Marine Survey Site Visit Checklist: What to Bring and How to Run the Day

A working surveyor's pre-visit kit list and on-site routine — the gear, the prep, and the structured walk-through that keeps surveys defensible and fast.

The quality of a marine survey is decided before you step on the boat. Turn up missing a moisture meter or without the slipway booked and the day unravels — usually in the form of a second visit you can't bill for. Here's the kit and routine that working surveyors rely on for a clean site day.

The day before

Sort these in advance and the day itself runs on rails:

  • Confirm slipway booking and lift time in writing with the yard
  • Confirm vessel access — keys, codes, broker meeting on site
  • Pre-fill the survey: client, vessel, template, known specs from the listing
  • Charge everything: phone, tablet, moisture meter, head torch, camera
  • Check the weather — moisture readings are unreliable in rain, plan accordingly
  • Print or save the brokerage listing for cross-reference

If the buyer hasn't paid the deposit, confirm before you drive. This sounds obvious until it happens to you.

The kit list

A working marine surveyor's bag, refined over many wasted trips back to the car:

Inspection tools

  • Moisture meter (calibrated, spare batteries)
  • Phenolic hammer or sounding mallet
  • Mirror on extending handle
  • Strong head torch and backup
  • Magnet (for distinguishing stainless from chrome-plated mild steel)
  • Multimeter
  • Calipers
  • Inspection camera or borescope for inaccessible voids

Capture tools

  • Phone or tablet with your survey software loaded
  • Spare battery pack
  • Waterproof case or dry bag
  • Tape measure (5m and 30m)

Personal

  • Waterproofs and boat shoes with non-marking soles
  • Knee pads
  • Disposable nitrile gloves (engine bay work)
  • High-vis vest (most yards require it)
  • Water and a sandwich — you will not get off the boat for lunch

Paperwork

  • Survey agreement signed by client
  • Insurance certificate copy (yards sometimes ask)
  • Business cards

The walk-through sequence

A consistent on-site sequence is what separates a thorough survey from a forgotten one. Walking the boat in the same order every time builds muscle memory and stops you from "I'll come back to that" mistakes.

A workable sequence for a pre-purchase survey:

1. External hull, out of water. Bow to stern, port then starboard. Photograph everything before touching it — the boat will be wet and dirty, and the dry-condition record matters. 2. Underwater fittings. Through-hulls, anodes, rudder, propeller, shaft, P-bracket. 3. Topsides and deck. Hull-deck joint, deck hardware, hatches, ports, rigging chainplates. 4. Rig (if applicable). Standing rigging, terminals, spreaders, masthead from the deck with binoculars or drone if you have one. 5. Cockpit and helm. Steering, throttle, instruments powered on, drainage. 6. Below deck — accommodation. Bow to stern, every locker open, every cushion lifted. 7. Below deck — systems. Electrical panel, batteries, plumbing, gas, water tanks. 8. Engine bay. Visual, fluid checks, belts, hoses, mounts. No running it dry on the hard. 9. Sea trial (separate day if needed). Engine performance, steering, sailing characteristics.

Capture on the boat, write at the desk

The single most important on-site discipline: capture observations in your survey tool as you find them, with photos attached, in short note form. Do not try to write polished findings on a phone in a damp engine bay.

Polish happens at the desk. Capture happens on the boat. Tools like evalo are built around this split, which is what turns a six-hour boat day plus three evenings of report-writing into a six-hour boat day plus one focused afternoon.

Before you leave the yard

Five-minute check before driving away:

  • Bilge dry, lockers closed, hatches secured
  • Engine bay tidy, dipsticks back in
  • All findings captured with at least one photo each
  • Required baseline photo set complete (HIN, engine plate, helm, etc.)
  • Slipway settled or invoice route confirmed
  • Quick verbal summary to the broker or buyer if present — no written conclusions yet

The boat goes back into the water in the condition you found it. The report goes out within the turnaround you promised. The client refers you.