Check-in guide

Catamaran charter check-in: what a monohull checklist misses

Updated 2026-09-28

A charter catamaran has parts a monohull does not have, and two of most of the rest. A checklist written for a monohull skips the trampoline, the bridgedeck, the davits and the second engine, and those are where a catamaran check-in takes its time. The generic catamaran checklist in Dockproof has 68 items and asks for at least 88 photos; the monohull one has 57 and 69.

Why the catamaran check-in deserves the extra hour

The deposit on a catamaran is higher. Sunsail publishes a deposit of $8,005 for a 42 to 44 ft catamaran without its damage waiver, against $6,175 for a 40 to 49 ft monohull; with the waiver, the daily fee is $140 on that catamaran against $90 on the monohull (Sunsail, Yacht Damage Waiver). The waiver does not cover damage caused by negligence (The Moorings, Yacht Damage Waiver), so the check-in record matters with or without it.

Items a monohull checklist does not have

Trampoline net and its lashings

Walk on the trampoline and photograph the whole net, then the edge seams. Then photograph the lacing lines that hold the net to the hulls and the crossbeam, one side at a time. The net lies where the anchor chain runs and where the crew sits in the sun, and a frayed lacing is easy to miss once the net is under someone’s towel. Say so at check-in if any lacing is chafed: it is the line that holds the net.

Bows and stems

Photograph each stem close up, from the pontoon or from the dinghy. When a catamaran berths stern-to in a tight marina, its two bows swing close to the boats on each side, and the stems are the first part to touch. On a monohull the bow is one point on the centreline; here there are two, far apart.

Bridgedeck underside

Crouch on the pontoon and photograph the underside of the bridgedeck between the hulls. Waves slam there, and it is a surface nobody looks at from on board.

Bathing ladders, both

Lower each ladder fully and photograph it extended and folded. Ladders bend when people climb out in a swell. There are two, so there are two sets of photos, and one overall shot of the sterns does not show which ladder has the bend.

Flybridge or raised helm

On a flybridge cat, photograph the console with the screens on, set up the canopy and photograph its seams and zips, and count and lift the seat cushions. Everything up there is in full sun: check whether the instrument plastics are crazed. Some cats have a raised helm on the bulkhead instead; the Lagoon 42 guide shows how that changes the items.

Cockpit enclosure

If the cockpit has a canvas and clear-plastic enclosure, set it up and photograph the windows. Clear plastic scratches when it is folded badly, and the scratches are hard to see unless the panel is up and the light is behind it.

Gennaker on a fixed bowsprit

The gennaker or Code 0 sets on a fixed sprit ahead of the trampoline. Photograph the sprit, its fitting on the crossbeam, and the sail bag with its label. A sprit that sticks out past the bows is exposed in a tight berth.

Davits and the dinghy hanging on them

Photograph both davits and where they mount on the arch or the stern. Photograph the dinghy hoisted and again in the water, inside and out, with its serial number: hoisted, you cannot see the floor. Photograph the hoisting lines and blocks too. A monohull tows its dinghy or carries it on deck; on a catamaran the davits and the arch carry its weight, in any sea.

Galley up, and the saloon door

The galley is on the bridgedeck, level with the saloon. Photograph the worktop and open the lockers: a burn or a knife mark on the worktop is in plain view. Photograph the track of the sliding saloon door, which takes the full weight of the door every time it is opened.

Items that come in pairs

A catamaran doubles most systems, and each copy needs its own photo. “Engine, OK” on a catamaran is half a record.

The full catamaran walk, in order

1. Hulls and topsides from the pontoon: four faces, both bows, the bridgedeck underside, both rudders, both saildrives, both ladders, both transoms.
2. Deck and trampoline: the net, its lashings, the foredeck cushions, the coachroof and side decks, the stanchions, the passerelle, and every hatch.
3. Rig and sails: mast and boom, the standing rigging by hand, the mainsail, the genoa or jib unfurled, the gennaker and its sprit, the winches and their handles, the clutches.
4. Flybridge or helm station: the console lit, the canopy up, the cushions counted.
5. Cockpit: cushions, lockers and table, the emergency tiller, the enclosure.
6. Engines and bilges: both engines, both hour meters, both bilges, the seacocks, the tank gauges.
7. Cabins and saloon: the saloon and door track, then each cabin in each hull.
8. Heads and galley: each heads, the galley worktop, the stove and fridge, the crockery on the table.
9. Electronics: plotter, autopilot, VHF, the switch panel and voltmeter, the shore power cable.
10. Safety: the liferaft label, the lifejackets counted, flares and extinguishers.
11. Loose inventory: davits, the dinghy hoisted and afloat, the hoisting tackle, the outboard started at the pontoon, the oars and pump, booked extras, papers and keys.

For how to take each photo so it still helps a week later, and what to do with what you find, see the bareboat charter checklist.

Doing a catamaran check-in with Dockproof

Choose the Lagoon 42 or the generic catamaran checklist when you start, and the app gives you the catamaran walk: one screen per item, port and starboard as separate items, and a plan of the boat that shows what is left to check. It works in airplane mode on the pontoon. Each photo is stored with its time, its position and its SHA-256 digest, and closing the check-in with a connection anchors the digests on the server: a record neither party can change after the fact. At check-out, each check-in photo appears beside the new one.