should I get Sofiya Longboat from the quest or build it at base?

[darkshadow1029]

I am new to game, I am getting a late start. But, how much time and resources do you save by going to base right way (as soon as you can) and building the boat vs going through the quest line?

[Neyreyan_Youtube]

Go through the questline, its better. Thats the main task in the begining anyway, to follow the quests

[Ryuu]

1) I assume you have a Silver or Golden edition, right?
2) I don't recommend Sofiya/Sonja line, at least at the beginning, they're slow, easy targets, difficult to make stops near rocks and dredge points, etc. Try out Skadi and compare Sofiya and then decide what playstyle do you prefer. Sofiya is fine when you have a lot of equipment to install — generators, motors, guns, etc. Skadi is a balanced starter.
3) Building the boat yourself is easy — you only need enough material for the hull and for now it should be only wood, iron is expensive and you'll need it for the base. Another reason why Sofiya is subpar — it needs good armor, it has really big displacement so it CAN fit good armor, but you can't spend iron for that yet. It has a lot free capacity — but that's likely more than you'll be able to fill anyway.
4) Basically what quest gives you above of what you can do yourself — is two superstructures for that boat (front and back cabin, either for Skadi or Sofiya) and a diesel pump T2 for both (does not require a crewmember for functioning).
5) When finishing the quest (delivering 100 explosives) take the rubber boat instead! :) This way you won't lose any materials — the equipment remains, but the current boat will be swapped.

[Ryuu]

Originally posted by Neyreyan_Youtube:

Go through the questline, its better. Thats the main task in the begining anyway, to follow the quests

↑ That's also true, you can proceed using Dory just fine for this quest, but you'll have to choose Skadi or Sofiya in the quest.

Btw here's a detailed stats comparison: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UQTuOOMLLql7HGMpVyVhlKvCvQ8I3lgwaRAlTr1NE-U/edit#gid=1742858203 (Find the tab [Ships])