What marine survey software should take off your plate
Most surveyors still run a survey across three tools: a notebook or voice memos on the boat, a camera roll, and a Word template back at the desk. The inspection takes a morning; the report takes the evening, retyping notes, renaming photos and checking that every recommendation made it into the summary.
SeaWorthy keeps all of it in one survey record from the moment you step aboard. Ratings, notes, photos, findings and the valuation are entered once, in the place they belong, and the report is assembled from that record. The aim is a survey that is finished, photographed and sent before you leave the dock, not a second shift at the desk.
The field workflow, start to finish
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Start from the vessel
Enter the vessel, the survey type and the client. Type the HIN and SeaWorthy fills the model year where the HIN states it, and looks the builder code up in the US Coast Guard manufacturer register.
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A checklist built for this boat
The checklist comes from the vessel's facts: sail or power, length, fuel, propulsion, US or Canada, and a few yes/no questions (LPG aboard? a generator? a liferaft?). A gasoline sterndrive and a diesel sloop get different lists.
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Rate, note and photograph, offline
Rate each item Satisfactory, Requires Service, Not Observed or Not Applicable. Take a photo from the item itself and draw on it to circle the problem before it saves. All of it works below deck with no signal.
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Findings and recommendations
Rating an item Requires Service opens the recommendation on the spot, with a safety flag and photos. Recommendations and observations are numbered for you, and safety items sort to the top of the report.
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Valuation in the same record
Record the fair market value range, replacement value, currency and exchange rate, your comparables and your reasoning beside the condition findings, not in a separate spreadsheet.
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Report in your name, sent from the app
Review flags anything missing, then sign, generate a PDF or an editable Word document with your logo and wording, and email it to the client with a copy to yourself.
The checklist SeaWorthy works from is public: see the pre-purchase boat survey checklist, with every section and item and which kinds of boat each one applies to.
Who it is for
SeaWorthy is built for independent, accredited marine surveyors (SAMS or NAMS members, or working to the same practice) who survey recreational sail and power boats in the United States and Canada. The core jobs are the pre-purchase survey, commissioned by a buyer, and the insurance condition-and-value survey. Both share one checklist and differ in how the report frames it. Appraisal and damage survey types are there too.
Small firms can invite colleagues as admins or surveyors and share one survey list, with each report signed by the surveyor who did the work. It is not designed for large commercial vessels.
Standards behind the checklist
122 of the 153 checklist items carry references to the standards and regulations a surveyor checks against, pointed at the specific clause where one exists. The rest are descriptive records (engine hours, hull material) or condition judgments no standard publishes, such as sail wear or joinery.
| Source | Referenced in the checklist |
|---|---|
| ABYC | 44 standards and technical information reports (for example H-27 seacocks, H-22 bilge pumps, E-11 AC and DC electrical systems) |
| US Coast Guard | 33 CFR parts 83, 151, 155, 175 and 183; 46 CFR part 25 |
| Transport Canada | TP 1332 Construction Standards for Small Vessels; Small Vessel Regulations (SOR/2010-91) |
| NFPA | NFPA 302, fire protection for pleasure and commercial motor craft |
| COLREGS | Rules 20–31 (lights and shapes) and Rule 33 (sound signalling equipment) |
| SOLAS | Chapter IV radiocommunications and the LSA Code, for EPIRBs and liferafts |
Each survey records which of these sources apply to it, and the checklist shows only those references. ABYC standards are licensed documents, so SeaWorthy cites them by code, clause and edition without reproducing their text; the Transport Canada documents open in full.
Built to work without signal
Boatyards, engine rooms and anchorages are where coverage drops, so the survey itself never depends on it. Every change is queued on the device and sent in order when a connection returns. If a change can't be delivered, it is kept and shown to you, never silently dropped, and an edit history lets you restore any field, finding or photo. Generating, signing and emailing the final report need a connection.
Pricing
SeaWorthy is free during the beta, and no card is needed to sign up. Paid plans will come later and will be announced ahead of time; surveyors who join during the beta stay free until it ends. It is under active development, so check every report before you send it, and tell us what breaks.
Questions surveyors ask
Does SeaWorthy work without a signal?
Yes, for the field work. Ratings, notes, findings, valuation and photos are saved on the device and sync on their own when a connection comes back. A change that can't be delivered is kept and shown to you, never silently dropped. Generating the final PDF or Word report, signing and emailing it need a connection, so you can finish those at the marina office or in the truck.
Which devices does it run on?
Any current phone, tablet or computer with a modern browser: iPhone, iPad, Android and desktop. It installs to the home screen like an app, and the same account and surveys are on every device. On iPhone and iPad, adding it to the home screen also keeps offline data safe from Safari's storage clean-up.
Can I export the report to Word and keep editing it?
Yes. Every survey generates both a PDF and an editable Word (.docx) document with the same sections, photos and sign-off, using real Word headings, tables and a table of contents.
Does it handle Canadian surveys?
Yes. Set the survey to Canada and the checklist brings in the Small Vessel Regulations safety equipment items, with references to Transport Canada's TP 1332 construction standard and the Small Vessel Regulations. US surveys get the US Coast Guard carriage requirements instead. Valuations can be recorded in Canadian or US dollars.
Can I make the report look like my current template?
Partly. Your logo, brand colour, firm contact block, credentials, signature, closing statement and the per-survey Purpose, Scope, Standards and Limitations paragraphs are all yours, and photos can sit beside their items or in a numbered appendix. The order of the report's sections is fixed today; custom sections and ordering are on the roadmap.
Who owns my surveys, and can I get them out?
You do. The Terms of Service say you keep ownership of all data, photos and reports you create. Every report downloads as PDF and Word, and you can ask for a copy of your data, or for your account to be deleted, by email at any time.
What does SeaWorthy cost?
Nothing during the beta, and no card is needed. Paid plans will come later, announced ahead of time, and surveyors who join during the beta stay free until it ends.