Ultimate Ironman Guide/Sailing
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Sailing unlocks access to various new islands and the ability to sail on ships.
As upgrading the ships is a non-trivial task on a UIM, it can be beneficial to skip those upgrades that aren't necessary.
Death mechanics
Capsizing
Capsizing on a ship is not dangerous. The player will return to port, and the ship will have to be reclaimed for a fee. All cargo in the cargo hold is lost, but the player does not die nor lose inventory items in the process.
Damage against the player character is dangerous, however.
Death on a ship or island
The deathpile will spawn at the last port or mainland mooring point you docked. The 'escape' option on the helm allows you to check which port that would be. Clicking a dock buoy at any port selects it as your mooring point.
Places like the forgotten ocean and searing sea can damage both the player and their boat. As capsizing is not dangerous, but dying on a boat is, a failsafe when e.g. afk salvaging fremennik salvage is to make sure that the boat has less hp than the player. That way the boat will die first, moving the player to safety.
Critical ship upgrades
Certain tiers of boat upgrades are not worth the time investment to build, as they do not provide substantial enough benefits. This section lists the most important (i.e., minimum) ship upgrades for each Sailing training method.
Trials – Skiff
Mast and sails
The camphor mast and canvas sails is the most important upgrade as it increases acceleration. The oak mast and linen sails provides partial storm resistance, and is required for training at The Tempor Tantrum. Higher-tier masts and sails increase speed boost duration and provide more Sailing experience from trimming, which will slightly increase experience rates.
Hull – Base speed increases
Only upgrade the hull whenever it upgrades the base speed. The rosewood hull is the only one that also increases the speed cap for a skiff. If you only have a limited amount of dragon nails, prioritise the rosewood hull over other dragon-tier upgrades.
| Tier | Sailing level | Construction level | HP | Base speed | Speed cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 30 | 192 | 384 | |
| 31 | 23 | 60 | 256 | 384 | |
| 67 | 59 | 120 | 320 | 384 | |
| 93 | 84 | 180 | 384 | 448 |
Barracuda Trials requirements
| Trial | Requirements | |
|---|---|---|
| 30 | The Tempor Tantrum | Iron helm (or better), oak masts and linen sails (or better) |
| 55 | The Jubbly Jive | Inoculation station, Mithril helm (or better) |
| 72 | The Gwenith Glide | Adamant keel (or better) |
Speed boosts
The crystal extractor generates speed boosts and provides an additional 14,000 extra Sailing experience per hour.
The gale catcher is a negligible upgrade over the wind catcher.
| Name | Special Material | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 53 | Wind catcher | 47 | Captured wind mote |
| 73 | Crystal extractor[a] | 67 | Heart of ithell |
Port tasks
Port tasks require a fast ship that can withstand attacks as well as travel through crystal-flecked waters to access Elven cities and use the Gwenith Glide's portals to shorten trip routes. Preferably use the skiff you have upgraded for trials (although an upgraded raft or sloop can be used). If you can build rosewood hulls but have no dragon nails, a rosewood raft will be faster than an ironwood skiff or sloop.
For maximum efficiency, the boat should have best available hull, keel, mast, and at least adamant helm. Ideally the boat should also have a wind catcher, crystal extractor, and teleport focus. Maximize the deckhandiness of the crew to reduce the number of trips to load and unload cargo.
Courier tasks are an effective training method for UIMs because they require almost no free inventory space. The only requirements are empty hands (nothing equipped in weapon and offhand slots), convenient teleports to ports and notice boards, and optionally a task book. Otherwise a full inventory and loot bag is not an issue.
Courier tasks are also a relatively safe activity to do while deathbanked. The only risk of dying along primary shipping routes is a frozen crystallised helm from resonance crystals in Gwenith Glide.
Further, courier tasks offer downtime for alching or other activities between ports, otherwise this training method is relatively low intensity.
Salvaging – Sloop
The main benefit of a sloop over a skiff is the ability to have a crewmate salvage alongside the player.
Other than to access shipwrecks, none of the core parts need to be upgraded for salvaging. Hull upgrades allow the player to sail to the salvaging spot faster.
Salvaging hook
Use the best salvaging hook available. place it next to a salvaging station. Dragon salvaging hooks are a worthwhile upgrade for training past level 99.
Salvaging station
The salvaging station allows the player to clean the salvage while at sea. Place it on the starboard side (right) next to a salvaging hook, opposite of the crystal extractor.
