Sea Trials

On a sailing vessel all sails are examined at a sail loft or lawn. The sail handling systems are operated and inspected.

On a power vessel an operational test and inspection of engines, generators and their components, steering, controls, shafts and electronics are performed.

You probably wouldn't buy a car without a test drive, so a sea trial is an excellent idea and highly recommended. Most buyers will take a "test sail" with the owner or broker (normally prior to the survey) to determine if the vessel's performance is in general satisfactory and warrants the additional expense of a survey, however a sea trial provides the surveyor valuable insight on how a vessel and her systems operate in the "real world." Many surveyors factor in a one hour sea trial into their prices. As it normally takes longer to perform a thorough sea trial, you either pay for the additional time required to do it right or receive a less than comprehensive evaluation. We can and will conduct a formal sea trial if requested, however we do not arbitrarily charge you for one and our prices are reduced accordingly. We feel you should be able to decide if you require a sea trial and if so want to ensure we have the proper amount of time to provide you the best evaluation possible.

Items to consider if you'd like us to conduct a sea trial:

Like hot coffee and clumsy McDonalds customers, surveys and sea trials don't go together - meaning that we cannot conduct them simultaneously. Both are important enough to deserve a surveyor's full, undivided attention. Both can be conducted the same day, however the order should be survey first, sea trial second. This allows the buyer to determine if any problems found during the survey preclude the need for the added expense of a sea trial, and facilitates inspection of the engine and engine room (which will likely be too hot to move around in freely for a number of hours after a sea trial). We ask that the engines not be cranked prior to our arrival. Sea trials and surveys can be conducted on separate days and often a sea trial can be conducted while on the trip to the yard for haul out or on the return trip, at which time we can also check any items you may have noted from your "test sail". We do not operate the vessel during the survey or sea trial. The owner, broker, or a hired captain will have to be present to operate the vessel. We will need to give our full attention to inspecting the various equipment and systems while underway, something which can't be properly done while captaining the vessel.