| Boat name and port | |
| Manufacturer and model | |
| Asking price | |
| Boat location | |
| Hull number | |
| Registration number | |
| Owner's contact info | |
| Broker contact info | |
| Previous owner | |
| Mechanic/boatyard |
| LOA | |
| LWL | |
| Draft | |
| Beam | |
| Displacement | |
| Ballast weight | |
| Rig type | |
| Boat age | |
| Cockpit placement | |
| Mast height | |
| Various ratios |
| Cabin layout | |
| Cabin ventilation | |
| Standing headroom | |
| Storage | |
| Cockpit layout | |
| Deck layout | |
| Exterior wood |
| Material | |
| Solid/cored below waterline | |
| Reinforced with stringers/stiffeners ? | |
| Hull/deck joint type | |
| Look for depressions/bulges/blisters. (Blisters especially at or just below the waterline.) |
| Material | |
| Solid/cored | |
| Color | |
| Walk on every square foot to check for crunching/flexibility | |
| Look for cracks | |
| Rub-rail: should stand out well, want steel/rubber/bronze-capped, not plastic | |
| Amount of free space | |
| Swim platform | |
| Hose down deck and look in cabin for leaks |
| Shape / type | |
| Have X-rayed to see if bolts are sound ? |
| Material (lead better than iron) | |
| Internal/external (external better) |
| Condition | |
| How protected | |
| Rudder shaft thickness and mounting | |
| How easy to service | |
| What type of propeller | |
| Tiller/wheel | |
| Steering linkage type (cable pull-pull, hydraulic, rack-and-pinion, worm gear) | |
| Propeller shaft parallel to waterline ? |
| Type | |
| Condition | |
| Age (years and hours) | |
| When rebuilt | |
| Maintenance records | |
| How easy to access and service | |
| Oil drip pan ? | |
| Size (want 1.5hp to 2hp per 1000lb) | |
| Type of water-cooling (raw, heat-exchange or keel; want fresh-water cooling ?) | |
| Type of block (want cast iron ?) | |
| Type of gearbox (want hydraulic) | |
| Shaft brake | |
| Exhaust system | |
| Fuel filters (want 2) | |
| Look clean | |
| Size/placement of fuel tanks; access ports | |
| Sniff around engine to smell antifreeze (indicates overheating) or burnt oil | |
| Send fluid samples to a testing lab |
| Anchor types/sizes | |
| Rode types/lengths (all-chain ?) | |
| Bow platform | |
| Anchor windlass | |
| Chain locker (drains overboard ?) | |
| Easy to deploy anchor quickly | |
| How easy to raise ? | |
| Boat hook |
| Keel-stepped or deck-stepped | |
| Material | |
| Condition | |
| Instruments and hardware at top | |
| Condition of mast-step | |
| Halyard number and routing |
| Lifelines/stanchions/toerails (how high ?) | |
| Deck configuration | |
| Sloping deck surfaces bad | |
| Halyards come to cockpit | |
| Bilge pump number and types | |
| Strength of hatches and ports | |
| Weight distribution | |
| Cockpit size/drainage/bridgedeck | |
| Cabin escape route through forward hatch | |
| Lightning protection | |
| Propane locker vents overboard | |
| Lifesling, overboard pole |
| Number and types | |
| Condition (check batten pockets and all edges) | |
| Age | |
| Material and thickness | |
| Type of reefing/furling | |
| Chafe |
| Quality | |
| Method of attachment (through-bolted with backing plates) | |
| Winches (self-tailing, 2-speed) | |
| Cleats | |
| Blocks | |
| Hatch hinges and fastenings | |
| Port and hatch materials |
| Bulkhead-to-hull | |
| Hull-to-deck | |
| Mast-to-hull |
| Blistering | |
| Cracking | |
| Rotting | |
| Waterlogging (recent painting could be hiding cracks that will come back) |
| Size | |
| Drainage | |
| Layout | |
| Sole type | |
| Lazarettes | |
| Visibility with and without dodger | |
| Traveler in cockpit ? | |
| Layout of gauges and controls | |
| Livability |
| Layout | |
| Standing headroom | |
| Comfortable seats with headroom | |
| Size/number/length of berths | |
| Lie down in every berth | |
| Size/number/placement of ports | |
| Upholstery | |
| Paint | |
| Sole type | |
| Safety | |
| Lighting | |
| Ventilation | |
| Smell | |
| Look for stain line that could indicate recent sinking | |
| Floor cracks could indicate recent severe impact | |
| Number of structural bulkheads |
| Number | |
| Material | |
| Condition | |
| Sea-cocks | |
| Double-clamped hoses |
| To bilge | |
| To very bottom of bilge | |
| To engine | |
| To stuffing-box | |
| To through-hulls | |
| To plumbing/tanks and electrical | |
| To deck hardware backing plates |
| Condition (dye testing for cracked fittings, magnetic testing for swages ?) | |
| Type | |
| Redundancy | |
| Routing to cockpit, deck or mast | |
