Lode & Keel

The ownership guide

A field guide to owning a sailing yacht

The guide follows a boat in its natural order: the survey before you sign, the rhythm of a working year, the log that keeps memory honest, the costs you can read rather than guess, and the safety habits that matter when the weather does not cooperate.

Chapter 01

Survey before you sign

A survey is a snapshot taken by someone who wants to see what you will not. Choose a surveyor who is independent of the seller and whom you have selected yourself. Ask for the full report, the photographs, and the moisture readings, not only the summary page at the front.

Walk the boat in this order

  1. Structure first. Look for cracks, soft areas, and old repairs in the deck and at the joint between hull and deck. Ask why each repair was made, and ask to see the work.
  2. Below the waterline. Examine the underwater hull for blistering, which can mean water has entered a fibreglass laminate. Many blisters are cosmetic and some are not. Ask the surveyor to tell you which kind you are looking at.
  3. Through-hulls and seacocks. Every opening in the hull should have a working valve. Check hoses for age and hardness, clamps for corrosion, and whether each seacock turns freely.
  4. The rig. Standing rigging terminals, chainplates, and the mast step deserve close attention. Establish the age of the rigging and ask the owner for any service history.
  5. The engine. Note the recorded hours, the service log, the state of the exhaust system, and whether the engine starts cold without fuss. Ask for a sea trial with the engine under load.
  6. Electrics and gas. Look for unlabelled wiring, ad hoc repairs, and gas installations that a qualified person has inspected and recorded.

A sea trial shows things a dock inspection cannot. Sail the boat in the winds you actually expect to use. Listen to the engine at speed, note how the boat behaves when reefed, and time how long it takes to get moving under power in a crowded harbour.

Chapter 02

The annual rhythm

A yacht keeps its own calendar. Most owners find that the year divides into four working phases, and that each phase goes more smoothly when the one before it was done properly.

Spring: commissioning

Check every seacock and hose before launch. Service the engine and change the fuel filters. Inspect the rig and test the batteries. Check the safety equipment against its expiry dates before the boat goes back into the water.

Summer: use and observe

Keep the log current. Note any new vibration, smell, or stain, and check the bilge after every passage. Sail in a range of conditions so you learn how the boat behaves before you need to know.

Autumn: haul-out and the underwater hull

Lift the boat, inspect the underwater hull, the propeller, and the shaft seal, then clean and antifoul according to the paint manufacturer's instructions. Note any blistering or damage while the hull is dry and easy to see.

Winter: storage and planning

Drain and protect the systems that freeze, remove sails and cushions to dry, and write next year's plan. Separate what must be done from what can wait, and what can wait from what is only a wish.

Timing and methods vary with climate, port, and the instructions from your paint and equipment makers. Follow those instructions for your own boat.

Chapter 03

Keeping the log

The log is the most underrated tool on a boat. Memory flatters, and paper and spreadsheets do not. A record written at the time of the work is worth more than any later account of it.

What to record

Date and engine hours
Record the date and hours of every service, so the next interval is planned rather than guessed.
Parts and serial numbers
Note what was replaced, its model and serial number, and where it came from. The next repair becomes faster for it.
Passages
Keep the route, the weather, the sea state, and anything that did not go to plan. Short and honest beats long and tidy.
Incidents and near misses
Groundings, fouled propellers, and dragging anchors belong here, written while they are still fresh.
Expiry dates
Flares, lifejackets, liferaft servicing, emergency position beacon registration, and fire extinguishers. Check each against the rules of the manufacturer and your flag state.

A simple format is enough. Use one page per season and one line per event, and add a photograph wherever a fitting or a wiring run will be hard to see later.

Chapter 04

Reading the costs

The costs of a yacht fall into four families. Separating them makes a budget easier to read, and shows which part of the budget a change would touch.

Owners tend to budget in ranges rather than promises. A range shows the spread between an easy year and a difficult one, and the difficult year is where most surprises live. The allocator works with shares of a total, so you can see how the proportions move when one category grows.

Chapter 05

Safety and the unexpected

Safety on a yacht is a set of habits more than a single purchase. Equipment matters, but so does knowing where it is, when it was last checked, and who on board can use it.

  1. Know the boat's limits. Read the manufacturer's stated limits for wind and sea state, and decide in advance which conditions would send you back to the dock.
  2. Brief the crew. Before each passage, show every person the route to the companionway, where the lifejackets are, the man-overboard procedure, and how the radio works. Repeat the briefing whenever new crew join.
  3. Plan the passage. Check the forecast from more than one source, identify an alternative harbour on the route, and tell someone ashore your planned route and expected arrival.
  4. Keep the kit in date. List the safety equipment in the log, check expiry dates at commissioning, and check again in the middle of the season.

This guide does not replace training, the rules of your flag state, or the conditions of your insurance. Where a rule conflicts with anything written here, the rule governs.

Test your assumptions in the allocator, or write to us with a question about a chapter.