46 QUESTIONS

Yacht Surveys

1. 01

   Is a sea trial included in a yacht survey?

   Yes — it is an inseparable part of a thorough survey. During the sea trial the engine is tested at full load, across the rev range and through steering manoeuvres; listening to it at idle is not enough. Reading the engine parameters underway with a diagnostic tool surfaces the faults that never appear alongside: overheating, power loss, vibration.

   Three things are invisible on a stopped engine: the temperature distribution under load, a leak under pressure and a slackening under vibration. All three are early warnings of the most expensive repairs, and all three only appear with the boat afloat and the engine working. The diagnostic tool stays connected throughout the trial; the engine’s own data is logged rather than judged by ear.

2. 02

   Does the boat have to be hauled out for a survey?

   For a thorough hull survey, yes. The underwater hull, keel, skin fittings, shaft and propeller can only be examined ashore, and moisture readings only mean something once the hull has dried. An in-water inspection covers the deck and engine room but cannot give a reliable opinion on hull integrity.

   The underwater hull carries a boat’s most expensive repairs and is never seen while she is afloat. Moisture readings on a wet hull come back misleadingly high, so the hull should have dried for at least 24-48 hours after washing. Skipping the haul-out saves money by skipping the most valuable part of the survey.

3. 03

   How long does a survey take and what does the report contain?

   Field work usually runs from half a day to a full day depending on the size and scope; the written report is delivered the same day. The report covers hull, machinery, electrical and electronic systems, deck gear, safety equipment and documents; findings are graded by priority and supported with photographs.

   Duration is driven less by length than by access: a cramped engine room or a sole that has to come up adds hours another boat of the same length would not. Report delivery, however, does not wait — a verbal first assessment is given as soon as the field work ends and the written report reaches you the same day.

4. 04

   The boat looks new and well kept — do I still need a survey?

   Yes. Cosmetic condition says nothing about structural or mechanical condition. Osmosis, delamination and internal corrosion are invisible to the eye and are found with moisture meters and hammer testing. Insurers also ask for a current report regardless of how the boat looks.

   Visual tidiness and structural soundness are independent of each other; a freshly polished gelcoat may even have been done to hide a repair beneath it. A wet core, delamination and internal corrosion cannot be found without a moisture meter, a sounding hammer and a thermal camera.

5. 05

   How do brokers use Category B and C findings in price negotiation?

   The two are handled differently. For Category B items (medium priority, needing attention soon) a written repair quotation is obtained and that figure is deducted directly from the price. Category C items (cosmetic, low priority) are not itemised one by one; they are discussed as a single allowance.

   What works in a negotiation is not the name of a defect but the documented cost of putting it right. Our report supplies that distinction ready-made: every finding carries a priority grade and an estimated cost range, so the conversation moves from opinion to arithmetic.

6. 06

   How are osmosis and delamination judged on a pre-1980 GRP sailing yacht?

   On a hull of that age moisture is rarely a yes-or-no question; it is a matter of grading. What decides the outcome is not whether blisters exist but how widespread they are, how deep they run and whether they have reached the laminate. All three are measured and mapped rather than estimated.

   The resins of that period were less water-resistant than today’s, so a forty-year-old laminate almost always carries some moisture. A verdict given without measuring extent, depth and moisture distribution separately is a guess — and the cost difference between surface blistering and laminate-deep osmosis runs into multiples.

7. 07

   How do you negotiate on survey findings, and which findings carry weight?

   A finding carries weight when the seller cannot deny it and the buyer can price it: one with a measured value, a photograph and an estimated repair cost. "There is moisture in the hull" is an opinion; "22-28% moisture at twelve points on the starboard topsides, repair range as follows" is a document.

   The report is written to produce the second kind. Findings are graded urgent, short-term or monitor, and repair items carry a cost range — which is what turns a survey into a negotiating position rather than a list of worries.

8. 08

   Why are ballast and keel bolt checks critical in a survey?

   The keel is one of the most critical structural and safety elements of a boat; corrosion or slackening in its bolts can, in heavy weather, lead to catastrophic failure. Each bolt is checked for torque, the hull-to-keel joint is examined for cracking and rust staining, and any suspicion is confirmed with ultrasonic measurement of the remaining bolt section.

