Tender and Ancillary Craft Survey

A tender survey covers the tender, its outboard, the davits and the lifting gear. A diagnostic tool is connected to the outboard and its running hours and fault history are read.

The tender is not a spare — it is part of the boat

Your tender is the ride ashore, the guest shuttle and, in an emergency, the second chance. A faultless survey of the mothership doesn’t help when the tender strands you in an anchorage. This survey examines tenders, RIBs and jet skis with the same rigour as the yacht itself.

What is covered

GRP and aluminium hulls are checked for cracking, impact and deformation; inflatables get a pressure-drop test on the tubes plus seam, floor and bond inspection. Outboards and jet drives are run and their cooling, exhaust and fuel lines examined — and then the differentiator: Jaltest diagnostics connects to the ECU and prints active and stored fault codes, sensor and injection data, overheating and over-rev records, and maintenance traces. Batteries, starting, lighting, steering, tanks and drainage are checked, along with the presence and condition of mandatory safety gear. A run trial observes acceleration, handling and stopping, while the engine block, exhaust and connections are scanned with the thermal camera.

What sets it apart

In most surveys the tender is recorded as present or absent. An outboard is an engine too, and it keeps its own record.

• Diagnostic reading — total running hours, their distribution across rev bands, fault codes and overheat history.
• Hull and tubes — the tender is most often used to get ashore; while a line is being made fast to a rock the hull can rub against it. The bottom is examined for scoring, delamination and separation at the tube-to-hull joint.
• Lifting gear — davits, falls and shackles are checked for load marking and wear. It is the most overlooked safety item on the boat.

The report

Visual findings photographed, diagnostic findings documented by printout. Where davits and lifting gear need assessing together, the survey pairs with the deck survey.

Duration and fee

This inspection is a chapter within a survey: it is carried out within a pre-purchase survey — however many craft are aboard and is not billed separately. We do not sell it as a standalone item, because coming to the boat once to look at this heading alone serves neither you nor us.

If you do need this heading on its own — in a dispute, or for a second opinion — the door is not closed. Call us and we will talk about the boat.

Fees vary with the length of the boat, where she lies and the season. For a firm price call us — tell us about the boat and we will give you the number on the phone.

Estimate your survey fee