You will initially be sailing your raft with the help of a Steering Rod. That will only take you so far. You will eventually need to build an Engine to support the weight of your raft as you continue laying more Foundations. The Engine will also help you sail against the wind and to get complete control of where you want to go.
The following guide will explain how to build and to use an Engine in Raft. That as well as upgrading your Steering Rod to a Steering Wheel at the same time.
How To Build Engine In Raft
You need to first find the Engine Blueprint in order to be able to build an Engine for your raft. To find the Engine Blueprint, you will need to locate the Vasagatan shipwreck by building a Receiver and Antenna setup to capture radio signals.
Raft Blueprint: Engine
When you have located the Vasagatan shipwreck, make your way to the end of the ship to enter the cockpit. You will need to build a Bomb to blow up the doors. You can do that in the lowest deck of the Vasagatan, in the last room of the corridor.
In the cockpit will be the Engine Blueprint as well as the Steering Wheel Blueprint—more on that later. Pick them up to be added to your Research Table automatically.
You can now build an Engine with 5x Metal Ingot, 5x Rope, 1x Circuit Board, and 20x Plank.
Metal Ingots can be made by smelting Metal Ore. The flotsam you find in the sea will get you Planks as well as Palm Leaves to craft Ropes. Circuit Boards, however, need to be crafted by using 5x Plastic, 2x Copper Ingot, and 1x Vine Goo.
How To Use Engine
Once you have an Engine on your raft, you can finally sail against the wind and in any direction that you want.
You can have a maximum of six Engines on your raft to hit the maximum sailing speed in the game. Having six Engines will also ignore the number of Foundations you have on your raft. Otherwise, a single Engine can only support up to 100x Foundations.
Something else to note is that an Engine works in tandem with a Steering Wheel—its blueprint is located in the same cockpit of the Vasagatan. Build a Steering Wheel to replace your Steering Rod with 10x Scrap, 4x Metal Ingot, 4x Rope, 2x Bolt, and 2x Hinge.
You need the Steering Wheel for the Engine. The Engine alone will do little to help you sail against the wind. Get near to the Steering Wheel and hold the “R” key on your keyboard to change the course of your raft as you see fit.
