Get a Boat | How Boats Work |
What Happens When Durability Runs Out? | How the Dock Works
How to Fast Travel with a Boat | How to Travel to Other Regions | Boat List
After you wash up on the shore of the Island of Hope, your first few days of Survival: Fountain of Youth will be focused on, well, survival. It won't be long before you turn your attention to Crafting some new tools, making some dried Food, and sailing away to another island. Read on to learn everything you'd want to know about Boats!
How to Get a Boat in Survival: Fountain of Youth
You can get your first Boat in Survival: Fountain of Youth by picking up the following items at least once:
- Common Log
- Long Stick
- Liana Rope
- Narrow Leaves
- Processed Hide
The most difficult of these is the Processed Hide. You'll need to hunt specific wildlife and then follow the tanning process. You can see what you need for each Boat in our Boat List, and you can find out how to unlock everything you need for them in our Crafting Guide.
Although you can unlock a Raft pretty easily, I would actually recommend going for a Canoe first. It's faster and sturdier overall. The only thing you lose out on is the ability to carry Common Logs over the water -- if that's important to you, you should stick with the Raft.
How Boats Work in Survival: Fountain of Youth
Boats are versatile vessels that can make your life a lot easier in Survival: Fountain of Youth. While you may be anxious to get a Boat and travel to other Regions, you'll soon find that they can be used for other things, too.
The first and most important thing to understand is that Boats have Durability. Your Boat will gradually take damage whenever you're using it normally, and it can take additional damage if you carelessly bump into an obstacle. (Boats can get stuck on rocks, too, and the only solution may be to Sail Away to another Dock or Region to get it unstuck.)
There are three types of Boat in the Early Access launch version of the game: Raft, Canoe, and Catamaran. Each of these Boats can be upgraded twice, and each upgrade adds some new features.
Boats aren't just for getting around -- they also have functional amenities. All Boats have a Fishing Stand (which you can use at Fishing Spots) and a Bed. Most Boats come with some kind of storage, and the more complex Boats can store Logs or even allow you to Cook Food!
What Happens When a Boat's Durability Runs Out?
If a Boat's Durability runs out in Survival: Fountain of Youth, it will come to a stop and the hull will look broken apart. This can be especially bad if you're far away from land.
You can repair a Boat's Durability by Crafting a Ship Repair Kit, interacting with your Boat, and using it. There are different qualities of Ship Repair Kit, and better quality Ship Repair Kits will restore more Durability. Ships with low Durability will not be able to Fast Travel if it would take them below 0 Durability.
It's important to keep your Boat's Durability high. You should always repair it if the Durability is lower than 50%.
How the Dock Works in Survival: Fountain of Youth
The Dock isn't just a nice place where you can casually step off of your Boat in Survival: Fountain of Youth -- it also serves as a place to dock your Boat, and it can be used as a Fast Travel point, too.
Docks need to be a short distance away from the shore or they won't be usable. You can test this by attempting to dock your Boat. If it can't dock, then that Dock can't be used as a Fast Travel point, either. You can Build "Foundation-Pierce" in the water and use it to extend a solid platform to the shore so you don't have to swim to the Dock every time you want to use your Boat.
Keep in mind that you need one Dock per Boat when it comes to Fast Traveling. If you build multiple Boats, you'll want to ensure that you have at least one Dock for each at your primary base. Otherwise, you might have to travel home the slow way.
How to Fast Travel with a Boat in Survival: Fountain of Youth
You can use your Boat to Fast Travel within a Region by pressing "E" to activate "Sail Away." From there, you can Fast Travel to any Dock you've placed within the Region.
This will bring up a map. From there, you can select any Dock to travel to.
Once you've selected a Dock, you'll be given a prompt showing you how long the trip will take and how much Boat Durability you'll lose as a result:
Again, keep in mind that you can't Fast Travel to a Dock that is occupied by another Boat.
How to Travel to Other Regions in Survival: Fountain of Youth
Traveling to other Regions in Survival: Fountain of Youth works much like Fast Traveling within a Region -- all you have to do is select "Sail Away" and then go to the Region Map, provided that you've completed whatever story objectives needed to unlock access to that Region.
