Can we talk about boat equipment

[Jimothywastaken]

I don't think this is a particularly hot topic but most of the boat equipment is underwhelming.

while masts (and the steering wheel) do let you fulfil the pirate fantasy which is cool, from a practicality standpoint they aren't efficient for the price (compared to oars) which is really unfortunate as actually sailing the (not) seven seas is cool.

Sticking with masts for a second while the lightning conductor does exactly what its supposed to and works just fine, the deck illuminator is a significantly more questionable choice as an option for the boat due to being less fuel efficient than a firepit and not being lit for as long. (also wavy instantly extinguishes it while he only lowers firepits by 1 stage.) While conserving space is nice i don't see a reason to use a light that is more expensive and less useful than a lantern.

Rudders and cannons are something i am mixed on as getting a ranged option on a boat is really nice but, there's too many steps to aiming and firing a cannon at the monkeys that are about to board and destroy all of the masts you spent a day getting the resources for so I would rather just drop a banana and pray they don't cause even more problems. 

The Nautopilot "collection" is a really cool concept but is currently limited due to a lack of range on the beacon but they work well at keeping boats together.

Bumpers are also a cool idea and literally all they need is for them to take up no space on the placement grid to be good.

before i get to the entire reason i am making this post i should say that the tin fishin' bin, anchor, pinchin' winch and the malbatross sail are all fine and dont need anything changed

the fire pump is complete garbage.
it is worse than the ice flingomatic in every possible way, it requires manual use instead of being a mostly automatic system like the flingo. Since its not fireproof if its on fire you can't even use it anymore. There's also just even getting one which requires finding sea weeds and catching a spittlefish compared to just having gears and ice which you probably have more than enough of by the time you would need the fire pump in summer (even if you cant make a flingo the watering can is more than enough for a boat and its portable)

but when it comes to fixing some of these items i do actually have some ideas 
make the mast cheaper for one (2 boards 1 rope 4 silk) seems reasonable and also make it turn a bit faster. (also have monkeys ignore them)
the deck illuminator should have firepit stats and or illuminate a larger area which would make night time boating a bit less dangerous.
increase cannon range but also have an option that allows the cannon to shoot at half strength/distance so it can defend both close up and farther away from pirate raids. 
i think increasing the nautopilot range by a lot and allowing players to change which nautopilot goes to which beacon by color coding with gems would be cool and allow for more interesting late game ocean travel methods instead of just a boat/dock bridge. 
the rudder will get use if the cannon is fixed so i dont think it really needs a buff (maybe make it spin faster or take up minimal space on the boat so it can be placed next to the cannon i dunno)

and to be honest i got nothing for the firepump

 

[Lovens]

The main reason the fire pump is a piece of hot steaming garbage is the fact that you can't use it to put out fires if your boat is moving. It will miss every single drop of water and will not put out any fires. You need to first completely stop your boat and only then use the pump. By the time you do it, your boat is usually entirely on fire already. Btw haven't seen a spittlefish miss while extinguishing your fireplace even when the boat is moving so it's definitely possible to code it so the droplet always land on the fire no matter the additional momentum of the boat. 

For desk illuminator I just wish they would add a different version of it which requires a shroom skin to craft and works as a mushlight/glowcap. It'd be nice to be able to put lightbulbs/crusteshines/enlightened shards in it and make a permanent boat light that doesn't take additional space on the boat. 

[goatt]

I've completed countless sail missions, including planting countless of ocean nut trees, catching countless fish, killing countless ocean content, and visited countless ocean setpieces.

But I've never built any boat structures to do that. I find boat + oar is more accessible, more flexible and more economic and safer.

[Yuuko]

I think its a problem that the sails and rigging are SOOO bad that the ideal boat is an empty cookie with a paddle. 

There is no reason for it to be so bad, but for some reason that is how Klei designed it to be.  The pump is the perfect example.

The main changes I would want are:

1) Add Spyglass.  Being able to see further ahead will make the speed / maneuverability restrictions of the sails make more sense.

2) Have the rudder rotate the boat AND sails so it can serve as a sharp turn option, with the wheel being a slow turn option.

3) Every structure on the boat collision is removed.  Getting trapped on collision when boarding and moving around really holds back boating.

[Mike23Ua]

I made a thread that’s probably now archived exclusively about how bad the Deck Illuminator Sucks… and it’s been this many months/years later and no patches were ever released to buff it even though in that thread I showed a video recorded example of how the Deck Illuminator provides less seeing radius than just holding a torch/lantern- It is effectively Useless… Even Willows new lighter buffs and the fireball power give off better light to see with.

[Dorka]

I just want something that will pull loose debris to my ship. (I have the Nautopilot on my ship which was interesting at first, but completely useless, it would be neat to use more trinkets in a way to build more boat related items.)

[Jakepeng99]

Another problem is wavy jones. He gets stuck behind structures so you can not scare him away. This limits the space on boats as you can not put anything on the edges.

[Hi.]

Ocean content just really sucks. IMO it doesn’t matter if they change boat equipment or make ocean travel faster. Ocean content will probably always suck sadly. I feel like Klei could have done a lot better with the ocean, definitely wasted potential.

[somethin]

I only fully decked out my boat after I paddle all around the world and find where things are first. After that, for getting from point A to point B, sails is always superior since you now know where are the obstacles are and way more convenient.