Choosing a manager or concierge service for your boat

When you live far from your harbour, sail only a few weeks a year or want to rent out your boat, handing its care to a professional on site soon becomes the sensible solution. Three related trades share this work: technical management, concierge services and rental management. None of them is a regulated profession: everything depends on the contract, on the way the professional reports back, and on how far you can trust them with the boat’s keys. This guide helps you compare, without recommending anyone.

1. What this professional does (and does not do)

• The technical manager looks after your boat’s maintenance: keeps track of due dates, carries out inspection rounds, prepares winterising and relaunching, asks for quotes, brings in the mechanic, the boatyard or the sail loft, and reports back to you. Some do part of the work themselves.
• The concierge service keeps an eye on the boat in the harbour: mooring lines, fenders, bilge pumps, batteries, covers, a visit after a gale; cleaning, preparation before you arrive, small jobs.
• The rental manager rents out your boat: listings, bookings, welcoming renters, check-in and check-out inspections, deposit, cleaning, and paying the income over to you under a mandate.

What they do not do: they replace neither your insurance nor a marine surveyor, and they do not decide on major work or on the sale in your place. A manager is not always a mechanic: ask who actually does the work, and how it is invoiced.

2. The right criteria for choosing

• Presence in the harbour and responsiveness: how often do they come by, how quickly can they be on board after a gale or an alarm, and who stands in for them when they are on holiday?
• Experience of your type of boat: sailboat, motorboat, catamaran; the number of boats they already look after.
• An identifiable business (SIRET number, Kbis extract or entry in the national business register, which can be checked free of charge in the official business directory).
• Professional liability insurance: ask for the certificate, and whether it covers keeping the keys and handling the boat when they move it (to the yard, to the fuel dock).
• A written contract: the services included, how often the rounds take place, what is charged on top, the amount above which they must ask for your agreement, the duration, termination and what happens at the end of the contract (keys, documents).
• Reports: a message after each round or each job, with photos, and a regular summary.
• Transparency about tradespeople: do they pass on their quotes and invoices to you? Do they take a commission on the work they coordinate? That is legitimate, provided it is in writing.
• For rental management: who sets the price and the calendar, how renters are chosen (experience, licence), who holds the deposit, who pays for wear and extra maintenance, how often the income is paid over to you. Check with your insurer that renting is indeed covered, and find out what the rules require of a rented boat and how the income is taxed.

3. The questions to ask

• How many rounds a month, and what do you check each time?
• How quickly can you be on board in an emergency? Who stands in for you?
• Who has the keys, who goes on board, and how will I know?
• What amount can you commit without my agreement?
• The work: do you do it yourself or call on tradespeople? Will you pass on their quotes and invoices to me?
• Will I receive a report with photos after each visit?
• Does your insurance cover looking after the boat and moving it?
• How do I terminate the contract, and with how much notice?
• For rentals: what commission, what fixed fees, what statement of bookings and sums collected?

4. Reading a quote or a contract

A manager’s proposal often takes the form of a contract rather than a quote. It should state clearly:

• The services and how often they are provided (rounds, winterising, cleaning, preparation before sailing).
• The price: a monthly or yearly flat fee, or per job; what is charged on top (hours, travel, supplies, tradespeople’s work).
• The spending ceiling without your agreement, and how they ask for that agreement.
• The duration, renewal and notice of termination.
• The professional’s insurance, the keeping of the keys, the reports.
• For rental management: the commission rate, the costs borne by the owner, the payment schedule.

Warning signs: a “full boat management” with no list of what it includes, no spending ceiling, no reports provided for, a long term that is hard to terminate, a mandate that authorises them to commit major work or to sell the boat without your agreement.

5. The signs that should make you walk away

• They refuse to sign a written contract.
• They keep the tradespeople’s invoices (“I’ll take care of it”): without them, you have no proof of your boat’s maintenance.
• They never send photos or reports, or remain vague about what has been done.
• They ask for large advance payments without supporting documents.
• You do not know who goes on board or who has the keys.
• In rental management, they do not give you the details of bookings and sums collected.

A single sign does not condemn a professional; several together should send you looking elsewhere.

6. Finding a pro near your harbour

The Hullteam map of pros shows, trade by trade, where marine professionals are located: tick the trades you are interested in and move the map to your harbour. Each trade also has its own page, area by area, with each professional’s listing — all of them are gathered on the all trades page. A listing marked “Registered on Hullteam” shows a professional who has opened a Hullteam account.

7. Keeping a record of the work

In Hullteam, you can give your manager access to your boat’s log: they see and complete the technical and safety part — jobs, due dates, rounds — without access to your private papers or to the amounts of other invoices. You choose their level of access, and you can withdraw it at any time; Hullteam can send you a monthly report of their work. For each job, also insist on a detailed invoice in the boat’s name: that is what will count as proof at resale. The guide on which proofs count explains why.