Yacht survey prep.
Walk in already knowing the report.
Yacht survey prep is the difference between a clean close and a re-trade. The survey is where deals slow down, get renegotiated, or die. Most of what a surveyor writes up is knowable weeks beforehand, by anyone who goes and looks.
Our yacht survey prep finds
what a surveyor will flag, first.
Safety gear, expiry dates and compliance items corrected
Extinguishers, flares, placards and registration. The cheapest findings on any report, and the ones that make a surveyor look harder at everything else.
Every system run and verified
Engines, generator, air conditioning, pumps and electronics, all started and run. Nothing on the report should say it would not start.
Corrosion, anodes and bonding checked and logged
Anodes photographed and measured, bonding continuity tested, and any stray current found before it becomes a line item.
Repairs coordinated and documented before the survey date
What can be fixed gets fixed. What cannot gets written down with a quote attached, so it is a known number instead of an open question.
Four things that cost
almost nothing to get right.
None of this is complicated. All of it gets forgotten, and all of it shows up in the report or in the price.
Clean her properly
A surveyor forms an opinion in the first two minutes and then goes looking for evidence. A dirty boat gets a harder look in every compartment, and things end up on the report that would never have been written otherwise. A wash is the cheapest money in the whole transaction.
Clear the strainers
Engines, generator and air conditioning all draw cooling water through a strainer. A clogged one means high temperatures, faults, or a system that shuts down mid-test. Every one of those is a red flag on a report. Clear them the day before, not the week before.
Get the fuel level right
Do not just fill her. Sea trials are measured against the manufacturer’s performance numbers, and fuel is weight. Around half a tank is the sweet spot: enough that nobody asks questions, light enough to hit the marks. Fresh water, on the other hand, should be full, or the surveyor cannot test the showers, sinks or heads.
Flush the black water tank
The most forgotten job on the list. Nobody wants to spend three hours in an engine room that smells. It buys goodwill at the exact moment you want the person writing the report to be in a generous mood.
Ask for the same prep.
A boat that arrives at survey dirty and cold is harder to read. Paint defects hide, engine room detail disappears, and systems that were never run cannot be judged. Send this list to the selling broker before the date. A well prepared vessel gives both sides an honest look at what they are actually trading.
What yacht survey prep
actually changes.
A surveyor is paid to find things, and they will. The question is whether you find them first. Yacht survey prep means the safety gear is in date, the systems have been run, the corrosion has been logged and the obvious findings are already closed out before anyone else steps aboard.
What is left on the report is the honest condition of the boat, not a list of things nobody got round to. Buyers renegotiate on surprises far more than they renegotiate on age or hours. Removing the surprises is the cheapest protection a broker has on the asking price, and it costs a fraction of the first price reduction it prevents.
Tell us the boat
and the survey date.
We will go through her, tell you what a surveyor is going to find, and put it in writing before the date.