Wiki/Vehicles/Water/Boat

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Boats are one of the types of vehicle players can design and operate for their sea rescue service in Stormworks: Build and Rescue.

Building a boat (Normal Mode)
A minimal standard boat requires:


 * 1) Buoyancy provided by a closed area within the ship
 * 2) An engine to provide power
 * 3) A propeller to turn power in to thrust (i.e move the boat!)
 * 4) A rudder to permit steering left and right
 * 5) A pilot seat to allow the captain to start the engine, control the throttle, and to steer

Stormworks provides small and medium boat presets which can be loaded in the editor to save time, or you can continue reading to learn how to make your own from scratch.

Buoyancy
The most important component of a typical boat is to ensure that it has a large enclosed area within the hull. This is typically below the main deck. It often contains the engine(s) for the vehicle. In overly simple terms, the amount of enclosed space in this area determines how much weight your boat can hold - meaning how many additional things you can put on it before the performance starts to degrade. If there is a 'hole' in this part of the ship, the boat will immediately sink when spawned in-game because it cannot hold its own weight. Read more about Bouyancy.

Engines
The simplest way to build a boat is to install a diesel engine. In Normal mode, the direction in which it is installed does not matter.

-- (Currently Decrepitated, You Should Use Pipes To Connect The Power From Your Engines To Your Propellers)

Once the engine is placed on the boat, it is in connected via the Logic Power system to the propeller(s) which allows them to work. Click 'Logic' at the top then the 'Power' icon on the left, then drag from the engine to the propeller.The engine also receives Logic Data connections from the pilot seat. In a simple design, Hotkey 1 would be assigned to the Engine Start, while W/S would be assigned to the throttle.

Note that the engine is quite heavy. If you put it in the back, it may result in your boat sinking towards the back, as the 'centre of mass' is shifted towards the back. You can correct this by replacing blocks near the front of the boat with 'weighted blocks' instead to counter the weight, or by redesigning the layout of the other components to compensate.

Propellers
Engines by themselves generate power, but to convert that power in to forward (and backward) movement you need propellers.

Propellers should be placed on the back of the boat, with the propeller facing out in to the water. They need power from the engine on the Logic Power screen.

You can have more than one propeller per engine, for a quick and easy boost of speed in basic designs.

Rudders
Rudders allow the boat to turn, by directing water to the sides of the boat. Normal rudders (not fin rudder) should be placed with the blocks at the top (on the underside of the boat) with the 'thin end' of the rudder pointing towards the back of the boat.

In the Logic Data screen, rudders need to be connected to the A/D node of the pilot seat.

Note that if you use the symmetry tool when placing the rudders, they will counteract each other by trying to turn in opposite direction (as the symmetry tool flips them). They must be placed individually in a simple design.

You can have more than one rudder per engine. Rudders are often installed in a pair, with one at either side of the back of the boat (port and starboard).

Pilot Seat
A pilot seat is the easiest way of setting up a simple boat, although a helm and throttle can be more satisfying.

A pilot seat, once placed, needs to be connected in the Logic Data screen to the components which it controls. W/S is usually used to control the throttle, while A/D is usually used to control the rudders.

Using the Select Tool, the pilot seat's Hotkey 1 can be set from 'push' to 'toggle' and used to control the on/off state of the engines. In the Logic Data screen, drag Hotkey 1 to the Engine On/Off node to connect it, then press '1' when in game to start the engines.



Troubleshooting
If the engine won't start, make sure you've connected the engine to the propeller in the Logic Power screen, set the engine on/off to a button, that you've hooked W/S to the engine throttle, and that you've pressed 1 to start the engine.

If the engine starts but immediately stops again even when the throttle in up you may have the engine on/off key in 'push' mode rather than 'toggle'.

If you can't steer your rudders may not be connected to your pilot seat, or your rudders may be turning in opposite directions (you can see this happening if you look under the water).

If your boat immediately sinks, you probably don't have a buoyant closed compartment. You may have accidentally deleted a block, or tried to get away with too small a closed hold to provide sufficient buoyancy for the weight of your ship.

If your boat immediately flips in a particular direction (or does so when turning too easily), your center of mass may be out of alignment. Try to use weighted blocks or move components around to get it back to center. Note that blocky design above is also prone to flipping at any high speed due to its very unstreamlined design. Building a more streamlined and sensible hull shape like you would expect from a boat (a 'U' shape is recommended) will help increase its stability.

Next Steps
Common requirements for a boat:


 * Ladders! It is possible to jump on our ship (at least, if you've not made it too tall or buoyant), but you'll want to add ladders to make it easier to get on.
 * More speed! Put on more propellers to go faster, and later more engines.
 * More space! You will need to transport crates, which needs walls and more deck space to place the crates.
 * More seats! Place passenger seats to allow passengers to be safely transported.
 * More lights! Add lights for when it gets dark, or you won't be able to see what's happening.
 * More cannons! Add a fluid cannon to fire water from your ship.

Catamaran
A Catamaran is made up of more than one hull that touches the water. They tend to be very stable (less likely to flip) and benefit from reduced resistance with the water when well designed. On the other hand, when they do flip they tend to do so spectacularly and they can be harder to design up front. Catamaran examples can be found on Wikipedia.

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