Earn $3 for the Crab-Fishing Rod, improve the catch loop with Hot Dog bait, save $12 for Beer, and give the Beer to the fisherman. The Empty Beer Can he returns is the Spider Crab lure. Kill the boss and hand over its shell to receive the Boat Keys.
- Required money
- $3 rod + $12 beer
- Boss bait
- Empty Beer Can
- Boss
- Spider Crab
- Next purchase
- $10 radar
Before you start
The first island is a compact tutorial economy. Clams respawn on the ground, restore some hunger, and can be fed to the fisherman for a small payment. The goal is not to farm clams forever; it is to reach a rod quickly so every cycle produces better catches.
The Knife is optional but makes the boss much faster. If you want the safest first attempt, buy it for $45 and sharpen it at the anvil. If you are comfortable learning the Spider Crab's stun window, the basic melee option can work and gets you off the island sooner.
- Keep enough food to avoid losing time to hunger.
- Do not give away the Beer until your weapon and health are ready.
- Clear inventory space for the shell that drops after the fight.
Build the first money loop
Pick up clams with E and feed enough to the fisherman to reach $3. Buy the Crab-Fishing Rod and use its Ham bait for Brown Crab and Shrimp. Drop each catch on land, kill it, then sell or feed it to turn the next cast into money.
Buy the $1 Hot Dog bait once the basic loop is moving. It opens Rock Crab and Lobster, which sell for more than the starting catches. Style and kill-score bonuses can improve the return, but a clean, repeatable loop matters more than chasing a perfect multiplier on Island 1.
Summon the Spider Crab
Save $12 and buy the Beer. Feed it to the fisherman with Q only when you are ready to fight. He gives back an Empty Beer Can, which is automatically used as the special lure for the island boss.
Cast from the shore and reel in the Spider Crab. Give it room when it is moving. After an attack it can become dizzy, shown by a visible stun effect; step in for a short melee burst, then back away before it recovers. Repeating safe bursts is more reliable than holding position and trading damage.
Turn in the shell and leave
The defeated Spider Crab drops meat and a shell. The shell is the progression item. Bring it to the fisherman to receive the Boat Keys; keeping only the meat will not advance the quest.
Buy the $10 radar before sailing. The keys let you drive, while the radar gives you the destination marker for Island 2. In co-op, one player can steer and another can keep the radar visible, which makes the first crossing easier to read.
Common reasons the keys do not appear
If the quest does not complete, check that you returned the Spider Crab Shell rather than ordinary meat. Also confirm that the boss was summoned with the Empty Beer Can from the fisherman; catching normal crabs does not satisfy the quest.
- Beer was purchased but never handed to the fisherman.
- The shell was left on the ground after the explosion.
- A co-op player is holding the quest item instead of the host completing the hand-in.
Frequently asked questions
How much money do I need for the Boat Keys route?
The minimum required purchases are the $3 Crab-Fishing Rod and $12 Beer. A $45 Knife, anvil upgrades, Hot Dog bait, and the $10 radar make the route safer or easier to navigate.
What bait catches the Spider Crab?
Use the Empty Beer Can returned by the fisherman after you give him a full Beer.
What do I do with the Spider Crab Shell?
Hand the shell to the fisherman on the bench. He exchanges it for the Boat Keys.
Sources
Facts were normalized and independently rewritten from the references below. Community strategies can become outdated after patches.