All Regions -- including the Bird Region where you start the game -- have a default spawn point that you can select if there is no Dock in the region. If you do have a Dock, though, you can travel directly to it and save yourself some additional transit time.
There are three key differences with traveling to another Region:
- Traveling to another Region consumes a large amount of Durability
- It takes more in-game time
- You'll have to sit through a loading screen
If you're going to a new Region for the first time, it's highly advisable to bring some stored Food and Water with you. You can't be certain about what you're going to see on the other side!
Survival: Fountain of Youth Boat List
| Boat | Requirements | Tool Needed | How to Unlock | Speed | Durability | Other Features |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raft | 2 Common Log, 2 Long Stick, 2 Liana Rope, 5 Narrow Leaves, 1 Processed Hide | Axe | Common Log, Long Stick, Liana Rope, Narrow Leaves, Processed Hide | 10 | 3,000 | Fishing Stand, Primitive Bed of Leaves |
| Improved Raft | 2 Common Log, 4 Small Stick, 5 Long Stick, 2 Liana Rope, 5 Narrow Leaves, 1 Processed Hide | Axe | Raft | 10 | 3,500 | Fishing Stand, Bed of Leaves, Ship's Box Made of Branches (100 Weight) |
| Solid Raft | 2 Common Log, 2 Split Log, 3 Liana Rope, 3 Wide Leaf, 5 Long Stick, 5 Narrow Leaves, 1 Processed Hide, 4 Small Stick | Axe | Improved Raft | 10 | 4,000 | Fishing Stand, Bed of Leaves, Ship's Protected Box (100 Weight), Log Storage |
| Canoe | 2 Split Log, 6 Small Stick, 15 Tree Bark, 2 Dried Hide, 3 Liana Rope, 5 Narrow Leaves | Axe | Split Log, Small Branch, Tree Bark, Dried Hide, Liana Rope, Narrow Leaves | 15 | 6,500 | Fishing Stand, Bed of Leaves, Ship's Protected Box (100 Weight) |
| Improved Canoe | 4 Liana Rope, 3 Wide Leaf, 2 Split Log, 6 Small Stick, 15 Tree Bark, 2 Dried Hide, 5 Narrow Leaves | Axe | Canoe | 15 | 7,250 | Fishing Stand, Bed of Leaves, Ship's Large Protected Box (200 Weight) |
| Solid Canoe | 4 Long Stick, 2 Big Branch, 4 Dried Hide, 2 Split Log, 6 Small Stick, 15 Tree Bark, 4 Liana Rope, 5 Narrow Leaves, 3 Wide Leaf | Axe | Improved Canoe | 15 | 8,000 | Fishing Stand, Hut Made of Skins, Ship's Large Protected Box (200 Weight) |
| Catamaran | 2 Copper Ingot, 2 Wooden Plank, 3 Dried Hide, 2 Seaweed Fabric, 3 Rope Made of Skin | Axe | A Piece of Copper Ore | 20 | 10,000 | Fishing Stand, Bed of Leaves, Ship's Large Protected Box (200 Weight) |
| Catamaran with Fireplace | 5 Small Stick, 3 Massive Stone, 1 Fired Pot, 3 Long Stick, 2 Copper Ingot, 2 Wooden Plank, 3 Dried Hide, 2 Seaweed Fabric, 3 Rope Made of Skin | Axe | Catamaran | 20 | 11,000 | Fishing Stand, Bed of Leaves, Ship's Large Protected Box (200 Weight), Hearth with a Pot |
| Catamaran with Cabin | 7 Long Stick, 2 Big Branch, 5 Dried Hide, 1 Liana Rope, 3 Wide Leaf, 2 Copper Ingot, 2 Wooden Plank, 2 Seaweed Fabric, 3 Rope Made of Skin, 5 Small Stick, 3 Massive Stone, 1 Fired Pot | Axe | Catamaran with Fireplace | 20 | 12,000 | Fishing Stand, Sleeping Hut, Ship's Large Protected Box (200 Weight), Ship's Protected Box (100 Weight), Hearth with a Pot, Log Storage |
Thanks for reading our Survival: Fountain of Youth Boat Guide. Make sure to check out our other guides below!
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