   The keel bolts work as a group: when one fatigues, its load transfers to the others. A hairline "smile crack" from a past grounding hides easily under paint, so the joint area is specifically cleaned before it is examined.

9. 09

   What is checked in the bilge system and tanks?

   Bilge pumps and float switches are run in both manual and automatic, and the alarm is tested separately. Any water standing in the bilge is checked for salt content. In the tanks, seams, unions and vent lines are followed for leaks and odour.

   Whether the water in the bilge is salt or fresh tells you at once whether the problem is in the hull or in the cooling circuit — that single question halves the search area. It is also why bilge water is tasted or tested rather than simply pumped out.

10. 10

    How is rot and internal damage found in a wooden boat survey?

    Rot in timber advances from the inside out, so the surface can look sound while the fibre beneath has already softened. Inspection relies on sound and resistance: a sounding hammer finds voids through the change in note, and a probe finds softening through the change in resistance. Moisture readings and a borescope cover what cannot be reached without dismantling.

    This is why a standard GRP checklist falls short on a wooden hull. The failure mode is different, so the method has to be different — but the scope of the survey does not shrink.

11. 11

    How does surveying an aluminium boat differ from GRP or timber?

    In aluminium the principal risk is not rot but galvanic corrosion: every point where dissimilar metals meet, a wrong anode arrangement or a stray current is a potential failure site. Bonding continuity, anode consumption and shore power are therefore measured separately, and plate thickness is mapped point by point with ultrasonic readings.

    None of these steps has an equivalent in a GRP survey, and the moisture map that matters so much in GRP has no meaning here. Same scope, different instruments.

12. 12

    Should the sea trial be arranged separately from the survey?

    It is not a separate exercise; it is the second half of the same survey. The inspection ashore establishes what to look for and the sea trial confirms it under load. Running them in the wrong order makes it unclear which finding came from where.

    This is also why we price the sea trial and the engine sea trial together — they cannot sensibly be separated. A trial without engine data logged under load leaves the most expensive component unmeasured.

13. 13

    How should I prepare my boat for survey day as a seller?

    Access is the single thing that speeds a survey up: sole hatches that open, an engine room that can be entered and lockers that have been emptied save hours. Having the documents ready — registration, insurance, maintenance log, invoices — is the second accelerator.

    Trying to conceal a defect works against you. Instruments see a fresh repair regardless, and it goes into the report as "recently carried out" — which raises more questions than the original defect would have.

14. 14

    What is checked in deck gear and life-saving equipment?

    Every load-bearing fitting on deck should have a backing plate beneath it; a windlass or davit added later usually gives itself away here, and the underside is inspected with a borescope. On the life-saving side, listing is not enough: liferaft service date, hydrostatic release and bottle pressures are read individually and the fire main is pressurised and tested.

    Safety equipment is used once, at the worst possible moment. If it does not work then, its presence meant nothing — which is why it is operated rather than ticked off.

15. 15

    Do insurers require a survey report, and what do they ask for?

    Insurers assess the boat through an independent measurement rather than her appearance, and usually ask for a report issued within the last three to five years when renewing a policy. A report drawn up within the IIMS, ABYC or MCA framework, with findings graded by urgency, is directly more acceptable.

    In the event of a claim the same report becomes the document that shows the damage did not exist before the incident. That is often worth more than the survey cost several times over.

16. 16

    What is checked in an engine survey — is a separate specialist needed?

    No separate specialist is needed: the person carrying out this inspection is also a qualified marine mechanic and master instructor. A diagnostic tool is connected to the engine control unit and the compression (cylinder balance) test, injector test, true running hours and fault history are read.

    Reading the number a tool gives you and knowing what that number means are two different things. This measurement is uncommon in yacht survey reports in Turkey precisely because the surveyor usually has neither the tool nor the engine-side background to interpret it.

17. 17

    What licences and documents are required to charter a boat in Turkey?

    Commercial use differs from private use not only in paperwork but in the standard the boat is held to: life-saving equipment, fire systems and the seaworthiness certificate are measured against a stricter commercial threshold.

