The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD is a meaty game, with hours worth of dungeons and puzzles for you to make your way through. In this guide, we're going to be outlining how to tackle what can initially be one of the most puzzling dungeons in the entire game: the Sand Ship.

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The Sandship is a large ship you will have mounted in the middle of the desert after following through with our Lanayru Sand Sea walkthrough, which you can read here if you haven't found the Sandship yet. The Sandship is home to ancient pirates and a bunch of timeshift stone tricks you need to keep in mind. It can get confusing, but follow our guide in detail and you'll soon make your way through this tricky dungeon. Make sure to check our guide on Lanayru Sand Sea if you haven't made it this far quite yet.

How To Get The Bow, Sandship - Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

The Bow is the main item you'll need to clear through this dungeon, and it's lurking behind a mini-boss. Follow our instructions in detail here in order to find the Bow quickly and easily.

First, make your way into the only open doors on the deck of the Sandship, to the left of the entrance. The only other door in here is locked, so you'll have to go downstairs. First head to the right side of the ship and go through the doors here. There's an enemy lurking in the sand - finish them with a bomb, and you can just about make it over this gap with a full Stamina bar. Walk to the end of the corridor and go down the next flight of stairs.

Run through the hallway filled with enemies, and you'll find the boss door, but it's locked up tight. Keep moving past the boss door and down the hallway and through another door. This brig is filled with sand, so take out the Gust Bellows and clear the floor. The door here is another order puzzle, and can be cleared by using the hints on the floor under the sand. You need to strike the gems in this order: bottom, top, bottom, right.

Inside you'll find a chest, open it up and you'll find… a Small Key! Don't worry, we'll get the Bow soon. Exit the brig and run all the way back to the deck of the ship, where we passed by the locked door earlier. Open it up using the Small Key and head inside.

This is where you find the mini-boss of the Sandship, Scervo the pirate. You will fight against a similar enemy much later in the game, but for now, if you need tips on defeating this enemy, we have a guide right here.

Once Scervo is pushed back to the edge and off the ship, a chest will appear, and yes, this one contains the Bow. Now there's much more for us to see on the Sandship.

Activating The Timeshift Stone And Liberating The Ship, Sandship - Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

Now that you're armed with the Bow, return to the outside deck of the Sandship. The eyes you'll see around the dungeon are actually targets for your bow. Immediately after you leave the door, look up at the mast and you'll see an eye to shoot, which unveils a big timeshift stone. Strike this with another arrow, and the ship will spring to life, complete with enemies. Let's deal with them.

You can shoot the enemies standing on the mast and rigging of the ship before climbing, which is recommended. Then, climb the ladder on the mast. To your right will be a platform connected to a zipline, and you can shoot the target at the other end of the zipline to gain access. Once at the other side, climb to the opposite end of the ship and repeat with the next zipline. Now you're at the top, so you can defeat the enemy here and jab at the mechanism to twist it back into place, unlocking the cage around the timeshift stone and the door to the ship. There's another zipline you can use here, taking you to the back of the ship, right on top.

Drop down onto the deck just above where you climbed the mast, and on the left side of the ship you'll notice a lifeboat. Shooting the eye target at the top will lower it down, which you can use later. Now we have to find the Boss Key to finish the dungeon.

Activating The Two Generators, Sandship - Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

Head inside the same doors of the ship as before, and you'll find things are very different with the timeshift stone activated. Go down the stairs, and to the right into the same area as before. Deal with the enemies here, and take the second door on your left. While in here there's light coming down from the ceiling - aim up and you'll be able to see and shoot the timeshift stone to deactivate the electrified door in here. Go through and open up the chest to get the Dungeon Map. You can flip a switch in the chest room to open up this path permanently.

Next, go down the hallway in this room and take the second door on the left, leading into a room with two enemies and a block and switch puzzle. This will open up the windows in the room, allowing you to mount the lifeboat you lowered earlier. Now, go back to the previous room where you found the Dungeon Map to deactivate the timeshift stone again.

Go down the same hallway, but this time stop between the two doors on the right, and look at the light streaming through the fan grate. There's a switch you can shoot through this hole to open up the door. Head inside and move the block on the right side of the room out of the way of the fan grate. Then, stand on the switch on the left side of the room, and aim through the fan grate to the target in the next room, which unlocks that door. Now, once again activate the timeshift stone.

Go back to the room with the lifeboat access, second on the left in the hallway. Jump onto the lifeboat and raise it up by shooting the eye again. Once at the top, deactivate the timeshift stone, and then go back down and return to the room. This deactivates the electric field blocking the next room, and if you use the switch in here that finally unlocks all doors in the main hallway. From this room you can once again aim up through a grate in the ceiling to activate the timeshift stone, and then you can jab your sword into the nearby generator to turn it on.

Exit through the door, and go into the door opposite. In here is another generator - turn it on too. This fires up the engine room, which we will need very soon.

Freeing The Crew From The Brig, Sandship - Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

Head back to the lifeboat room once again, but this time exit through the left window, going down into the lower deck of the ship. Enter and you'll find yourself in the engine room. Jump down the hole here, and run underneath the engine gears without getting crushed. Climb the ladder, and use the whip to cross over - there's also a bunch of treasure chests up the ladder on your right here.

Once over, head under the next set of engine gears, and you'll need to climb over the next set by using the Whip to climb on top of them - remember, you can't climb these gears. Flip the switch at the top here to open a shortcut through the engine room, and head through the crawlspace next to it. Climb the ladder at the end, flip one more switch, and you'll be in the brig, having freed the crew. Nice. The robots will give you a Small Key in appreciation, allowing you to get to the final areas of the Sandship.

Getting The Boss Key Squid Carving, Sandship - Zelda: Skyward Sword HD

Once done with your robot pals, head back through the crawlspace and engine room, to the lifeboat and back up to the top deck. This will lead you straight to the door locked with a Small Key lock. Before you head inside, deactivate the timeshift stone. Head down the stairs and go through the last doorway on the left, and then shoot the timeshift stone through the grate in the ceiling to activate it again. Defeat the enemies that spawn. Stand on the switch on the one side of the room to open up a small vent, which you can shoot a target through, unlocking the door and allowing you to pass through.

Three totems in here to beat, so take them down quickly - you'll probably take damage in the attempt, honestly. Once they're all down the gate guarding the chest will open, and you'll get the Squid Carving. Now you can take that key down to the Control Room we passed earlier, marked on your map. Once you open up the door with the Squid Carving, you'll be able to face off against the Abyssal Leviathan: Tentalus. Luckily for you, we have a full guide to that fight right here.

Next: Zelda: Skyward Sword Complete Guide And Walkthrough