Sea Trial & Survey Checklist: What to Inspect Before Buying in Indonesian Waters

Sea Trial & Survey Checklist: What to Inspect Before Buying in Indonesian Waters

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A pre purchase yacht survey checklist for Indonesian waters covers six areas: hull, machinery, electrical systems, safety equipment, the sea trial, and the paperwork trail. Add a seventh for any phinisi or timber hull: marine borers, fastening corrosion, and freshwater rot, all more likely here than in cooler climates.

The inspection-day companion: checks you run yourself, or follow alongside a surveyor, before money changes hands. It does not replace a professional condition survey, but it sharpens your questions and grounds the negotiation in evidence. Beforehand, ask the seller for a haul-out or diver footage, a genuine cold start on inspection morning, and the service records. For the full done-for-you process, our pre-purchase yacht survey service in Indonesia arranges accredited surveyors, haul-out, and sea trial together.

Hull and structure

Fibreglass (GRP) hulls

  • Tap the hull: a sharp ring is sound, a dull thud means delamination or a wet core
  • Check below the waterline for osmosis blisters that weep acidic fluid when pierced
  • Check the keel-to-hull joint for a cracked filler line, a “keel smile” signalling past grounding
  • Grip the rudder for bearing play, and check the propeller shaft’s cutless bearing
  • Note the anodes: wasted is normal, missing or untouched tells its own story

Steel and aluminium hulls

Corrosion hides at the waterline, the bilge, and behind tanks and linings: look for pitting, scale, and bubbling paint, and flag anything unseen for an ultrasonic gauge. On aluminium, check where stainless steel meets the hull, a classic galvanic-corrosion point.

Phinisi and timber-specific checks

Traditional phinisi are hand-built in South Sulawesi on an ulin (ironwood) keel with teak or hardwood planking, immensely strong vessels, but timber lives a harder life in tropical water than in cold water.

  • Marine borers. Probe planking near the waterline, stem, and sternpost with an awl once hauled; sound wood resists, tunnelled wood gives way even if the surface looks fine.
  • Fastening condition. Black staining from fastenings, known as iron sickness, signals corrosion and weakened timber beneath. Ask what the fastenings are and when replaced.
  • Freshwater rot. Trace deck leaks downward through beam joints, the mast step, and covering boards, probing for rot’s soft, spongy feel.
  • Frames and repairs. Check frames in the bilge for cracks and for “sistered” frames (new timber bolted alongside old); a long run tells its own history.
  • Caulking rhythm. Check seams for hardened or missing caulking, and ask when last recaulked and hauled; annual haul-out is typical here.

Machinery and drivetrain

  • Start cold and watch the exhaust: blue smoke means burning oil, black smoke means fuel or loading issues, white smoke means coolant trouble
  • Pull the dipstick: milky, mayonnaise-coloured oil signals water contamination
  • Check engine mounts, belts, hoses, and the raw-water impeller
  • Shift into forward and reverse at idle and listen for clunks
  • At the stern gland, a slow drip at rest is normal; a stream is not, and the generator gets the same cold-start check
  • High-hour engines justify a lab oil analysis, cheap insurance included in professional surveys

Electrical systems

  • Open the panel: tinned marine cable and proper crimps are good signs; household wire and green corrosion are common problems
  • Load-test the batteries
  • Confirm every bilge pump runs on its float and manual switch
  • Power up navigation lights, instruments, autopilot, radar, and radios
  • Test shore power, charger, inverter, and solar under real load, not just the voltmeter

Safety equipment

Each item is either in date, or a line on your negotiation sheet:

  • Liferaft: service sticker in date, capacity matching the vessel’s use
  • Flares and pyrotechnics: expiry dates current
  • EPIRB: battery date, hydrostatic release date, registration current
  • Fire extinguishers: gauges in the green, service tags current
  • LPG installation: bottles in a locker draining overboard, hoses in date, gas alarm working
  • Lifejackets and harnesses: enough for the certified crew count, in serviceable condition

The sea trial: what to test underway

A sea trial is a structured load test, not a joyride:

  • Full throttle: engine should reach rated maximum rpm, or it is overloaded, overpropped, or unwell
  • Hold cruising rpm until temperatures stabilise, then run the rpm range checking for vibration
  • Helm hard over both ways, autopilot engaged and disengaged
  • Vessel backed down hard, anchor deployed and recovered under real load
  • On a sailing phinisi, sails hoisted and rigging checked under tension
  • After the run, check bilges and engine room: new water, oil, or smells are the day’s most honest findings

Paperwork and what the checklist is for

Verify documents as carefully as the hull: the Grosse Akta (deed of ownership), Surat Ukur (measurement certificate), certificate of nationality (Pas Besar or Pas Kecil), current safety certification, and no mortgages against it. Foreign-flagged or commercial-charter cases add licensing questions, where our done-for-you package earns its keep.

Almost no survey comes back clean: the point is a priced list, items the seller fixes, items that adjust the offer, items you accept. For most yachts and phinisi in the 15–30 metre range, a full survey with haul-out typically starts in the low thousands of dollars, small against the cost of finding borer damage or a tired gearbox later. Findings become the plan for the first yard period; our yacht refit and repair brokerage turns it into scoped, quoted yard work.

Ready for an inspection day? Talk to us on WhatsApp at +62 811-3941-4563 or email bd@juaraholding.com. We work with vetted independent surveyors and yard partners across Indonesia.

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