Boat Insurance Top Tips

Before you leave her for the Winter months. A handy end of season checklist from our Claims Manager Bob Samuels at Admiral Yacht Insurance: With the UK and Northern European seasons drawing to a close, now is a good time to take stock with a notepad of everything that needs sorting as you watch her…

Bob Samuels, Admiral Yacht Insurance’s Claims Manager, writes : “We have had some unseasonably strong blows on the South Coast this year and whilst I was out in my Shrimper in Poole last weekend, it was very discouraging to see at least three well found yachts on moorings with the remains of shredde…

If you are a yacht owner or looking to become a yacht owner then one of the most important things on your list will be yacht insurance and how to ensure that the policy you sign up for fits both your sailing plans and your budgeting requirements. Is it a legal requirement to have Yacht Insurance in…

Some routine maintenance and simple installation improvements can help you avoid rig failure and a yacht insurance claim. Admiral Yacht Insurance has a number of tips to guide you. Amongst the most frequent yacht insurance claims are those relating to rig failures, many of which could be avoided. Ad…

First try developing your crew’s knotting skills. There are many well illustrated books on knotting, and websites complete with animations, to help expand your knowledge. The ability to master rolling hitches and a variety of bowlines could turn out to be a game changer in an emergency; the ability…

At this time of the year in Europe many yachts are laid up ashore, but in the Caribbean it is the end of the hurricane season and yachts are being put back in to commission. In both areas the same attention needs to be given to damp, security and bugs. Check for and fix any rain water leaks which wi…

When cruising amongst unfamiliar islands and discovering new shorelines,  you may have the benefit of a lifting keel or shallow draft catamaran enabling you to get closer inshore. These attributes may encourage you to venture closer in than you might have otherwise. Of course exploring somewhere new…

Modern yacht bows with their twin anchor rollers and stowed anchor flukes are ideal for digesting other yacht gelcoat and stanchions when they get to meet. The next time you enter an unfamiliar marina, or indeed your own, proceed with caution and watch for unexpected eddies and back wash that could…

Surprisingly masts and rigs collapse without warning and this can happen in the finest weather.  So look out and look up, and when the time comes to relax in the cockpit make a habit of examining your rig, and attend to anything unusual. Look down as well. If by chance there is a split pin or clevis…

Robert Holbrook, Managing Director of Admiral Yacht Insurance, is well placed to consider not only his own lessons from crossing the Pacific but also those accumulated by Admiral’s policyholders during their own adventures across the globe.  Many of the lessons learnt are as relevant in the Solent a…