Cargo hold
Use the best available cargo hold.
Crystal extractor
Place the Crystal extractor on the port side (left) next to a salvaging hook, opposite of the salvaging station.
Kegs
A keg filled with whirlpool surprise gives an invisible +2 boost to Sailing. This increases the salvaging success chance by 0 to 1.6% depending on the Sailing level, salvaging hook used, and shipwreck.
A keg filled with horizon's lure increases the Sailing experience gained by 2.5%.
Special shipwreck requirements
| Type | Requirements | |
|---|---|---|
| 73 | Mercenary shipwreck | Adamant helm (or better) |
| 80 | Fremennik shipwreck | Eternal brazier |
Combat and trawling – Sloop
As shoals often swim through aggressive sea monsters, having a tankier and a faster boat is necessary. Adding cannons then makes this sloop ideal for combat.
This is the ship you build last. Upgrade everything directly to the highest (practical) tier.
Bosun's Workbench
Created after getting the Bosun's workbench schematics as a quest reward from The Red Reef quest can be built in the same spot as the Chum Spreader however not advised since it can be used in this layout allowing both on the boat at the same time with no drawbacks. By placing it in one of the cannon spots closest to the sails/mast of the boat it allows it to be built and used for repairs when doing combat or trawling while still having a Chum spreader. (Even when doing Great White Sharks where it's ideal to sometimes have a cannon on either side, the cannons should be offset allowing the bench to be built closer to the sails on one side and the ballistic attractor on the other side closer to the helm the easiest way to do this is by swapping the position of the cannon closest to the helm with the attractor via facility bottles that can be bought from the shipyard from Seb's Shipyard Supplies for 75k ea)
Keel
The keel adds flat armour to the boat, increasing tankiness massively.
A dragon keel makes the ship immune to most sea monsters, but takes a significantly larger time investment to make than the still good rune keel.
While it's a long grind sea monsters are a great way to get dragon metal sheets, dragon keel parts, and large dragon keel parts after drop rates for sailing upgrade items got buffed while on tasks. Each sea monster has a dedicated bounty task board where a task can always be found.
Keg
The keg should contain trawler's trust when trawling and perildance bitter during combat.
Offloading Fish to a Cooking and Fish Storage Boat
After fish crates are filled with fish the boat cannot be summoned without wiping the fish. The most common fish that UIM use are Marlin, and Bluefin for their respective properties being much better than shark or manta rays, meaning that the easiest place to catch these fish is Weiss.
The loop used would be:
- Take the filled crates off your trawling boat (having the capsize warning on in the game settings menu is ideal for this process so your don't accidentally capsize when teleporting away from your boat so you don't wipe all your fish you just caught).
- Step off the boat.
- Teleport to POH.
- Use Teleport to Boat on your Portal Nexus to get to your Cooking and Fish Storage boat that is parked at Deepfin Point explained below.
- Deposit the fish crates in your cargo hold.
- Teleport to POH.
- Use Teleport to Boat on your Portal Nexus to get back to your Trawling boat.
- Rinse and repeat until all fish crates are stored on your Cooking and Fish Storage boat (with extras in overflow boats explained below in the 'Considerations' section, Ideally you want to leave around 100 spots open in your cargo hold to account for raw fish you can grab in a pinch and cook quickly).
Repairing Your Boat and Getting Repair Kits Quickly
There are a few viable methods for this depending on your skill levels in smithing and construction, but the most sustainable way is using basic repair kits bought from Seb's Shipyard Supplies. If you want something stronger than basic repair kits, ironwood repair kits sourced from your own grown ironwood trees or ironwood trees on Sunbleak Island and rune nails is a nice alternative due to the fact that 1 ironwood plank and 10 rune nails makes 3 ironwood repair kits. You can also do this with Camphor planks and adamantite nails as well, but the effort is more as you don't make as many repair kits for the supplies needed to make them, however camphor trees are easier to get to and adamantite nails are easier to obtain than rune nails.
