How Dream Yacht maintains your yacht

In the sailing world, we’re used to hearing that there are two great moments in the life of a boat owner: when he or she rejoices in buying a boat and again when they sell it, freeing themselves from the burden of its maintenance.

It is an established fact that the resale value of a second hand yacht depends almost entirely on the care given to it. This care is costly, as it means calling on specialists and involves a significant investment. 

At Dream Yacht, most of our yacht management programs relieve the owner of all maintenance costs and responsibilities for the duration of their program. 

But what do we do exactly, and what maintenance is included?

Winterizing our yachts and getting them ready for charter again before the following season

Throughout the charter operating season, our yachts are subject to a sustained rhythm. They sail a lot, much more than the sad few weekends that most yacht owners get to enjoy. And they need some care at the end of each season: this is called winterizing.

For several weeks, the boats are immobilized and can take a breather. This period is much anticipated at our bases, as it is the opportunity to sort out little things that are more difficult to address during the busy charter season.

So, all through the year, our yacht technicians (we have more than a hundred of them!) and base managers identify and carry out a list of things to be done on the yachts that they are personally responsible for.

Throughout the winterizing and de-wintering period, several large operations will be carried out:

Careening

• Once out of the water, the yachts are put on dry mounts and then their hulls are carefully gone over with a pressure cleaner before they receive an application of anti-fouling. This product avoids the building-up of algae on the hull and ensures the yacht retains a good glide.
• Taking the boat out of the water also allows us to check the transmissions, the state of the propellers, rudders, and anodes, which are all impossible to do while it’s in the water.

Emptying

• The engine(s), transmission(s) and generator fluids are emptied. The oil and diesel filters are changed and their cooling fluid is replaced. During this operation, the belts are changed, the alternators are tested, the water pump impellers are replaced, and many other items are checked.

Plumbing

• There’s no question that during the winterizing process a yacht’s water system must be purged and its black water tanks treated. All the couplings are checked visually, so there is no risk of a surprise leak.

Electricity and electronics

• The functioning of the shore charger is tested, as well as each service battery, individually. Did you know that we change the service batteries on all our boats at least every two years? Our technicians also test all the boat’s electronic systems.

Rigging

• Following the winterizing period, the yachts are unrigged, which means that their sails and ropes are removed to be cleaned.
• The standing rigging (the forestay, shrouds, and backstay) is examined by a professional rigger, duly insured, who climbs up the mast.
• The condition of the bedding and cushions is evaluated to ensure they’re in good condition for charter guests.

But the most important of these winterizing and de-wintering operations is that a technician spends a good month working on your boat. During this off-season month, our technicians live on the boats eight hours a day. This is how he or she detects any potential dysfunctions such as a fault in a porthole seal or abnormal play in a door – details which he or she can readily correct.

For comparison purposes – if you decided to buy and manage a yacht yourself via a traditional yacht purchase, the number of man-hours that would be financially reasonable to put toward maintenance routines would be much lower than the hours we dedicate to this process (at high hourly rates of mechanical technicians the costs add up very quickly).

Routine technical checks

During the season, when the boat is back in the water, routine technical checks of all the boat’s elements of comfort and safety must be carried out before any guests are permitted to board.

So, before every departure, additional checks are made.

Checks on the safety elements

• The engine fluid levels, the cleanliness of the raw water filter, diesel pre-filters, the engine operation and the steering gear are tested before each outing.
• One or several bleeding operations (according to the number of engine hours) are carried out during the season.
• The operation of the hold pumps is tested, just like the lights, batteries and we check the flow from the alternators with a clamp ammeter.
• The tender outboard engine is started and the annex examined. The presence of the life raft and the life jackets and safety equipment confirmed.
• On the bridge, the reefing line winches and halyards are checked, along with the winches and the windlass.
• A visual check is made of the visible part of the shrouds and the forestay. We don’t climb the mast before each departure, but there is often something that needs to be done up there, which is a good opportunity for checking the crimping of the cables and the spreaders.

Checks on the comfort elements

• Lights, sockets or showers are checked for proper functioning.
• Here too, the lock and operation of the entrance door is inspected along with the condition of the furniture and the operation of the water closets is tested.
• The air-conditioning and desalination unit are tested in turn.

Once the charterer has arrived at our base, he or she is given an inventory list prior to departure. It is his or her responsibility to check the presence of all the elements in this inventory and also the correct operation of all the safety equipment.

If anything is missing, we will immediately replace it, just as we intervene immediately if a technical problem is discovered at this stage.

This is how we spend a month on your boat during the winter and we come back to it a dozen times during the season, a sure way of finding any potential malfunctions, sorting them out and, above all, getting to know your yacht perfectly.

The history of your yacht

We keep a maintenance record for each yacht. This collection of documents resumes the characteristics and serial numbers of all its equipment, as well as a record of each maintenance operation which may have led to significant expense.

We therefore know the dates the batteries were changed, the annual engine hours, the age of the set of sails, or the date for a potential large repair.

This history is of considerable importance when you are envisaging selling your boat. A yacht with a clear maintenance history is always more attractive for potential buyers.

A matter for specialists

For us, maintenance is a matter for specialists, though most of our base managers have strong technical skills. Within the bases, our teams of seasoned and experienced technicians, which may be more than a dozen strong for the largest bases, work on your boat. We also endeavor to recruit complementary specialists. So, some of our bases have an electrician, a diesel specialist or composite specialist among their ranks.

We will also occasionally outsource work to meet a particular technical need.

Experts in the maintenance of your yacht

If you had to manage the maintenance of your yacht yourself, remotely, how would you coordinate the various technicians to ensure the work is done properly and in a timely manner? When the owner is not on site, it can be difficult without experiencing stress and delay.

With a yacht placed in a charter program under our management, the base manager from where it is operated will act as a true foreman for the maintenance of your boat. And, as you can imagine, when Dream Yacht calls on one of its staff or subcontractors, it’s not long before we see him or her!

We are part of the economic fabric of these sailing regions, and we have connections with the most qualified and reputable skilled subcontractors.

When you entrust us with the management of your yacht, you are counting on us to optimize its profitability. Part of this profit optimization happens through maximising your yacht’s operational availability. This is a topic on which our interests converge quite particularly. Even more considering that our bases are full of specialists who, for the most part, love sailing and the opportunity to work on and near the water.

And we all know that those doing a job that they love work with more enthusiasm and diligence!

_____________________________________________

Contact our expert Sales Consultants to learn more about our flexible yacht management options, and for guidance on the purchase process, from choosing a yacht that is right for you, to finding the best financing and more. Get in touch today!