    This is why the survey scope widens when a boat is bought with charter in mind. A shortcoming that would be acceptable in private use will hold up the commercial licence — better found before the purchase than after.

18. 18

    What makes YachtSurvey different from other survey firms?

    The difference is in the instruments and in the background needed to interpret them. Connecting a diagnostic tool to the engine control unit and running compression and injector tests is uncommon in yacht survey reports in Turkey. Twenty-eight years in the Turkish Coast Guard and Navy, more than 350 inspections, and qualification as a marine mechanic and master instructor produce that difference.

    Six measuring methods go on board: engine diagnostics, thermal imaging, borescope, UV leak detection, sounding hammer and moisture meter. Each reads something the eye cannot, and the report states which finding came from which instrument.

19. 19

    What is checked in the electrical system, and how is fire risk identified?

    An electrical fire begins with a loose or undersized connection heating up, and that heating only appears under load. The panel, battery bank and terminals are therefore scanned with a thermal camera while the systems are live. Sockets are additionally tested for voltage, polarity and earth continuity.

    Reverse polarity cannot be identified by eye, and a hot terminal looks perfectly sound. Both show up as numbers rather than opinions — which is what makes them actionable.

20. 20

    What is looked at specifically on a sandwich-construction boat?

    The risk in sandwich construction is not on the surface but in the core between the two laminates: water entering through a single screw hole rots the foam or balsa and gives no sign outside. Systematic hammer testing finds the void through sound; a moisture meter finds the wetness through a reading.

    Water almost always enters around a load-bearing deck fitting, so the area surrounding every winch, cleat and stanchion base is scanned separately. Caught early, a soft spot is a local repair; left alone it becomes a deck rebuild.

21. 21

    What is checked in a rig and sail survey?

    Terminals are cleaned and dye-penetrant tested one by one, shroud tensions are measured and recorded, and the mast and spreaders are examined from top to bottom. Furling gear and sails are operated rather than inspected statically.

    A stainless terminal does not fail all at once: a hairline crack starts, grows under load and then lets go — and that crack is invisible, the surface stays bright. Since a rig is only as strong as its weakest link, one cracked terminal costs the mast.

22. 22

    What does thermal imaging find that a standard survey does not?

    Thermal imaging shows nothing on a system that is not running: a loose connection only heats while current passes, a blocked circuit only shows a difference while the pump runs. The scan is therefore done with the generator running, air-conditioning on and the engine warm and under load.

    The output is not a picture but a number — the finding enters the report as a temperature difference. That is what allows a hot terminal to be graded and priced rather than merely noted.

23. 23

    How is a survey report structured and how should it be read?

    The report divides in two: what was done and what was found. The first part records which system was inspected with which instrument; the second grades the findings by urgency — urgent (before going to sea), short-term (this season) and monitor. Read the urgency column first, then the cost range.

    Knowing how a finding was obtained is part of knowing what it is worth. A note that says "moisture present" and a mapped set of readings taken on a grid are not the same evidence, and a good report makes the difference visible.

24. 24

    What is checked on the shaft, propeller and rudder?

    Cutless bearing clearance is measured, shaft straightness and coupling alignment are checked with feeler gauges, and stern gland drip rate is counted both running and stopped. Blade damage and cavitation erosion on the propeller are recorded separately.

    Problems on the shaft line never appear alone: clearance in the bearing produces vibration, vibration tires the gland, and a tired gland lets water in. That is why all three are assessed together rather than one at a time.

25. 25

    How is osmosis repaired on a GRP hull and what does it cost?

    Cost is decided by depth, not by the number of blisters. Confined to the gelcoat it is surface work; once it reaches the laminate the gelcoat is peeled, the hull is dried for months and an epoxy barrier is applied — the difference between the two runs into multiples.

    Skipping the drying stage is what makes a repair come back within a couple of seasons. This is why extent, depth and moisture distribution are measured before any repair decision rather than after.

26. 26

    How is a moisture meter used in a survey and what do the readings mean?

    A single reading tells you nothing; what tells you something is the distribution. The hull is divided on a grid, a reading is taken in each cell and the values are plotted into the report as a map. Fast scanning is done with a Skipper 5 and suspect areas are confirmed with a Wetsoon Pro.