| Any places where chafe is likely | |
| How easy to rig jibe preventer | |
| Dutchman or lazy jacks | |
| Extra halyards and winches | |
| Spinnaker pole and type of spinnaker jibe | |
| Whisker pole | |
| Traveller | |
| Boom vang |
| LOA and beam | |
| Deck layout and space | |
| Cabin space | |
| Ventilation | |
| Fans | |
| Layout | |
| Lighting (natural and artificial) | |
| Storage space | |
| Dryness |
| Proper type of wire ? | |
| Proper type of connections (soldered) ? | |
| DC return wires used ? | |
| Switch/fuse panel | |
| Corrosion/zincs; bonding system type | |
| Accessibility | |
| Battery configuration, size, condition | |
| Battery compartment separate from engine compartment ? | |
| Charging system (solar, wind, water, alternator, generator) | |
| Inverter type and size | |
| Shore power connection (does it have GFI and circuit-breaker and isolation transformer) | |
| Exposed on deck, in cockpit ? |
| Condition | |
| Manual backup pumps | |
| Inspection ports on water tank | |
| Way to bypass waste tank | |
| Bronze instead of plastic | |
| Sizes/types/placement of tanks | |
| Shore connection (does it have pressure limiter) | |
| Tanks shouldn't be near heat sources | |
| Water heater type |
| Water/mold/stains/smells in bilge/lockers or around mast/ports/hatches | |
| Deck hardware attached with screws |
| Stove type | |
| Refrigeration size and type and power source | |
| Icemaker | |
| Watermaker | |
| Microwave | |
| Layout / access |
| Type | |
| Size (stand and sit with door closed) | |
| Access for repair | |
| Manual operation | |
| Holding tank |
| RADAR | |
| GPS | |
| LORAN | |
| Depth meter | |
| Depth finder / SONAR | |
| Auto-pilots | |
| Compass | |
| Barometer | |
| Knotmeter | |
| Anemometer | |
| Inclinometer | |
| Radios, antennas and grounds | |
| Where are sensors placed | |
| Gearbox oil-pressure | |
| Engine oil-pressure | |
| Engine temperature | |
| RPM | |
| Running hours | |
| Fuel gauge | |
| Voltmeter |
| Type | |
| Condition | |
| Size | |
| Mechanism to lift it | |
| Place to stow it | |
| Motor type/condition |
| Type | |
| Condition | |
| Size | |
| Place to stow it (want on-deck stowage) | |
| Supplies (watermaker, shade, food, etc) |
| Dodger/bimini | |
| Fenders | |
| Tools | |
| Spares | |
| Charts | |
| Books | |
| Logs | |
| Owners manuals | |
| PFDs | |
| EPIRB | |
| Extinguishers | |
| Bilge blower | |
| Fume detectors | |
| Automatic fire-suppression | |
| Jack lines and tethers | |
| Fishing tackle | |
| Ladder | |
| Sail and instrument covers | |
| Awning | |
| Rain-catcher | |
| BBQ | |
| Air conditioner | |
| Heater | |
| Deck hoses | |
| Deck shower | |
| Audio/TV | |
| Mast-climbing gear | |
| Courtesy flags | |
| Sea anchor | |
| Drogue |
| How/where has the boat been used in general and in recent past ? If ocean passaging right up to present, probably is well maintained and fitted. If was used for day-sailing and has been sitting idle at broker's for 6 months, probably is not well maintained and fitted. |
| Any major accidents, repairs, refits, changes from original equipment ? | |
| Prior survey reports ? | |
| Prior owners ? | |
| USA documented ? | |
| Inspect log book ? | |
| Maintenance records ? |
| How easy to get on/off from docked/swimming/tender ? | |
| Free deck space (with tender on board) for sleeping/partying/sitting ? |
| At dock, is boat listing, or down at bow/stern ? |
| Pitching | |
| Heeling | |
| Balanced steering | |
| Weather helm |
| Speed | |
| Visibility | |
| Sail-handling | |
| Responsiveness | |
| Dryness | |
| Motion | |
| Stability | |
| Tacking angle | |
| Behavior at all points of wind | |
| Behavior at various strengths of wind | |
| Behavior with minimal/typical/full sails up | |
| Performance of auto-pilot and wind-vane | |
| Sounds when below | |
| Raise/lower every sail |
| Engine starting ease | |
| Speed at various RPMs | |
| Noise | |
| Vibration | |
| Exhaust | |
| Leaks from engine | |
| Engine temperature | |
| Performance in reverse | |
| Maneuverability turning radius | |
| Sounds when below | |
| Turn on all electrics and run at same time, see what happens | |
| New oil in drip pan (put cloth down at start) ? |
| Water in bilge | |
| New water in bilge after pumping it out ? | |
| Water through open ports | |
| Pounding through seas | |
| Behavior when anchored in wind and swell | |
| Operate every instrument and control |
| Stability | |
| Wetness | |
| Capacity | |
| Motor | |
| Launching/stowing |
| Home | Site Map |