The Sailing skill has only been out for a few days, but players are already discovering tons of useful tricks and optimizations. If you want to level efficiently, avoid common mistakes, and get the most out of your ship upgrades, this guide breaks down everything you should know during these early days of Sailing.

Salvaging Station (Level 42)

Sorting salvage at docks is a slow and inefficient process. Instead, you can build a salvaging station on your boat once you reach level 42 Sailing—but you need a schematic first.

How to get it:

• Dig near the entrance of the Pandemonium cave to get a key.

• Sail to Chinchompa Island (southeast of Tithe Farm).

• Use the key on the chest there to obtain the schematic.

With the station built, you can sort and drop salvage directly on your ship.

Whirlpool Surprise Beer (+3 Boost)

At level 30 Sailing, you can unlock the Whirlpool Surprise drink—one of the strongest early-game boosts.

How to unlock:

• Complete the first two Barracuda Trials.

• Talk to Rum Dash Ralph for two Whirlpool Surprises.

• The drink then becomes permanently stocked at the Pandemonium Bar.

You can also build a keg on your boat and add 25 of them for an unlimited +3 boost.

Why it matters: You can boost to build stronger hulls, helms, and masts early. These core parts retain their benefits even after the boost wears off.

Important: Boost-built salvaging hooks stop working if your level drops. Boost-built cannons don’t work at all. Never boost to construct your cannon.

Improving AFK Shipwreck Salvaging

Shipwrecks move around, making salvage less AFK than expected. One simple trick helps a lot:

• Park your boat between two nearby wrecks.

• Place a salvaging hook on each side.

• Operate one hook yourself and let a crew member run the other.

Crewmates give reduced XP, but their Deck Handiness stat determines how much you gain. To maximize experience, use:

• Cabin Boy Jenkins, or

• Jobless Jim

If both wrecks near you are depleted, it’s faster to hop worlds than move the boat.

Crew Management Basics

You can hire your first crew member at level 40, and up to five by level 95. Crew members have three stats:

• Deck Handiness – affects salvaging XP and crate capacity.

• Privateering – cannon requirements.

• Helmsmanship – XP gained from trimming sails.

For courier tasks, crew with Deck Handiness 3+ carry two crates instead of one. You can also boost to recruit crew early, and they’ll permanently stay unlocked.

Upgrade Your Sail Early

The XP gained from: Trimming your sail/Releasing wind moats.

…scales with the quality of your mast and sail, not your level. Upgrading these parts early means more XP every time you move.

Hull Upgrades: What Actually Increases Speed

Hull upgrades improve speed and HP, but some tiers share the same speed. For example: Teak and Mahogany hulls = same speed/Camp 4 and Ironwood = same speed.

If your goal is speed (like for Barracuda Trials), you can skip expensive tiers that only add HP.

Teleporting Your Boat & Faster Courier Tasks

If you teleport away and leave your boat behind, you can “rescue” it to any shipwright. At level 55, you can build a teleport focus to do this officially. This helps with courier tasks because return-trip deliveries give double XP. You can:

1. Accept a return-trip task.

2. Teleport near the destination.

3. Grab the cargo.

4. Sail only one direction back.

This cuts travel time in half. You can also chain several tasks together using this trick.

Best Shipyard for Upgrades

Most shipyards don’t have a bank nearby, but Port Khazard does. The bank is right next to the shipwright, making upgrades much easier. Lunar Isle tablets also make teleporting here simple.

How to Rename Your Boat

At level 61 Sailing, sail to the Tears of Guthix area and speak to Sleeve McDagle. He can rename your boat for one cider.

Unlocking More Brews Through Charting

Besides the Whirlpool Surprise, you can unlock additional brews by charting seas (the small, mapped regions). Here’s what each brew requires and what it does:

• 5 seas → Kraken Stout: +4% ocean encounter chance

• 8 seas → Peril Dance Bitter: +1 cannon damage

• 50 seas → Trawler’s Trust: +5% deep-sea trawling catch chance

• 70 seas → Horizon’s Lure: +2.5% Sailing XP

All of these can be stored in your keg for unlimited use.

Note: 70 seas requires access to every area, meaning at least 78 Sailing.

Crystal Extractor – The Most Broken XP Source

At level 73 Sailing, after completing Shark Rank at Gwenneth Glide, you can build the Crystal Extractor. It produces one wind moat every 60 seconds, and each moat gives 600 XP. This adds up to 30k+ XP per hour passively, while doing any activity. It even generates crystal shards.

Best placement: directly in front of the helm, so you can activate it without stopping your boat.

Zero-Time Training While Sailing

Your boat continues sailing even while doing other actions. This makes Sailing ideal for “multi-skilling” activities such as: Fletching/Alching/Burying bones/Firemaking (light logs)/Crafting jewellery. If you’re already traveling long distances (like during courier tasks), this is almost free progress in other skills.

Final Thoughts

For a skill that’s only been out for a few days, Sailing already offers a surprising amount of depth. From boosting into upgrades to passive XP through the Crystal Extractor, to efficient courier tricks, there are tons of ways to speed up your progress.

More discoveries will certainly come, but these early techniques will give you a strong head start as you explore the seas of Gielinor.

RSorder Team