    The map shows whether moisture is widespread or confined to one area — the distinction that decides what a repair will cost. It also gives a baseline that can be measured again in a few years.

27. 27

    How does surveying a catamaran differ from a monohull?

    A catamaran adds the bridgedeck structure joining the two hulls, where structural fatigue has no monohull equivalent. Systems double as well: two engines, two shaft lines and often two separate electrical circuits.

    Both the duration and the engine room fee therefore scale with the number of engines rather than with length. That is worth knowing before comparing quotes between a catamaran and a monohull of similar size.

28. 28

    Does the boat have to come out of the water for a survey?

    For a thorough survey, yes. An in-water inspection covers the deck, the interior and the engine room; it can say nothing about the underwater hull, keel, skin fittings, shaft or propeller. Moisture readings also require a dry hull.

    Saving the haul-out cost on a serious purchase means deciding without seeing the most expensive items on the boat. It is the one economy that reliably costs more than it saves.

29. 29

    Whose side is the surveyor on — is the report impartial?

    The report goes to whoever commissioned the survey, but findings are not softened for either side. Independence is the only condition under which a survey means anything; we hold no commission relationship with brokers or vendors.

    Where the surveyor takes a share of the sale, the report becomes a sales document. What the findings show is what gets written — whether or not it suits the buyer, and whether or not it suits the seller.

30. 30

    What does a survey report contain?

    Vessel identification, the systems inspected, measured values (moisture, thickness, temperature, engine data), a photographic list of findings and their urgency grading. Each finding carries its location, its measured value and its photograph; repair items carry an estimated cost range. It runs to 40+ pages and is delivered the same day.

    The report carries records rather than assertions, and that structure is what makes it usable in a negotiation. The gap between "defective" and "this much to put right" is the whole value of the document.

31. 31

    How long does a yacht survey take?

    Field work usually takes between half a day and a full day depending on size and scope, with a sea trial adding roughly half a day. The written report is delivered the same day the field work ends.

    Duration is set less by length than by access: a cramped engine room, a sole that has to come up or a hatch that will not open adds hours another boat of the same length would not.

32. 32

    Can I buy a boat without a survey — how risky is it?

    You can, but then you learn the boat’s real condition from the seller’s account. The scale of the risk is easy to see: a survey costs in the order of one per cent of the boat’s price, while a single item missed — osmosis repair, engine rebuild, keel joint — can reach a significant share of it.

    A survey is not an expense so much as a way of pricing that risk. In many cases the report pays for itself in the negotiation that follows.

33. 33

    What is a yacht survey and what is it for?

    A survey is an independent inspection that sets out a boat’s present condition in measurable terms. Its purpose is not to find a flawless boat but to establish, before the decision, which defects exist, which are urgent and what they will cost.

    The output is a record rather than an opinion: findings documented with measured values and photographs. That is what allows it to be used in a negotiation, with an insurer or in a dispute.

34. 34

    For which makes and models does a survey matter most?

    Age, use history and construction type matter more than the make. That said, every production series has known weak points — a wet core on a sandwich-decked model, bellows age on a sail-drive, spreader angles on a B&R rig — and those are flagged specifically.

    A generic checklist cannot supply that. Knowing where a particular model tends to fail shortens the survey and sharpens the result.

35. 35

    What is a gulet and how is one surveyed?

    A gulet differs from a production boat in its timber construction and often in its local building tradition, so a standard GRP checklist falls short. The inspection focuses on rot, caulking, corrosion in fastenings and the keel-to-frame joints.

    In commercial use a gulet also has to clear a separate threshold for seaworthiness and life-saving equipment. That widens the survey scope well beyond what private use would require.

36. 36

    What is osmosis and how much does it matter when buying?

    Osmosis alone is not a reason to walk away. What matters is how widespread it is, how deep it runs and whether it has reached the laminate. Surface blistering is a manageable maintenance item; widespread laminate-deep osmosis requires the hull to be dried for months and an epoxy barrier applied.

    The question that matters is not whether osmosis is present but which class it falls into — and that can only be settled by measuring extent, depth and moisture distribution separately.

37. 37

    What is the difference between a survey and a valuation?

