For Yacht Owners & Captains

Custom Yacht
Operations Manuals

Crews change. Your vessel's knowledge stays aboard. A manual written for your yacht: her systems, her panels, her procedures, from the engine room to the pilot house.

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Give your yacht its own bible

Crew changed again?

No handover. No notes. Every system learned on the fly. That costs time, and missed maintenance costs money.

A custom operational manual is written for your vessel and branded to her: system schematics, pre-departure checklists, step-by-step procedures, and your real panels, photographed and labeled.

Contact us for pricing

Every manual is written for one boat, so pricing is quoted per vessel. Tell Greg the boat and he will come back with a price.

Request Pricing (954) 881-5500

What Is a Yacht Operations Manual?

A yacht operations manual, or vessel operating manual, is one document that explains how a specific boat works and how to run her: which systems she carries, how they connect, and the exact steps to start, transfer and shut them down. Builder and equipment manuals describe each component on its own. A custom manual describes your boat as she is installed, with your own panels and your own procedures.

Why Owners and Captains Have One Written

On most yachts, the knowledge of how the boat really runs lives in one person's head: the captain or engineer who has run her for years. When that person leaves, it leaves with them.

No handoverThe outgoing captain is gone before the new one arrives, and nothing is written down.
Learned on the flyThe new crew discovers each system one alarm at a time. That costs time.
Missed maintenanceWhat nobody knew to check does not get checked. That costs money.

What Is Inside the Manual

Sample pages from a manual written for a motor yacht. Every section is drawn, photographed and written for the vessel it sits aboard.

Custom vessel operations manual cover, Main Engine Start and Command Transfer, branded to the vessel
Branded to your vesselHer name on the cover, written for her and nobody else.
Fuel system schematic page showing tanks, transfer and engine supply with equipment list
Fuel system schematicsFuel, tanks and transfer, with equipment list and operating notes.
Propulsion and sea water cooling schematic page for main engines, gears and generators
Propulsion & coolingEngines, gears and sea water cooling, drawn as they are plumbed.
Hydraulic steering and control schematic from helm stations to the rudders
Steering & controlHydraulics from every helm station to the rudders.
Pre-departure checklist page with general safety and fuel system check items
Pre-departure checklistsEvery system, every time, signed off before getting under way.
Procedure page for switching power from shore to generators with photographs of the vessel's own panels
Your real panels, labeledPhotographs of the boat's own screens and switches beside each step.
Step-by-step main engine start procedure from the engine room local operating panel
Step-by-step proceduresEngines, generators and power transfer, in the order they are done.
Stabilizer procedure page for turning on and selecting adaptive mode, with screen photographs
Stabilizers, autopilot & moreEvery system aboard that a new crew needs to run on day one.

How a Manual Gets Written

Your boat, your systemsThe manual starts from the vessel herself, not from a model or a template.
Drawn and photographedSystems are drawn as schematics and the real panels are photographed and labeled.
Written step by stepProcedures and checklists in the order the crew actually performs them.
Delivered brandedA finished manual with your yacht's name on it, kept aboard for every crew that follows.

Who writes the manuals?

The manuals are written by Capt. Brian Larrosa of BL Yachts, which specializes in custom operational manuals for yachts. Double G Yacht Sales offers the service to owners and captains and handles pricing and scheduling. Greg Gaus spent more than 20 years as a working captain before brokering yachts, and knows what a crew needs on paper when the boat changes hands.

My yacht came with builder manuals. Why a custom one?

Builder and equipment manuals cover each component on its own: the engine, the generator, the stabilizers. They rarely show how those pieces are installed and connected on your boat, or in what order to operate them from the engine room to the pilot house and wing stations. A custom manual puts that in writing.

How does it help with a crew change?

A new captain or crew member has the schematics, the checklists and the procedures from day one, matched to photographs of the panels in front of them, instead of learning each system on the fly.

Does it help when the yacht is sold?

A manual written for the vessel gives the new owner and the new captain a clear record of how the boat is set up and how she runs, which makes the handover after a sale simpler. If you are thinking of selling, Greg can also tell you what your yacht is worth today, and if she needs yard work first, see refit management.

How much does a custom operations manual cost?

Each manual is written for one vessel, so pricing depends on the boat and the systems covered. Contact Greg for pricing on your yacht.

Contact Us for Pricing

Give Your Yacht
Its Own Bible

Send the boat's name, builder and length. Greg will come back with pricing for a manual written for her. Call (954) 881-5500 or email greg@doublegyachtsales.com.

Request Pricing