Boat maintenance checklist — weekly, monthly, seasonal and annual

This is the checklist we see working on well-run boats. It is deliberately short: the jobs that, missed, become the expensive faults. Manufacturer intervals for engines and generators override anything below — see our guide on setting a service schedule by hours.

Every week (or every trip)

• Engine and generator: oil level, coolant level, belts, raw-water strainer, look for drips under each engine.
• Bilges: dry, pumps and float switches tested, no fuel or oil smell.
• Batteries: state of charge, terminals tight and clean.
• Steering: full lock to lock, no play, hydraulic reservoir level.
• Rig (sailing): quick look aloft with binoculars, cotter pins and clevis pins on deck.
• Safety: liferaft, EPIRB and fire extinguishers in place and in date; MOB gear ready.
• Tender and outboard: fuel, kill cord, oars, painter.

Every month

• Sea cocks and thru-hulls: operate each one; check hose clamps (two per connection below the waterline).
• Anodes: check the ones you can see; note the ones you cannot for the next haul-out.
• Freshwater system: pump pressure switch, accumulator, any weeping fittings.
• Heads and holding tanks: joker valves, vent lines, macerator.
• Fridges and air conditioning: raw-water flow, condenser coils clean, strainers.
• Navigation and deck lights, horn, VHF radio check.
• Windlass: operate under load, check gypsy and clutch, grease as specified.
• Winches (sailing): operate, listen for grinding; strip and grease on the annual schedule.
• Fuel: check for water at the bottom of the primary filter bowl.

Every season (spring commissioning and end of season)

• Full engine and generator service per hours or 12 months, whichever comes first.
• Raw-water impellers replaced, heat exchangers inspected.
• Standing rigging inspected end to end; running rigging checked for chafe.
• Sails: inspect stitching, UV strips, batten pockets; wash and dry before storage.
• Canvas, biminis and covers cleaned and re-proofed.
• Hull: antifoul condition, prop and shaft, cutless bearing play, rope cutter.
• Deck hardware: rebed anything that has shown a leak; check chainplates for corrosion or crazing.
• Safety equipment expiry dates: flares, EPIRB battery, hydrostatic releases, fire extinguishers, liferaft service.
• Watermaker: pickle or flush for lay-up per the manual.

Every year

• Haul-out: anodes replaced, hull inspected, thru-hulls and sea cocks serviced or replaced, antifoul.
• Gas system: hoses, regulator, gas detector test; solenoid and locker drain.
• Fire systems: fixed engine-room system serviced, portable extinguishers checked.
• Liferaft, EPIRB and PLB registrations and services as due.
• Electrical: shore-power inlet and cable, galvanic isolator, insulation checks on older wiring.
• Documents: registration, insurance, radio licence, crew certificates — check expiry and renew.
• Rig (sailing): professional rig inspection; standing rigging replacement per age and insurer's requirement.

Turning the checklist into a schedule

A checklist tells you what; a schedule tells you when, from the boat's own hours and dates, and reminds you before it is overdue. If you run one boat with one crew, print this page and put it in the engine room. If you run more than that, put each item into a service schedule with its interval, log the hours as you go, and let the software do the "when". iVessel does that for engines, generators and every other system on board, and shows the fleet's status at a glance.

Do all of this in iVessel — and more

iVessel turns this page into checklists and schedules your crew actually run, and keeps the record when they do.

• Build your own checklists — pre-sail, monthly, handover, cleaning — with the items you want, in the order you want. They are stored on the boat's account and cannot be lost.
• Assign a checklist or a job to a crew member; each item is signed off with a name and a time, so you can see who did what.
• Put every service item on a schedule by hours or date; iVessel tracks the last done, calculates next due and reminds you before it slips.
• Log the parts used as you go and the spares inventory is updated automatically.
• Works offline at sea and syncs when you are back in range. iOS, Android and web.

Your first boat is free for 30 days.