In Valheim you will find your island surrounded by the ocean and beyond that, there are other islands to explore.
You cannot simply swim all the way to another island as this would likely end up with your character drowning or worse, being eaten by Sea Serpents.
The best way to hop from one island to another or even transfer items from one place to another via the seas is to use a boat.
Types of Boats
There are currently 3 types of Boats in Valheim and each of them is a boat upgrade from another whereas you start out with the Raft, proceed to the Karve, and later on end up with the Longship.
- Raft– the first water transportation that will be available for you to use at the start of the game
- Karve – an upgrade from the Raft, the Karve can be unlocked after you craft or pick up Bronze Nails and provides you with more speed and 4 storage slots
- Longship – an upgrade from the Karve, the Longship is a larger boat with more storage (18 slots) and can be unlocked after you smelt Iron and craft Iron Nails.
How to Craft Valheim Boats?
Each boat recipe is unlocked as you progress through the game and require different materials depending on how better they are.
Raft
The Raft is the first means of water transportation that you have in the game and is relatively slow and hard to control, especially against the wind.
To craft the Raft, you will need the following:
- Leather scraps x6
- Resin x10
- Wood x20
Karve
The Karve is a faster boat which actually is built like a boat unlike the Raft and provides a good amount of speed that can allow you to safely escape Sea Serpents.
You have access to 4 storage slots in the Karve which is better than nothing and still useful during your progression if you need to carry heavy items across the water.
In order to craft the Karve you will need the following:
- Bronze nails x80
- Deer hide x10
- Fine wood x30
- Resin x20
Longship
The Longboat is the fastest and sturdiest among all of the boats and boasts higher speeds and a convenient 18 slots for storage.
With the advantage of space and a large number of storage slots, the Longship is perfect for bringing cargo across the sea and you can even bring a Cart onboard without taking up too much space.
Boat Control
In order to control the boat, you will need to select your speed and direction which can be done by pressing the forward or backward key.
The sail can go up to three levels which will determine how fast your boat will go based on the wind’s direction.
If the wind is in your favor, you can go full speed ahead and go faster but if you are against the wind, it is best to stay to the lowest speed.
You can stop the boat’s movement by reducing one level down from the first speed which puts the boat at rest and will cause it to stop moving after a while because there is no boat anchor.
If you plan on a boat dock, it could be a good help for when you need to dock and keep your boat while also making it more accessible later on.
Boats can go in reverse but this will be slow and you can also change the direction it goes by moving the rudder left or right.
Boat Storage
The Raft doesn’t have any storage but the Karve has 4 slots and the Longship has 18 slots, so you eventually want to get a Longship because it is basically the best upgrade from both boats.
The boat weight limit will allow you to bring a lot of heavy items with you and can be a good way to transfer metals and heavier resources from one island to another.
How to Repair Boats?
In order to repair a boat, you simply need to bring it near land and start crafting a Workbench which you can easily farm by picking up Stone and Wood to make a hammer.
Place your Workbench near the boat and you will be able to repair it like you would any other structure in the game.
Verdict
Boats in Valheim can really help out with transportation and using them is great for exploring other parts of the world.
It has been said that some players have experienced their boat despawn but this is most likely because an enemy destroyed it or it could be a possible glitch.
As of now, there are no boat upgrades but it is said that in future updates, some changes will be implemented to allow it.
