About RowingTakesWork
From ThunderstoreA simple mod which drains your stamina slowly when rowing any ship forward or in reverse.
Rowing Takes Work
A simple mod which drains your stamina slowly when rowing any ship forward or in reverse.
But Why?
I love the depth that was put into the sailing mechanics in this game. However, because rowing is so fast - and can be sustained infinitly - there's absolutely no reason to tack when heading into the wind, and no danger of winding up in irons.
Rowing Takes Work implements a small (or large, it's got configuration!) stamina drain on your Viking whenever they row their boat. This means you can't row straight into the wind forever anymore, and also means eating food before sailing _actually_ has a benefit.
Specifics
- When using the rudder of ship (e.g. no sails are open) your Viking will lose 2.5 stamina per second until they are no longer able to row, at which point your ship will come to a stop.
- If you try to row without stamina, you will immediately open the sails instead.
- The stamina drain can be configured, and the mod comes with ServerSync.
Compatibility
There are no known incompatabilities. It should be able to function properly with custom ships as well (though I have not tested this, feedback would be appreciated).
Installation
Manual
Manual installation is only recommended for configuring servers:
- Download the latest release of BepInEx.
- Extract the contents of the zip file to your game's root folder.
- Download the latest release of Rowing Takes Work from Thunderstore/Nexus.
- Extract the contents of the zip file to the
BepInEx/pluginsfolder you created in step 2. - Row Row Row Your Karve...
r2modman or Thunderstore Mod Manager
- Search for Rowing Takes Work in the
Onlinesection under theModsheader. - Click
Download - Row Row Row Your Raft...
Support
The easiest way to reach me is to join my Discord.
Credits
Huge thank you to Lloyd Goldsprocket, gnomish photoshop wizard, for the icon.
Highlights
From source dataLoaders
Runs on BepInEx.
Footprint
Rated a light load on a server.
Last update
Its author last shipped an update 15 mo ago.
RowingTakesWork on Nxeon
From our catalogue- One-click install
- Supported on Nxeon Valheim servers, for BepInEx servers. We download it from Thunderstore, place it, and restart the server.
- Server side
- Optional on the server
- Server type needed
- BepInEx
- Server load
- light
- Smallest plan we suggest
- Valheim — 4 GB (4 GB RAM). This follows our own load rating above, not a benchmark.
- Latest build
- 1.0.1, released 2025-08-05
Game versions by loader
| Loader | Game versions | Newest |
|---|---|---|
| BepInEx |
From 2 recorded builds of RowingTakesWork.
Recent builds
| Build | Released | Game versions | Loaders |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.0.1 | 2025-08-05 | n/a | BepInEx |
| 1.0.0 | 2025-08-05 | n/a | BepInEx |
Dependencies
- Required: BepInExPack Valheim
Declared by the newest build that lists any. Required ones are installed with it on one-click installs.
Run RowingTakesWork on a Valheim server
Pick a server or deploy a new one above; it is installed in one click.
What kind of mod it is
From the catalogQuality of life & UI
Small conveniences, tweaks and interface improvements players notice straight away.
Works on a server
From source side supportThunderstore lists server-side support for RowingTakesWork as optional: it can run on a server, but isn’t required there.
Compatibility
- Game
- Valheim
- Loaders
- BepInEx
- Runs on
- Serveroptional on the server
- Requires
- One-click install needs a BepInEx server.
Verified at the source
- ✓ThunderstoreOfficial listing, checked 2026-10-02Open ↗
- ✓AuthorJU12000, as published on Thunderstore
- ✓LicenseNot published by the sourceFree




