This week's hack comes to us from an eagle-eyed Rowing Hacks reader and is a neat, easily made solution to a pretty common problem: get the boost you need to load the top rack with these Crate Steps .

Let's face it: those top racks on your trailer and in your boat bay are pretty high, so there are not many programs that have not found themselves--and their rowers--in need of a step up now and again. There are lots and lots of tricks out there for making the steps, stools, and platforms that can get the job done, and many of them are really good hacks to solve the problem of hefting a heavy boat safely for both rowers and the boat itself.

If you have a full working shop in your boathouse, or a parent with a table saw, you can make some good wooden steps, but we like this particular Crate Step hack: it is perfect for those looking for a more tool-free solution and hoping for a bit more portability to boot.

These steps are just made from a few plastic crates, all zip-tied together. They would probably work fine if you stopped there, but we do like the added support of the board these Bruin hackers have added--cleverly attached to the pre-existing "feet" of each crate just by drilling a few holes. In all, these Crate Steps make for pretty compact, even stackable, steps so you wind up with a solution that takes up little enough space on the trailer to be useful on the road and at home.

Got a neat way to step up when you need to? Share your tips--and hacks--in the comments below.

We got this hack from a reader--do you have a great rowing hack to suggest for future inclusion here? Send it to us!