Stranded Deep water still on raft

Navigating the seas is the main point of Stranded Deep and no player is going to get very far if they never leave their home island. The basic Life Raft you start out with also won't you get very far. You're going to have to go full Tom Hanks in "Castaway," strapping together wood, tires, and all other sorts of junk to create the best raft you can.

There are a few things you have to keep in mind when it comes to building a raft in Stranded Deep, like having enough storage space, the durability of the raft, and how fast you want it to go. Here's everything you need to know.

Updated On December 25, 2021 By William Quick: Stranded Deep is a game that covers the survival scenario of being stuck on a deserted island. Luckily, there are a lot of natural resources and nearby debris to put to use with building a raft being an important goal to complete as soon as possible. There's a lot to consider when building the strongest vs. the fastest raft, so we've expanded on how to go about it.

Upgrade Early From The Life Raft

Although you start with a Life Raft in Stranded Deep, it's not going to get you very far. The islands in Stranded Deep are pretty spread out, and paddling from island to island is going to take dozens of real-life minutes to traverse. Even the basic raft — with a wooden base and simple sail — moves faster than the Life Raft.

Getting started with a basic raft is very simple: you need wood, sticks, and lashing (here's a guide on how to craft lashing early on), which are all materials that are easy to come by and craft. To put a basic raft together you'll need a hammer — the construction works a bit like if you were building a base.

Build A Fast Raft To Outrun Sharks

What you build your raft out of, and more importantly, how large it is, are both factors that have an impact on the raft's performance. Stack a bunch of barrels together and cover the raft in storage and it's going to be a pain to turn and won't move very fast at all. Sails are good in the early game, but the boat motor is faster.

Ideally, you want a smaller, faster raft for traversing between islands. Sharks will attack your raft, and if you're tugging along on some huge barrel barge, they might end up tipping it over completely, leaving you at the mercy of their teeth. An ideal size might be something like a 2x1 or a 3x3.

Pro tip: as it stands, no creature — even the enormous Megaladon — can destroy a raft (or any other construction for that matter).

Buoys And Barrels Are More Buoyant Than Tires

Buoys and Barrels are more buoyant than tires, and the raft will ride higher in the water than with tires. This is actually kind of important. Imagine the scenario: a shark attack, middle of the ocean, and you've fallen off the raft. Barrels and Buoys make it way, way harder to climb back on board.

Tires are recommended for smaller, faster rafts that you might use during combat, or while exploring uncharted waters. The raft will ride lower in the water and it's easier to get back onto should you fall off.

Need To Transport Items? Leave Space For Storage

Rafts aren't just used for exploring, but as useful transportation to ferry resources from island to island. Because of the way storage works in Stranded Deep — as in all of it has a pretty small capacity — then you need a much larger raft that also manages to stay afloat.

This is where the buoyancy of Buoys and Barrels comes in. While they make the raft unwieldy in tricky situations, the overall distribution of weight is better, and the raft won't start sinking or clipping into the waves. Ideally, you will have to leave holes for crates on your raft, because they will wobble and run the risk of falling overboard.

Storage Space For Jerry Cans Is A Must If You've Got Space

Once you've upgraded to a Boat Motor, you will need an area on the raft where you can store some Jerrycans, especially if you're going on a long journey. Smaller journeys to nearby islands will probably be fine with one full tank of fuel, but anything further and you might need to fill up along the way.

This can be a problem with smaller rafts, as you start running out of room. That's why most small rafts just use sails. You can attach as many sails as you want until you run out of room, basically, but multiple sails won't make the raft go any faster. One sail is enough to outrun sharks. The Boat Motor is generally used for larger rafts or exploration rafts.

Pick Out A Good Selection Of Furniture

To make the most of your raft, it's a good idea to add pieces of furniture and take advantage of all the open space. The most practical pieces are Wood Containers, which can be arranged next to each other. But you can also build Container Shelves (which require three Plank Scraps) to save space and keep things organized.

Another valuable piece of furniture to consider is Floor Hooks (they require one Lashing and two Wood Sticks), which are essentially stands that stick straight up out of the floor. They're useful for hanging lanterns or torches for night travel, and trophies for decoration.

Raft-building Ideas And Tips

So, you have a boat base, a boat floor, and some means of propulsion. What's the ideal setup for a raft in Stranded Deep? Generally, it's a good idea to eventually end up with two rafts — a bulky one for transportation, and a smaller, faster ship for exploring and hunting sharks.

Here's a general raft build that you can experiment with:

Sails

A solid 3x3 boat foundation leaves enough room for two sails. Why two? Although multiple sails won't make you go faster, you can use them to more effectively steer the raft. Place one at the front and back, or on either side of the raft if you prefer to see where you're going.

Storage

Storage is mostly up to the player. Some prefer six or seven crates, whereas others can make do with fewer. Really, there are some staples you should be taking with you on most trips, like Antidote, Food, and Water. A crate of spears is also a good idea, just in case.

Storing items on rafts in the console version of Stranded Deep... well, it's still a little broken. Your best bet is to leave a space on the floor of the 3x3 raft and carry two or three crates in the center — any more than that and things can get a little glitchy.

Anchor

The anchor is best placed at the back of the raft. An anchor does what an anchor does: it stops your raft from floating away while you're off doing something else underwater. There are horror stories about that sort of thing.

Other Pieces To Consider When Raft-Building

Rudder

If you're going with a Sail, you should consider attaching a Rudder to your raft too. It's helpful for steering and control so you can navigate with more ease. It requires a piece of Cloth, Lashing, and two Wood Sticks — all of which can be found around the island and in containers. Alternatively, you can craft Lashing and Cloth using four Fibrous Leaves, though the latter needs a Loom.

Motor

The most powerful and complex propulsion option for your raft, the Motor is a must-have for cutting through the water quickly. If you're going to make the most of it, be sure to have plenty of storage space for the Jerrycans that you'll need to keep it fueled up. It requires a lot of different resources to build, including one of each of the following: Duct Tape, Vehicle Filter Part, Vehicle Engine Part, Vehicle Fuel Part, and Vehicle Electrical Part. None of these materials can be crafted so you'll have to search through various containers and any shipwrecks you can find.

Different Flooring Types

A key part of making the raft is adding a floor which you'll build on top of the base. There are three types of floors that you can experiment with and try out:

• Wooden Raft Floor
  • This is the basic and most accessible floor when starting out. Though it can be a bit flimsy, it floats well and can be built quickly. In order to build it, you'll need to gather at least four Wood Sticks. This makes things quite simple since sticks can literally be found lying on the ground around the island, or by chopping up logs.
• Plank Raft Floor
  • This is a next-level floor that looks cleaner and is sturdier than the wooden floor. It's a balanced option that requires you to have Level 3 Crafting in order to build it. You'll need to combine two Plank Scraps to do so, and while they can be found laying around, they're not as common as sticks. There's a higher chance to find them in containers, or you can make some yourself at a Plank Station using Palm Trees.
• Corrugated Raft Floor
  • This last version of raft flooring requires you to have Level 4 Crafting before building it. Being made of metal, it is durable — but it's also heavy, so keep that in mind based on the type of raft you'd like. It's made from two pieces of Corrugated Scrap, which is an uncommon material. It will spawn at random locations around the islands so look frequently and check any containers you find.

NEXT: Stranded Deep: How To Make A House