Steps to fill your boat with repair kits for long combat grinds:
- Summon boat to The Pandemonium with the spell or sailing cape perk
- Customize your boat by talking to Junior Jim taking you to the Shipyard
- Trade Seb to access Seb's Shipyard Supplies and buy as many repair kits as you can carry
- Teleport to boat or POH and then use Teleport to boat on your portal nexus to get to your combat/trawling boat (having a lot of repair kits on your boat for trawling is bad, but having none is bad too you'll have to find a balance)
- Deposit the repair kits on your boat until you have as many as you'd like
NOTE: Keeping a sailing cape in your cargo hold can be used to:
- Dock quickly once your boat's health is low
- Take the sailing cape out
- Step off your boat
- Teleport to The Pandemonium
- Summon your boat to The Pandemonium
- Go to the ship yard by talking to Junior Jim
- Repairing your boat by paying Seb, avoiding the need to buy kits, but not being able to stay as long when doing sea combat.
Cooking and Fish Storage - Sloop
With the fish caught from trawling, you will want a place to store the filled fish crates to allow you to use your combat/trawling boat without your food getting wiped when summoning the boat via summon boat spell. This boat is where you store the fish and cook it when pvming.
Now that UIM has no restriction to Cargo Hold storage limits, fish crates are saved after pulling fish out, and you can add the
"Teleport to Boat" spell to the POH, it is advised that this boat exists and is parked at Deepfin Point with a greater teleport focus, alleviating the biggest need for a Sailor's Amulet.
You can store fish crates filled with Marlin, Bluefin, and Halibut alleviating the need for noted shark or any other food. These foods are recommended as they provide extra benefit to previous noted food methods for UIM.
The reason the boat is parked at Deepfin Point is so that you can empty the fish crates while on the boat after moving slightly at the dock to be just south of the bank chest. The easiest way to do this is turning the boat around and aligning the cargo hold just past where the bank chest is, while your character stands between the range and the cargo hold.
NOTE: This boat is nowhere near as good without a greater teleport focus and is definitely the last boat made.
Considerations
Extra sloops and a raft (if you decided to keep one) can be used as extra overflow storage for fish crates and cannonballs, having another boat similar to this one parked at The Pandemonium allows Teleport to Boat be another good option for getting back there without needing a Sailor's amulet (this isn't as necessary once the sailing cape has been unlocked as it allows infinite teleports to The Pandemonium and allows you to summon boat there as well)
Inventory management for core ship upgrades
Important ship upgrades require a nearly full inventory of materials and tools. These upgrades (especially hulls and keels) require careful inventory management and likely deathbanking or deathpiling to complete them.
Only the facilities and hull parts require a saw and hammer to build. The core ship upgrades do not.
Making planks for hull parts
Skiff hull upgrades each use 10 hull parts, requiring 5 planks each, or 50 planks per hull upgrade. Sloop hull upgrades use 16 large hull parts that each require 5 regular hull parts (equivalent to 25 planks), or 400 total planks to upgrade the hull. Hull parts must be created at a shipwrights' workbench.
With noted logs or planks: unnote in multiples of 5 or 25, go to sawmill if needed, and make hull parts at a workbench.
If cutting logs for upgrades: chop trees, bring logs to a sawmill, then go to a workbench to make hull parts.
The process is much faster with a log basket, plank sack, plank make, and sawmill vouchers, making it possible to craft four large hull parts per trip.
- Get sawmill vouchers.
- Cut a full inventory of logs plus log basket.
- Plank make at trees to fill plank sack.
- Cut more logs to fill inventory.
- Go to shipwrights' workbench.
- Make hull parts from planks (repeat plank make until all logs are used).
The shown example inventory allows for 100 planks per trip (equivalent to 4 large hull parts), assuming the player is wearing a log basket and has runes for plank make. The player should also be able to travel or teleport to the desired trees, a shipwrights' workbench, and ferox enclave to deposit hull parts in a looting bag. For example, an explorer's ring 4 with a spirit tree in Port Sarim offers access to POH and workbench.
Smelting bars for keel parts
The Blast Furnace is the best place to smelt bars and to make keel parts. Ordan sells ores up to mithril, as well as coal which makes having noted coal unnecessary for making adamant and runite bars. Deathpile or deathbank items for more inventory space.
Make the bars at the Blast Furnace and smith keel parts on the nearby anvil. Hop to another Blast Furnace for more stock when needed. Put the completed keel parts on the table with the hammer until all keel parts are built. Juggle keel parts before 10 minute despawn. Dropped or tabled items at the Blast Furnace area will never be visible to other players, and the items will hop worlds with you.
Should the ores be bought out, hop to a non-Blast Furnace world, buy them there, put the coal and at least some metal ore on the conveyor belt, and hop back to a blast furnace world. The process is similar to smithing platebodies at the Blast Furnace.
