THE SHORT ANSWER
The Naval Update lets players build custom boats from a new building station, sail into the high-risk Deep Sea zone for ghost ships and floating cities, and use new deployables like sails, engines, cannons, and anchors. RHIBs and PT boats also received visual updates.
- Player-made boats built via Boat Building Station and Boat Building Plan with modular blocks
- Deep Sea zone opens intermittently at map edge — no building, no respawns, first-come-first-served
- Ghost Ships and Floating Cities add loot monuments and safe-zone vendors offshore
- New boat deployables: sails, helm with lock, engine, anchor, cannon, ramps, planks
- RHIB model and textures updated; PT boats added as Deep Sea access option
Buildable boats arrive
Facepunch has added a full boat construction system. Players place a Boat Building Station in deep water, then use the Boat Building Plan to snap together hull planks, ramps, sails, engines, a helm with a lock code, an anchor, and cannons. Engine and sail placement affects handling and speed; both can be reversed via radial menu for tight maneuvering. Regular deployables that work on the Tugboat function on player boats too. A Deploy & Edit mode lets you drop a building station around an existing vessel for quick tweaks — though this is disabled inside the Deep Sea.
New deployables for seaworthy vessels
Seven boat-specific items join the crafting tree:
- Sails catch wind for propulsion
- Helm steers the boat and includes a lock code to prevent theft
- Engine burns low-grade fuel quickly but provides burst speed
- Anchor stops drift when dropped
- Cannon fires cannonballs at other ships
- Small Ramp bridges gaps for boarding or landing
- Plank serves as a gangway or an impromptu dispute resolver
The Deep Sea zone
Sailing toward the map edge in a player boat, RHIB, or the new PT boat grants access to the Deep Sea. This offshore region opens and closes like a world event. No building is allowed, nothing respawns, and loot is first-come-first-served. Facepunch describes it as intentionally unforgiving and a bridge between worlds for future expansion.
Ghost Ships and Floating Cities
Ghost Ships are stationary wrecks scattered through the Deep Sea, guarded by scientists on deck and in patrol boats. Some hold locked crates requiring hacking under fire. Floating Cities — four variant layouts built from abandoned barges and oil-rig scaffolding — act as safe havens with docks, NPC vendors selling weapons, food, and medical supplies, plus recyclers, workbenches, research tables, and refineries. A farming barge nearby offers crop harvesting for a fee.
RHIB overhaul and PT boats
The RHIB received updated models, textures, and a new storage box model. PT boats now spawn as an additional fast option for reaching the Deep Sea. Scientist-controlled boats also patrol the new zone, adding AI threats alongside other players.