The check-out starts at the check-in: what you write down on Saturday is what the boat is measured against a week later. Your charter contract and the base's briefing set the terms; these notes give the general practice behind them.
1 · The check-in form
What is written down cannot be charged later
Why should I write every scratch on the charter check-in form?
Because the form you sign is the baseline for the check-out: a fault recorded as old at check-in is wear, not new damage, and cannot be charged later. Photograph it, and count the inventory before you sign.
The inventory list and the check-in form you sign are the baseline for the check-out. Count before you sign: the count can wait for the evening, the signature waits for the count. Whatever is short is written on the list, items promised from the store included; strike them out when they arrive.
A count proves an item is there, not its state. Write down torn seams, a damp mattress or a loose hinge, with photos, and test what you are told works while the technician is aboard. A fault recorded as old at check-in is wear, not new damage.
2 · During the week
Report it the day it happens
What do I do if I damage the charter yacht during the week?
Photograph it and phone the base at once, the same day. Reported, a chip is a repair on the settlement; hidden, it is found at the check-out anyway and can cost you the damage waiver.
Contracts normally require damage to be reported to the base at once. Reported, a chip is a repair on the settlement. Hidden, it is found at the check-out anyway and can cost you the damage waiver. A loss is reported the same way: for lost keys the base can send spares.
Something broke or went missing
Photograph it
Phone the base the same day
Theft: police report, keep the cut cable
Another boat: her name, insurer, photos
Keep receipts: gas bottle swap, repairs
If you touch another boat, tell the base before the check-out: it is a third-party claim, which the base reports to the insurer. If another boat hits you and the repair is held from your deposit, have the refund on recovery written on the settlement. At the end hand in a short list of the faults you met: it costs you nothing and helps the next crew.
3 · Getting back
Alongside and fuelled before the deadline
What if bad weather stops me returning the charter yacht to the base on time?
Call the base the day before, say where you are and decide with their advice: a late fee is never a reason to sail into a gale. If they tell you to wait, keep their messages.
'Back at the base' means alongside on the berth the base gives you, before the time in the contract: call before you enter. Work back from the deadline at motoring speed and leave time for fuel. 22 miles at 6 knots is under four hours; at 2 knots under sail it is eleven. A calm does not excuse a late return.
A gale is different, and a late fee is never a reason to sail into one. Call the base the day before, say where you are and decide with their advice; if they tell you to wait, keep their messages. If you come back early, arrange an early check-out before the crew leave.
The tank normally goes back full: keep the receipt and read the fuel clause. Water full and holding tank empty are common check-out items; pump out only where the local rules allow. The last night in the base marina is usually in the charter price.
4 · The last evening
Count, clean and pack before the technician comes
What do I need to do the evening before checking out of a charter yacht?
Count the inventory against the list, clean the galley, fridge and heads, take food and rubbish ashore, and empty the cabins. Final cleaning included rarely covers your rubbish, a dirty fridge or the heads.
Count the inventory against the list the evening before: the boat hook is then found under a berth, not on the settlement. 'Final cleaning included' rarely covers your rubbish, a dirty fridge or the heads. Rinse a stain at once and show it in the morning.
Item
How it goes back
Galley, fridge, heads
Clean; fridge empty, food and rubbish ashore
Bedding
As the base's note says, often stripped and bagged
Dinghy and outboard
Rinsed, lifted, stowed as at check-in
Cabins
Empty, bags out before the inspection
Switches, shore power
As the base's note says, not as on your own boat
Keys and boat papers
Complete, to the office
5 · The inspection
Go round with the technician, phone in hand
How do I avoid unfair damage charges at the charter check-out inspection?
Be at the walk-round with your dated check-in photos and answer each point on the spot. Dispute a charge at the base before you sign, and sign only the completed form, never a blank one.
Be there for the walk-round and see each point as it is found: you can answer on the spot with a dated check-in photo. New damage is settled against the check-in form and photos, so ask to see the diver's photo too. Read the hour meter and the fuel gauge with the technician. Rotten stitching is wear and tear, which contracts normally do not charge.
A charge is disputed at the base, before you sign. Sign only the completed form, after the inspection, never a blank one, and keep a copy. Then photograph the signed form, the hull, the fuel gauge and the hour meter. If nobody can inspect before you must leave, have the office sign a timed note: returned, not yet inspected.
6 · The deposit
Every deduction on paper
How does an excess per incident work on a yacht charter damage waiver?
An excess per incident caps each repair separately: with a €500 excess, a €350 chip costs €350 and a €900 repair costs €500, so €850 comes off the deposit, not €1,250.
Lost inventory is normally charged at the base's price list, and a waiver seldom covers it. Ask for an itemised settlement, a receipt for every deduction and the date the card hold is released. Never settle damage in cash without paper. A cash deposit comes back against the receipt you were given at check-in.
Example: excess €500 per incident
Monday: gelcoat chip, repair €350 you pay €350
Thursday: bent pulpit, repair €900 you pay €500
From the deposit: €850, not €1,250
An excess per incident caps each repair separately. If the hold is still on your card weeks later, write to the base with the signed form: only the base can cancel it early. A clean signed check-out form is your answer to a charge raised after other crews have sailed the boat: refuse it in writing. In a review give facts; a dispute goes to the base in writing.
Practice questions
Questions from this topic, as the app asks them. Open one to see the answer.
Inventory list — galley
Forks 8 · knives 8 · spoons 8
Plates 8 · bowls 8 · mugs 8
Pans 3 · kettle 1
You count: forks 6, pans 2, the rest OK
The technician hands you the inventory list and you count the galley gear together. What do you do before you sign?
Sign it and count again properly on the first evening
Sign it — two forks and a pan are not worth the time
Have him write 'forks 6, pans 2' on the list and sign that
Sign it and buy the missing ones in town for the base
Show the answer
C. Have him write 'forks 6, pans 2' on the list and sign that
What is written as missing at check-in cannot be charged as lost at check-out.
All 50 questions of this topic are in the app: practice by topic with the reason after every answer, your mistakes brought back, and a timed mock exam. Free, no sign-up, in the browser or in Telegram.
