For anyone buying a used boat they found online
Walk the boat before you pay.
Found a boat in an online listing? Check that its hull identification number reads right, then walk it at the dock item by item on your phone: paperwork, hull, engine, trailer and water test. Get a findings sheet that shows the walk-away signals and the questions to put to the seller and your surveyor.
Buyer Pass $1.95 a month or $19.50 a year · Free during preview · what it buys
ABC12345B526
A made-up number: maker code ABC, serial 12345, built February 2025, model year 2026. Read by the same rules as the HIN Check.
Three stops at the dock
From the listing to a written list of questions
Check the HIN
Type the 12 characters from the hull plate. See the maker code, serial, build month and model year, and whether anything in the format does not add up, by the Coast Guard's own format rule.
Open the HIN CheckWalk it at the dock
A checklist built for your boat: fiberglass, aluminum or wood; outboard, sterndrive, inboard or sail; with or without a trailer. Mark each item OK, Concern or Fail at the dock.
Build a checklistKnow what to ask
Your findings sheet lists walk-away signals first, then every concern as a question for the seller, your surveyor or your mechanic. Print it or keep it in your notebook.
Read the red flags
Boat Notebook
Shopping more than one boat? Keep a Boat Notebook
A private Boat Notebook keeps every boat you look at: its HIN, asking price, walkthrough marks and notes, kept each time you press Save, over several visits. No account and no email: you keep a private link.
Buyer Pass
Pricing
Free
$0
- HIN Check: read any 12-character hull identification number, as often as you like (nothing is stored)
- Dockside Walkthrough for any boat, with a findings sheet to print (nothing is stored)
- A private Boat Notebook that keeps 1 boat: its HIN, asking price, walkthrough marks and notes
Buyer Pass
$1.95 a month
or $19.50 a year (two months free)
- A Boat Notebook that keeps up to 10 boats while you shop
- Walk each boat over several visits: press Save and your marks and notes are kept for next time
- A printable findings sheet for each boat, for the seller, your surveyor or your own records
Free during preview: every Buyer Pass feature is on for everyone and nothing is charged.
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