    A survey focuses on defects; a valuation focuses on value. The survey documents what is wrong and what it will cost; the valuation combines the same technical findings with market data to produce a reasoned value range.

    Because the inspection largely overlaps, the two are not priced separately when commissioned together. For a purchase decision they answer different questions and are often useful side by side.

38. 38

    How far in advance should I book a survey?

    In season (May-October) one to two weeks is sensible; in winter a few days is usually enough. If you are under time pressure before paying a deposit, call — we stretch the schedule where we can.

    The real bottleneck in season is not our diary but the yard’s lifting schedule, since the boat has to be ashore and dry. Giving notice mostly buys room in that queue.

39. 39

    Do I need to be aboard during the survey?

    Not required, but useful — particularly if you want to discuss the first findings on the spot. If you cannot attend, the process is reported with photographs and by telephone, and a detailed review conversation follows the report in any case.

    Seeing a finding where it sits is different from reading the same sentence on paper, and the gap widens with engine room and hull findings. Many buyers make better decisions after twenty minutes in the engine room than after an hour with the report.

40. 40

    In which languages is the survey report issued?

    Turkish and English. Where a foreign buyer, a foreign insurer or a flag process is involved the report is drawn up directly in English; both versions carry the same measured values and the same finding classification.

    It is not a translation of one into the other but the same report issued in two languages — which matters when an insurer or a registry reads it rather than the owner.

41. 41

    Is the survey report accepted for insurance and official use?

    Yes. It can be submitted as independent expert opinion when arranging or renewing insurance, for bank collateral valuations, in probate and asset division and in court proceedings. It is issued within the IIMS, ABYC and MCA framework.

    What determines acceptance is who issued the report and under which framework, with findings documented by measurement and photograph. After an incident the same report is the clearest evidence that the damage did not pre-exist.

42. 42

    Which measuring instruments do you use in a survey?

    Engine ECU diagnostic tool (compression and injector tests, true running hours, fault history), thermal camera, moisture meters (Skipper 5 and Wetsoon Pro), ultrasonic thickness gauge, borescope, UV leak-detection lamp, sounding hammer and dye penetrant kit. The report states which finding came from which instrument.

    Each reads something the eye cannot, and none is sufficient alone: diagnostics reads the engine’s own record, thermal imaging reads heat under load, the borescope reaches what cannot be dismantled, UV finds micro-leaks, the hammer finds voids and the moisture meter finds wet laminate.

43. 43

    Which areas do you cover?

    Based in Bodrum, with no travel charge around Yalıkavak, Turgutreis and Milas. For Göcek, Fethiye, Marmaris, Istanbul, Ayvalık and the Greek Islands, travel is itemised separately in the quote. We work across Turkey and the Aegean islands.

    Travel is never hidden inside the fee: it appears as its own line so the total is clear from the start. That also makes it easy to compare a local survey with one further afield.

44. 44

    Can you survey a boat lying in Greece?

    Yes. We survey boats in the Greek Islands; travel and, where needed, accommodation appear separately in the quote. If you are buying there and bringing the boat to Turkey, the survey, the delivery and the flag process can be run in the same file.

    From Bodrum many Greek islands are closer than a marina reached by road, so the real variables are crossing formalities and timing rather than distance. Running the three workstreams together saves both.

45. 45

    Do you also survey wooden and steel boats?

    Yes. In timber the focus is rot, corrosion in fastenings and caulking condition; in steel and aluminium it is ultrasonic thickness measurement and a corrosion map. The method changes with the material; the scope does not.

    A moisture map in GRP and a thickness map in steel do the same job: turning what the eye cannot see into numbers that can be compared, priced and measured again later.

46. 46

    What problems come up most often when buying a used boat?

    In order: a wet core taking water in through deck fittings, undisclosed repair history (which thickness readings reveal), safety equipment past its service date, an MMSI still registered to the previous owner, and tired standing rigging. None of these appear in an advertisement; all of them appear in a survey.

    What these five share is that they arise from time rather than neglect, which is why they turn up on well-kept boats too. A wet core leaves no mark on the surface, an old repair stays under paint and an MMSI registration cannot be seen at all. The question in a used purchase is therefore not how clean the boat looks but which measurements were taken.