Invisible Diagnostics: Why Visual Inspection is Not Enough for Carbon Fiber Masts The introduction of carbon fiber into sailing rigs has revolutionized modern yachting, offering extraordinary rigidity and a drastic reduction in top-down weight. However, this advanced composite material conceals a critical engineering vulnerability: unlike aluminum, which deforms visibly before… Read More »MAST inspection-survey NDT
Beyond the Spec Sheet: The Role of Pre-Purchase Surveys in Ocean-Crossing and Circumnavigation Projects When a yachtsman decides to purchase a vessel for long-distance ocean passage-making, they are not merely buying an asset: they are funding a life project. We are talking about voyages that will keep the hull at… Read More »Pre purchase survey for ocean crossing yacht
Post-Voyage Structural Analysis: Why the Initial Inspection Isn’t Enough When we oversee the construction of a vessel, the initial Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) inspection is crucial: it serves as the “snapshot” of the hull’s health before it even touches the water. However, the true test comes only after the boat has… Read More »HULL ndt inspections
“How old is the saildrive boot?” It’s a question I almost always ask, and almost always get the same answer: silence, followed by “Look, I don’t know—I think they replaced it.” No documentation, no invoice, no legible label. Out of 490 survey reports in my archive, 80 concern boats with… Read More »Saildrive: The Boot Whose Age No One Knows
I’m glad to share that I’ve just completed and been awarded the Certificate in Superyacht Surveying from Lloyd’s Maritime Academy (Informa Connect Academy). Superyachts are not simply larger boats. They are bespoke vessels, each one different, where construction, machinery, safety systems and the rules that govern them must be read… Read More »Lloyd’s Maritime Academy Certificate in Superyacht Surveying
This weekend, we decided to mark on a map the places we’ve visited over the past two years. We’ve had the pleasure of seeing many interesting boats and meeting lots of boat owners, captains, brokers, and shipyards… We hope the coming years continue in the same vein! Interactive map of… Read More »Where we’ve been over the past two years: nearly 500 surveys!
When I board a boat for a pre-purchase inspection, one of the first things I do is walk the deck. Not a quick stroll, but a systematic walk, with a small plastic hammer in my hand and my ear to the deck. It looks like a quaint ritual, and to… Read More »Soft spots in the deck: the sounding test that few know how to perform properly
In this short video, I comment on the condition of a boat that collided with a rock at cruising speed. In this case, the system adopted by the boat’s manufacturer ensured that, although the impact was strong, most of the shock was absorbed by the lead. Internally, the backing plate,… Read More »Sailboat hits a rock video report of damage.
A brief summary video of the pre-purchase survey conducted on Kirribilli, a Vismara 60 designed by Renzo Piano for himself. The boat was built with the best materials and techniques available in the 2000s. It is a no-compromise sailing vessel, designed to sail comfortably even in light winds—a true sailboat.… Read More »Pre purchase survey video fo Vismara yacht