Sailing tips: Practical life hacks for sailing

Sport, holiday, purpose in life? Sailing can be many things: from a hobby with the occasional Charter to a life's work for ship owners or long-term sailors. Sailing tips and life hacks relating to care, maintenance and life on board are useful for everyone.

You never stop learning: useful knowledge for beginners, advanced users and professionals

It is essential for beginners to familiarise themselves with many sailing-related topics before setting off on their first sailing trip. Which Care and maintenance measures have to be carried out? What is needed and how is it done? What about Repairs out? What can be done by yourself, what is a case for the workshop? And apart from all the unavoidable tasks, how can you make life on board a little nicer and easier?

But life hacks are not just for beginners. Even experienced sailors never stop learning - after all, every trip brings new challenges. Perhaps it's the new sailing area, the new Yacht or even the old engine, which suddenly shows new quirks and demands completely new skills from the professional skipper. Improvisation is then often required or an exchange with other sailors. But a look at the yacht lifehacks can also help if you want to make sailing even more enjoyable, easier or even possible again. No single sailor, no matter how many nautical miles they have, has more concentrated experience up their sleeve, and no one can offer more tips and tricks. Shipyard or boat workshop ready!

Lifehacks: making life on board easier

Experienced sailors know that the reality usually doesn't look like the image that pops into outsiders' heads when they think of sailing. The sun doesn't always shine. Not every Sailboat looks like the Yachts of the super-rich.

So let's put aside the false illusion and instead turn to thereal life on board. How can it be organised? How can we cope when things don't go according to plan? And how do we allow ourselves as much enjoyment and comfort as possible despite all the work and tasks - so that there are one or two picture book - or nowadays rather: Instagram-worthy - moments? Or maybe even lots of them? So that there are no disappointments, but instead the necessary know-how and the right Equipment are there when things don't go as hoped.

YACHT is dedicated to thisreal Everyday life on board: from sun protection to interior design and entertainment, no topic remains untouched. What do you need to feel comfortable on deck - in any area and in any weather? And what makes a sailing yacht more than just a piece of sports equipment, what turns it into a cosy home? With a few simple ideas, sailing boats can become oases of well-being and a guarantee of time out. This includes not only the right panelling, lighting, mattress, multi-media equipment or sun lounger, but also practical items and furnishings. A lot of things have to be stored in a small space and a lot of people have to be accommodated. How can this be done as harmoniously as possible? How do you create a lot of space in a small area? What works well for other sailors? YACHT provides detailed and practical answers to these and many other questions.

Tips and tricks for care and maintenance

Once the yacht is comfortably furnished and fully functional, you can sit back and do what you actually have your sailing boat for: namely Holidays ! Right? Sure - but it's not quite that simple. Every boat requires regular care and maintenance work that should not be put off. Starting with everyday cleaning work in the interior to maintenance work on deck and servicing the engines.

How much of this you do yourself is ultimately a question of budget, time and willingness. However, sailing is certainly a little more relaxed if you have already taken a look at the engine room and have at least a rough idea of which part has which function. It is also an advantage if you can carry out everyday maintenance work yourself and don't need the help of a mechanic on land. If you already have some understanding of technology or are interested in familiarising yourself with the subject matter, you can also start with simple defects yourself - it doesn't always have to be the mechanic on land. Engine It can be the coffee machine that gives up the ghost and brings with it major challenges. Sometimes it's just the coffee machine that refuses to work. On board, you are simply on your own much more often than on land and cannot always get a replacement straight away. That's why it pays to have some skill and, above all, the motivation to take matters into your own hands. Older sailing boats in particular require more time for maintenance and repair work, and it is almost impossible for the owner or skipper to stay out of it completely.

Repairs are of course difficult to plan in advance. Maintenance and care, on the other hand, can. This starts with the routine inspection of all important yacht components for damage or wear, such as the Sail. You can equip yourself with the necessary equipment and tools and carry out the work - in the harbour or during the trip - as planned. What is involved, for example? What do you need for which work? Of course, it always depends on the circumstances:

• Sailing areas: How intensively and in which area is the sailing boat used?
• Is it only sailed three times a year or does someone live on it permanently?
• Waters: Is the boat exposed to fresh or salt water?
• Where and how is it winterised?
• What type of sailing yacht is it?

Basically, maintenance and care work is carried out on deck, below deck, on the engines and in the safety area. You can go into even more detail and into mechanics, Electronics solid components and Boat equipment subdivide. Much of this can be done by yourself with the necessary expertise (and time). Others, such as the maintenance of safety accessories, must be carried out by certified professionals.

Practical handyman tips for sailboat owners

YACHT has countless tips and tricks for those who want to do it themselves. Whether it's sanding, painting, cleaning or lubricating - YACHT shares experience and insider knowledge to make DIY on your sailing boat a success.

The be-all and end-all is the right planning: time management, material requirements and, last but not least, your own manual skills.

Start derusting on deck the day before the cruise? Bad idea, the process involves several steps and should therefore not be carried out under time pressure. So shortly before departure, you should concentrate fully on preparing for the sailing trip. Welded a few years ago and now you want to refresh your knowledge of the sailboat's railings? Not a good idea either - it's better to practise again, every welding machine is different and the instinctive feel for manual arc welding is lost over the years. Driving to a specialist store and buying paint without having the surface dimensions in your head? It's a shame to lose money if you buy too much unnecessarily, or time if it's not enough in the end and you have to make another trip.

So avoiding mistakes during preparation is half the battle. And then it's time to get to work. Here, too, you save nerves, time and money if you know how to do it beforehand. Learning by doing is always an option, but it will probably take longer and won't be as professional as if you find out in advance. On yacht.com you will find practical handyman tips and suggestions to ensure that maintenance, care and embellishment work is carried out as quickly, easily and cost-effectively as possible.

YACHT reader tips from real life

And who could know better how to do it than the experienced sailors themselves? That's why YACHT shares the experiences and life hacks of its sailing-enthusiastic readers.

Winterising is a big issue when sailing - at least in our Central European climes. Not everyone has the opportunity to store their sailing boat in a warm place, for example in a hall. Various readers have shared with YACHT what needs to be considered when winterising a boat in the water or outdoors. The water pipework systems in particular need to be prepared for sub-zero temperatures. The best way to do this is described in the YACHT reader tips.

But the readers' tips are not just about boats and sailing areas, but also about the well-being of the sailors who sail on or in them! What everyday problems arise in the life of a sailor? One point that always makes many readers groan is the tiresome subject of sleeping. And not just at sea, where you can't really do much about the pitching and rolling of the boat (apart from changing the area, of course), but also in the harbour. If it is windy and the hull of the boat has a certain shape, the waves sometimes splash loudly against the stern. With a few simple DIY tricks YACHT readers have already broken the waves in front of the hull and got other night-time noise nuisances under control.

Sailor's Life without lifehacks? Not possible!

Life hacks and DIY in sailing are not just for tinkerers, mechanics or creative types. Despite all the modern technology, sailing is still an adventure where you are more or less on your own, depending on the area. If you just want a holiday, you can stay in a hotel or holiday flat. If you decide in favour of a Sailboat you decide to take on many tasks at the same time. If you don't enjoy these tasks a little, but they are just annoying obligations, then you will probably soon lose the joy of sailing again. In that case, you should perhaps simply decide to charter and not to sail. Buy. But if you enjoy painting, furnishing, screwing, lubricating, sealing, embellishing and so on just as much as the Sailing holiday yourself, then you will find a fulfilling (life) task in your own sailing yacht.