The Hullteam sale file: what it contains, how the buyer checks it

A Hullteam sale file is a public page, opened by a link, that the seller generates from their maintenance log on the day they put their boat up for sale. It is frozen: what the buyer reads there on a given date will not change, and a fingerprint guarantees its integrity. This guide explains what it contains, what it proves, what it does not prove, and how to check it without trusting anyone — not even Hullteam.

What the file contains

• A badge: verified or documented. The word “verified” is only used if the ownership of the boat has been checked against the registration document, if the log’s chain is intact, and if it has been timestamped by a third party. Otherwise, the file is “documented”: the content is the same, the guarantee is weaker, and it says so.
• The boat record: builder, model, year, length, hull number, registration, MMSI and VHF call sign if filled in, CE design category, engines with their serial number and their hours.
• The proof score, out of 100, frozen when the file is generated, with its components: ownership, jobs, sealing, safety, engines, file documents, identity.
• The summary of proofs: how many jobs, and how many are declared, documented, or confirmed by a professional.
• The maintenance log line by line, with for each line the date, the nature of the work, who did it, the level of proof, and any gap between the declared date and the date of entry (“entered retroactively”).
• The documents the seller has chosen to attach: invoices, reports, survey. Personal administrative documents (the registration document, for example) are not included by default.
• The declared safety inventory (lifejackets, fire extinguishers, flares, liferaft) with the expiry dates.
• The status notes where they apply: title in the name of a finance company (LOA, a French form of leasing) — the sale goes through it; title in several names — all must sign.
• The file’s fingerprint, at the bottom of the page: it covers everything above, and can be verified on the verification page. The fingerprints of sealed jobs also carry a timestamp token.

What the file proves

It proves who declared what, on what date, with what document as support, and that nothing has been changed since. Each job in the log carries two dates: the date of the work, declared by the owner, and the date of entry, which is proven. A job entered long after its date is marked as such: nothing is hidden, but nothing is embellished either.

The three levels of proof are calculated, not chosen:

• Declared: the owner entered it, without a document.
• Documented: an invoice, a receipt or a dated photo is attached; the issuer of an invoice is checked against the French business register.
• Confirmed by the professional: the boatyard that did the work confirmed it through a link sent by Hullteam, without having to create an account.

The guide which proofs count explains each of these levels and their limits.

What the file does not prove

It does not prove that the work was done well, nor that the boat is in good condition today. Nobody can certify that remotely. An invoice for a haul-out proves that a haul-out was invoiced on that date; it says nothing about the osmosis the surveyor may find. The file replaces the seller’s word with dated, sealed documents; it does not replace the viewing, the sea trial or the survey. It is an instrument of trust, not a guarantee.

Nor does it prove that what is not in it did not happen. A seller may not have entered everything; a sensible buyer asks why a period is empty.

How the buyer checks it

You can check a file without an account and without trusting Hullteam:

• Open the file’s link. The page shows the date it was generated and the version number: ask the seller whether a more recent version exists.
• Compare the record with the real boat: hull number engraved, registration on the hull and on the title, engine serial number on the plate.
• Open the attached documents and check that the invoices match the lines in the log (date, boatyard, amount if shown).
• Look at the levels of proof line by line, not just the summary: a “declared” engine service does not carry the weight of one “confirmed by the pro”.
• On the Verify a fingerprint page, paste the file’s fingerprint (at the bottom of the file): it covers everything you read — boat record, engines, equipment, jobs, attached documents — and proves that nothing has moved since it was frozen. Then paste the fingerprint of a sealed line: it also gives the date on which it was timestamped by a third party, and the timestamp token to download.
• With the seller, ask to see the log “live” if a line catches your eye: the file is a snapshot, the log carries on living.

Third-party timestamping, in a nutshell

Each sealed line of the log carries a fingerprint (a cryptographic digest) that depends on the previous line: changing an old line would break the whole chain. Every night, Hullteam calculates a root fingerprint of all the chains and has it timestamped by an independent timestamping service, under the RFC 3161 standard. The token produced proves that this fingerprint existed on that date — and therefore that the lines it covers were not written after the fact. The seller cannot backdate, and neither can Hullteam.

For the seller: versions, price, duration

• The log is free. The seller pack (verified sale file and listing) costs €49 once (launch price), for one boat, or €99 with Plus (featured listing, ready-to-paste texts, price estimate, review); prices are on the terms of sale page.
• The file is versioned: if you add a job after generating it, you generate a new version, included. Old versions remain viewable through their link, unless you revoke them.
• You choose the attached documents. Your contact details do not appear on the page; buyers write to you through a form if you have marked the boat “for sale”.
• On transfer of the boat, the buyer receives the entire log and a transfer certificate; your sale files are revoked automatically.
• The file can be saved as a PDF from the browser (printing), for a buyer who wants a copy or for the broker.

Selling? The guide selling your used boat describes everything to prepare beforehand. Buying? The buying checklist goes with you to the viewing.