Sooner or later every insured vessel meets the findings list: the surveyor’s schedule of defects that must be corrected as a condition of cover. For owners in the Komodo fleet the practical question is simple — can these be closed locally, how fast, and with what proof? The answer for most findings is yes, in one lay period, with documentation your insurer accepts. Here is how insurance survey repairs actually run at a Labuan Bajo yard.
What Insurers’ Surveyors Flag Most Often
Across the local fleet the recurring findings are remarkably consistent. Below the waterline: weeping seams, tired caulking, wasted fastenings, overdue anodes and seized or corroded seacocks. In the machinery space: unsupported fuel lines, missing drip trays, exhaust lagging and bilge pumping arrangements. Electrical: unfused circuits, undersized cable, chocolate-block joints in wet spaces — the classic work of our marine electrician pages. Safety: expired flares, rafts out of service date and extinguishers overdue. None of this is exotic; it is deferred maintenance with a deadline attached, and the same list a good hull inspection would have produced a season earlier.
Reading the Findings List Like a Work List
The first move is triage on paper. Each finding is classified: needs the vessel ashore, can be done afloat, or is a paperwork item (certificates, servicing records). Time-bound wording matters — “prior to next use” is different from “within 90 days” — and ambiguous findings are clarified with the surveyor before quoting, not after the work. We then map the ashore items onto a slipway booking around the next workable tide window, order parts through spare parts sourcing, and sequence trades so the lay period closes everything in one visit rather than two.
Closing Findings the Way Insurers Like to See
An insurance repair is only finished when it is provable. Our standard is the same one used for absentee-owner work: photograph each finding before, during and after; keep material and parts receipts against each line; and record who did the work and when. Seam and fastening findings on wooden hulls go to the phinisi shipwrights with the surveyor invited to inspect open seams before they are payed. Where re-attendance is required, our survey support desk schedules the surveyor against the yard’s finish date — and that attendance network now stretches beyond Flores, with owners using it in Bali, Lombok and Raja Ampat as well. The close-out file goes to the insurer as one package.
Budgeting: What Closing a List Typically Costs
Costs follow the findings, but the usual shape is predictable. The haul-out itself runs indicatively USD 1,500–4,000 with hardstand days at USD 40–150; seam and caulking work is priced by the metre after the hammer test; fastening renewals per item; seacock replacements and anodes are modest line items that punch far above their cost in risk terms. A typical mid-list — a dozen findings on a working phinisi — commonly closes in four figures total. Structural findings that exceed local capacity are escalated honestly to the bigger facilities in our Indonesian repair yard network, and owners planning larger staged works can fold findings into the refit portfolio approach described in our yacht refit guide.
Turning a Findings List into an Asset
A closed findings list is more than restored cover. The before-and-after file becomes part of the vessel’s documented history — the record that shortens the next renewal survey, supports a stronger position at sale alongside a pre-purchase survey, and proves to charter clients that the boat is kept properly. Owners who treat the surveyor as an early-warning system, and close findings during scheduled lay periods rather than deadline weeks, consistently spend less over a hull’s life. That is the quiet economics of maintenance done on purpose.
Frequently Asked Questions
How quickly can a findings list be closed in Labuan Bajo?
Paperwork and afloat items start immediately; ashore items close within one slipway lay period, typically one to three weeks depending on the list and parts lead times. The tide calendar and surveyor re-attendance are the usual scheduling constraints.
Will my insurer accept repairs done by a Labuan Bajo yard?
Insurers accept repairs that are competently done and properly evidenced. We provide the before-and-after photo file, receipts and, where required, surveyor sign-off on completion — the documentation standard is exactly what underwriters ask for.
Can you deal with the surveyor directly on my behalf?
Yes. With your authorisation we clarify ambiguous findings, agree repair methods before work starts, and schedule re-inspection against the yard’s completion date, copying you on everything so the file stays yours.
What happens if a finding cannot be repaired locally?
We say so early and plan the alternative: a temporary measure agreed with the surveyor where appropriate, and passage to a larger partner yard for the permanent repair, coordinated so cover and class status are protected throughout.
Holding a findings list right now? Message WhatsApp +62 811 3823 875 or email sales@komodoluxury.com with the surveyor’s schedule of defects — or use our contact page — and we will return an itemised USD quote within one business day. Visiting vessels can see the wider work scope at yacht shipyard services.