Customize your checklists.

How to · 5 November 2026

You already know how a boat's checklist is put together from universal checkpoints, equipment and per-boat notes. That is in how boat inspection checklists are built. This guide is the other half: how to change the checklist itself. Reword a question, add one your yard always asks, change how bad a failure is, and decide who on your team is allowed to do it.

Two places to edit, two different reaches

• Checklists (the company templates). A change here is for every boat in that size class, from the next check onward.
• The boat's own checklist. A change here affects only that boat.

Pick the template when the change is how your company inspects. Pick the boat when one hull is different.

Open the company templates

In the Menu, under Your company, open Inspection settings, then Edit checklists ("Set check questions by boat size"). The screen is titled Checklists and shows one card per size class, with its length range and the boats in it. A boat gets the checklist for its length, and its equipment then decides which of those questions it sees.

Each card has a pill. v3 means version 3 is published. draft means changes are waiting. If a class has no template yet, the card offers Create a checklist. Otherwise tap Edit checklist.

Edit a template

The template screen lists sections, and each section lists its checkpoints. Edits save themselves into a draft. Nothing changes for your techs until you publish, and a report an owner already has cannot change underneath them.

1. Tap a checkpoint's title to rename it, or expand it to see everything about it.
2. Write Instructions: what good looks like, or how to test it. These show on every boat. Where the item sits on one particular hull goes on that boat's own checklist instead.
3. Set How bad is it if this fails. The four tiers are critical (sinks or burns the boat, or hurts someone), major (strands the boat or costs thousands), moderate (annoying, still safe) and cosmetic (noticed, nothing breaks). Each shows its points.
4. Choose How it is answered: pick from options, write something, enter a number, or rate one to five.
5. For pick-from-options, tag each Answer option as pass, watch or action. That tag is what makes the score work, so the tech picks what is true and never grades anything. Tap + Add an option for more.
6. Switch on photo required if the tech must take one, or more than one option can be true where answers can stack.
7. Under Which boats see this, leave it on "Every boat in this class" or choose "Only boats carrying" a type of equipment. A gated checkpoint drops off a boat that does not carry the kit, and out of its score with it. This is how you handle a question that only makes sense for some boats. There is no N/A answer to fall back on.

The arrows move a checkpoint or a whole section. Duplicate copies one. The cross removes it from this template, and asks you to tap again to confirm. A checkpoint you remove stays in the library, under "in the library but not on this template", with an Add button to bring it back.

Add a checkpoint of your own

1. In the section where it belongs, tap + Add a checkpoint. (+ Add a section at the bottom makes a new section first.)
2. Type what the tech is checking, such as "Shore power inlet".
3. Expand it and set the tier, the answer options, and any photo requirement as above.
4. Tap Preview at the top to see it the way a tech will meet it, then Back to editing.

Publish when you are ready

Tap Publish v and the next number, write a few words about what changed, and tap Publish. Checks already finished keep the version they ran against. Checks from then on use the new one. If there is nothing waiting, the screen says so.

Change one boat only

Open the boat, tap the Menu, and choose This boat's checklist. Each checkpoint has an On or Off switch. Turning one on that is not in the boat's size class adds it, and the row says "added to this boat". Turning one off says "removed from this boat". Tap the switch again to go back to the normal rules. A new question is written on the class template, not here. The same screen has the place picker and the where-it-is note for each checkpoint, which the earlier guide covers.

One thing to know: the section arrows on this screen set the walk order, and the screen says that order is shared with every other boat, because the walk is the same shape whatever its length.

Who can change what

Owners and admins can edit the company templates. A tech sees Edit checklists only if the owner has given them the permission to edit templates. The boat's own checklist is governed by a separate permission, to edit checklists. Contractors and viewers cannot edit either. If you cannot find the screen or the switches do nothing, ask an owner to check your permissions. Add techs and permissions shows where that is set. The "Runs checks" preset leaves both off, and "Everything" turns both on.

Common questions

Why don't I see Edit checklists in my Menu?
It is for owners and admins, and for techs the owner has given the edit-templates permission. Ask an owner or admin.

I changed a question but my techs still see the old one.
Template edits save into a draft. Open the template and tap Publish. Checks started from then on use the new version.

Does changing a template change reports I already sent?
No. Checks already finished keep the version they ran against, and publishing applies from the next check onward.

One boat does not have a generator. Should I mark the question N/A?
No. There is no N/A. Fix the boat's equipment profile so it does not list a generator, and the generator questions drop off its checklist. See setting up your first boat.

Can I add a question for just one boat?
Not as a brand new question from the boat's own checklist. There you turn library checkpoints on or off for that boat. To write a new question, add it to the class template, and gate it to boats carrying a type of equipment if only some should see it.

See the checklists page for the library, and how the boat health score works for what each tier is worth.

More how-to guides

• Getting started with YachtGrade
• Put YachtGrade on your home screen
• Trouble signing in
• Join your company from an invite
• Settings and language
• Add a boat and build its equipment profile
• Set up a boat by walking it
• Equipment, engine hours and parts
• Documents and renewals
• Photos and the cover photo
• Set up a boat inspection checklist
• Run a boat inspection on your phone
• Photos and answers with no signal
• How the boat health score works
• Show boat owners what changed
• QR codes and maintenance by engine hours
• Findings and the to-do list
• Finish a check and send the report
• Answer checks by voice
• Photos not uploading
• Make a fire and safety plan
• Maintenance schedules
• Add techs and set permissions
• Teams and assigning work
• Schedule visits on the calendar
• Send owners a list to approve
• Give boat owners access
• Vendors and estimates
• Your logo and email on reports
• Fleet trends and reviews
• Export your data and billing
• Remove or archive a boat
• Common questions and fixes

YachtGrade was designed by a USCG 100-ton captain who spent five years managing, detailing, running and selling boats in South Florida, after four years building IT systems for businesses. Who built it →