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What happens to an answer that needs work, who it goes to, and how it closes.
An inspection is only useful if what it finds gets fixed, and fixing starts with knowing what is outstanding and whose job it is. This is what YachtGrade does with an answer that needs work, and how to run that list from the boat's To do tab.
Every answer on a checkpoint carries a rating. Pass, marked with a tick, means fine. Watch, marked with a warning triangle, means it is not a problem yet but someone should keep an eye on it. Action, marked with a cross, means it needs work. You do not pick a rating separately. You tap the answer that describes what you see, and that answer already knows which rating it is.
The rating also moves the score. Pass earns full credit, Watch earns half and Action earns none. If the item is one of the critical ones, Action also holds the boat's grade at Action required until it is cleared. That rule is explained in how the boat health score is calculated, so it is not repeated here.
Answer a checkpoint as Watch or Action and YachtGrade makes a finding from it. Nobody retypes anything. The finding is titled with the checkpoint's question, and for a question asked of each engine or unit, the unit's name is added, for example the strainer question with the port engine's name after it. The answers you tapped fill in the detail line.
If you change your mind during the same visit and tap a Pass instead, the open finding for that answer goes away. It only lasts as long as the answer does.
Open findings are sorted into five lists, in this order: Before it goes out, Now, Next haul-out, Paperwork and Watch. A new Action finding starts in Now. A new Watch finding starts in Watch. If a list is empty it is not shown, and a boat with nothing outstanding says "Nothing outstanding."
Each item shows what was found, the date it was found and the list it sits on. To move it, tap the list name on the item and pick another one. It is one tap, because a job that has to be done before the boat leaves the dock is not the same as one that can wait for the haul-out, and only the person looking at the boat knows which.
Under each item is an Assign to picker. It lists your people, then your teams. Pick one and it is saved straight away. Pick Not assigned to take it back. An item goes to one person or one team, not both. Teams are for a van crew of two, and you make them in Account under Teams.
The picker only appears for owners and admins, and for techs your owner has allowed to schedule visits. Everyone else sees a line reading "Assigned to" and the name. Contractors and viewers cannot assign work.
The person it was given to sees it on Today, under Assigned to you, so they do not have to go looking through boats. If the item was given to their team, everyone in that team sees it.
Tap Troubleshoot and suggest parts on an item, or See causes and parts once that has been run, to open the finding's own page. It shows the title, the detail, the list it is on and the photos taken with that answer. There is one thing there worth using on every job: Add what you saw. Type what you found on board and save it. Your note counts for more than the one line from a checklist.
The troubleshooting is an AI read of the finding and its photos. It lists likely causes, things to check before buying, and suggested parts. It is labeled as a suggestion and says to check it on the boat. For each part, tap Confirm when it is right, Edit to correct it, or Reject. Nothing is treated as a decision until a person confirms it.
There is no separate "mark as fixed" button on a finding that came from a check. It closes by being checked again. Next visit, ask the same question and answer Pass, and when you finish the check YachtGrade closes the earlier finding for that question on its own, and for that unit. It is stamped with the day it was resolved.
That means a fix is proved by someone looking at it, not by someone ticking a box. It also means a finding stays open if the next visit skips the question. A skipped checkpoint tells you nothing about the boat's condition, so it does not clear anything.
Notes you wrote by hand on the History tab are different. Those have a Done button, because nothing re-checks them.
The new report shows today's answer for each question first. A question that now passes shows as passing, and the old finding is closed before the report is frozen, so it is not listed as outstanding. Anything still open from earlier visits that this visit did not re-answer is listed under Still open from earlier visits, with the date it was reported.
For the owner, that is the story in one report: what is fine now, what is new, and what has been waiting. See show owners what changed between visits for how the report reads, and the reports page for a full example.
What is the difference between Watch and Action on a boat inspection?
Watch means it is not a problem yet but should be kept an eye on, and it earns half credit toward the score. Action means it needs work and earns none. Both become items on the boat's To do tab.
Where do I find what still needs fixing on a boat?
Open the boat and tap the To do tab. Open findings are sorted into Before it goes out, Now, Next haul-out, Paperwork and Watch.
Why can't I assign an item to a tech?
The Assign to picker appears for owners and admins, and for techs an owner has allowed to schedule visits. Contractors and viewers cannot assign work. Ask your owner to change your permission if you need it.
How do I mark a finding as fixed?
You check it again. Answer the same question as Pass on a later check and the earlier finding closes when you finish that check. It stays open if the question is skipped.
Will an assigned tech know about the item?
Yes. Items given to a person, or to their team, show on that person's Today screen under Assigned to you.
Setting up who is on your team and what they may do is covered in add techs and set permissions.
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 →
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This describes how the current YachtGrade app works. It is general guidance, not a survey and not a substitute for one.
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