# Vessel survey and sea-trial question list

Prepare a condition and suitability review for the actual charter service.

Original Louisiana Deep Sea Fishing planning worksheet. Prepared October 22, 2026. Editable example, not an official agency form, contract, legal opinion, inspection or certification. No signup is required.

Prepared by: __________  Planning date: __________  Version: __________

## Operating envelope

- Vessel, intended route, guests, crew and loaded service: __________

- Build/trade and documentation questions: __________

- Passenger inspection or COI questions: __________

## Independent review

- Surveyor scope, haulout and exclusions: __________

- Machinery inspection and maintenance records: __________

- Representative sea-trial plan and qualified participants: __________

- Critical defects, repair quotes and completion evidence: __________

## Business suitability

- Insurer/lender required work: __________

- Permit receiving-vessel feasibility: __________

- Commercial dock, fuel, cleaning and storm arrangement: __________

## How to use this record

A survey is evidence with a defined scope, not a guarantee against failure. Keep critical repairs separate from cosmetic improvements and contingency. Do not use recreational seating capacity as the complete answer to paid-passenger authority.

Keep confirmed facts, estimates and unknowns distinct. For a requirement record the responsible source, checked date, supporting evidence and next action. Retain private financial, identity and personnel documents securely; do not put them into public URLs or analytics.

## Continue the lesson

https://louisianadeepseafishing.com/charter-business/boats

Before acting, verify changing requirements with the responsible agency and obtain qualified advice for the actual operation. This document does not submit an application or establish that any requirement is satisfied.


## Vessel comparison worksheet

Use the same mission and workload for each candidate. Duplicate the following block for Boat A, Boat B and any real alternative.

- Candidate/source, date and asking-price basis: __________
- Hull/build/title/documentation evidence and unresolved liens: __________
- Intended waters, route, passengers, crew and loaded service: __________
- Passenger authority/COI, credential and fishery feasibility: __________
- Representative range/fuel-use evidence and qualified reviewer: __________
- Boarding, handholds, seating, shade, toilet and fishing stations: __________
- Draft/access, fuel/ice/catch storage and guest gear movement: __________
- Machinery hours/history, diagnostics and survey scope: __________
- Fuel systems, wiring, steering, corrosion, thru-hulls and pumps review: __________
- Grounding, flooding, hurricane and major-refit questions: __________
- Known required work, qualified quote, parts and downtime: __________
- Actual commercial insurance indication/conditions: __________
- Dock/trailer/storage and storm feasibility: __________
- Must-have failed, unresolved or supported: __________
- Preferences and tradeoffs: __________

A large brochure seating figure or fast unloaded trial does not settle charter passenger authority or loaded suitability. Use qualified inspection and advice for the actual boat. Reject a failed must-have explicitly rather than averaging it into an attractive overall score.

## Total cost of ownership worksheet

Set a common period of [___] years and workload of [___] actual trip/engine hours. Keep launch cash, monthly cash flow and economic ownership views separate.

- Purchase/access price and evidence: __________
- Down payment and owner cash: __________
- Financed principal/fees and loan assumptions: __________
- Cash-paid closing, survey and professional costs: __________
- Initial refit, gear, electronics and safety items: __________
- Permissions/acquisition costs, with unknowns visible: __________
- Insurance, dock/storage and storm arrangements: __________
- Scheduled maintenance by actual workload: __________
- Known repairs separate from unscheduled allowance: __________
- Haulout, towing and system/gear replacement: __________
- Nonrevenue positioning/preparation costs: __________
- Downtime, lost service and customer-refund cash: __________
- Eventual resale assumption, source and uncertainty: __________
- Owner capital/opportunity-cost treatment: __________
- Conservative/base/optimistic cash result: __________

Do not count full financed purchase price and loan principal repayments twice in the same economic view. A projected resale value is not cash available for today's repair. Obtain appropriate accounting help for depreciation, tax and reporting treatment.

## Acceptance and defect schedule

For each material finding record observation/evidence, qualified scope, operating consequence, quote, responsible payer, completion date, verification and purchase condition. Mark launch-blocking, planned or cosmetic separately. Keep an additional allowance for unidentified uncertainty; do not hide known required work inside a generic contingency.

Final decision: __________
Evidence still needed before commitment: __________
Person responsible and next review: __________