Rust Boat Base Design (2026)
For experienced players · 2x2 deck build on a tugboat, one storey, sheet metal throughout
A base built on or around a tugboat, letting you live on the water and relocate. A niche but fun design for coastal and oil-rig play.
Boat Base build cost
The reference build we cost is a 2x2 deck build on a tugboat, one storey, sheet metal throughout — 24 building blocks plus doors and a tool cupboard. This design isn't drawn on the planner grid, so only its block count is known and every block is costed as a wall. Floors, roofs and frames cost less than that in game, so the real total is lower.
| Piece | Qty | Cost each |
|---|---|---|
| Sheet metal building blocks, costed as walls | 24 | 200 metal frags |
| Sheet metal door | 2 | 150 metal frags |
| Tool cupboard | 1 | 1,000 wood |
| Total | 5,100 metal frags · 1,000 wood | |
Boat Base upkeep
Rust bills upkeep by building-block count: 10% of build cost per day for the first 15 blocks, 15% for the next 50, 20% for the next 125 and 33.3% after that. At 24 blocks this design pays a blended 11.9% a day, doors included; the tool cupboard itself costs nothing to keep.
Over a full seven-day wipe cycle that is 4,242 metal frags — the number worth checking before you commit to a size. Work out how long your TC lasts.
What it costs to raid
Cost of the structures on the route this design describes. It isn't drawn on the planner grid, so the route is stated rather than searched, and it counts walls only: whichever door faces outside is usually cheaper than the walls listed.
| Raider has to break | Rockets | C4 |
|---|---|---|
| 2× Sheet Metal Wall | 16 | 8 |
| Total | 16 | 8 |
That is 22,400 sulfur in rockets, or 17,600 sulfur in C4. Compare every explosive.
Pros
- checkMobile — move away from raiders
- checkUnusual, hard-to-track location
- checkGreat for oil-rig runs
Cons
- closeTugboat can be stolen/decayed
- closeWater raids are possible
Keep the tugboat's own lock maintained — if it decays or is taken, your base goes with it.
Building and raid data verified against Livestock. The piece list above is our reference build for this archetype, published so the totals can be checked — your own layout will differ.
Compare with other designs
Related guides
A no-BS Rust base building guide: building tiers, upkeep, tool cupboards, bunkers, airlocks and honeycomb, plus the raid costs that actually matter.
A real player's Rust raid guide: exact sulfur costs per structure, C4 vs rockets vs satchels vs eco raiding, online/offline tactics and defence.