If making adamantite and runite bars without noted ores, noted coal can easily be acquired from Temple Trekking (e.g., Easy difficulty with Route 1/3) to streamline the process of making keel parts. A simple process is to mine adamantite or runite ores in Prifddinas Trahaearn Mine, and then unnote coal at the bank on the surface to superheat or smelt bars.
Deathpiling to upgrade sloop hull and keel
Large hull and keel parts can be stored in a looting bag until all needed parts are obtained:
- Deathpile (clear deathbank first).
- Get looting bag.
- Pickup any noted materials you have, and coins if making planks or buying blast furnace ores.
- Collect materials to make 1 large hull or keel part (or one inventory of hull parts with plank sack and vouchers).
- Make up to 25 planks or bars, convert them into regular hull or keel parts, and eventually 1 large hull or keel part.
- Put the large part in the looting bag.
- Repeat until all 16 large parts are built and stored in the looting bag (refresh deathpile(s) as needed).
- Deathpile again to drop all large parts from the looting bag.
- Pick up the large parts, collect other necessary materials for the desired upgrade, and upgrade the boat.
- Pick up all remaining deathpile(s).
This deathpile and looting bag process can also be used while making 25 bars: store completed bars in the looting bag and deathpile when ready to make a large keel part.
Sources for shipbuilding materials
These tables list alternate sources for shipbuilding materials (for players without sufficient levels to make them or who prefer gathering materials through PVM).
Smithing materials
| Item | Purchase or spawn sources | Skilling sources | Notable PVM sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iron bars |
|
|
|
| Iron nails | Construction supplies |
|
N/A |
| Lead bars | N/A |
|
N/A |
| Steel bars | 1 spawn in Brimhaven Dungeon |
|
|
| Steel nails | Construction supplies |
|
N/A |
| Mithril bars | N/A |
|
|
| Mithril nails | N/A |
|
N/A |
| Adamantite bars | N/A |
|
|
| Adamantite nails | N/A |
|
N/A |
| Cupronickel bars | N/A |
|
N/A |
| Runite bars | Nest (nice) (1 rune platelegs per bar) |
|
|
| Rune nails | N/A |
|
|
| Dragon metal sheets | N/A |
|
|
| Dragon nails | N/A |
|
|
Woodcutting materials
| Item | Purchase or spawn sources | Skilling sources | Notable PVM sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oak logs | N/A |
|
|
| Oak planks | N/A |
|
|
| Teak logs | N/A |
|
|
| Teak planks | N/A |
|
|
| Mahogany logs | N/A |
|
|
| Mahogany planks | N/A | Sawmill or plank make with mahogany logs |
|
| Camphor logs | N/A | 66 Woodcutting (and 45 Sailing or 66 Farming) | N/A |
| Camphor planks | N/A | Sawmill or plank make with camphor logs | N/A |
| Ironwood logs | N/A | 80 Woodcutting (and 72 Sailing or 80 Farming) | N/A |
| Ironwood planks | N/A | Sawmill or plank make with ironwood logs | N/A |
| Rosewood logs | N/A | 92 Woodcutting (and 79 Sailing or 92 Farming) | N/A |
| Rosewood planks | N/A | Sawmill or plank make with rosewood logs | N/A |
Farming and Crafting materials
| Item | Purchase or spawn sources | Skilling sources | Notable PVM sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bolt of linen | N/A | 12 Crafting (weave 1 bolt per 2 linen yarn, each spun from 1 flax) | N/A |
| Bolt of canvas | N/A | 39 Crafting and 37 Farming (weave 1 bolt per 2 hemp yarn, each spun from 1 hemp) | N/A |
| Bolt of cotton | N/A | 73 Crafting and 71 Farming (weave 1 bolt per 2 cotton yarn, each spun from 1 cotton boll) | N/A |
Miscellaneous materials
| Item | Purchase or spawn sources | Skilling sources | Notable PVM sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swamp tar |
|
N/A |
|
| Rope | Many shops and spawns | N/A | |
| Dragon cannon barrel | N/A | 87 Sailing (1/20,000 to get 1 barrel from opulent salvage)
Sailing (boat combat)
|
N/A |
| Broken dragon hook | N/A | Sailing (boat combat)
|
N/A |
| Free-to-play guides | |
|---|---|
| Members' guides | |
| Ironman guides | |
| Ultimate Ironman guides | |
| General guidelines | |