A delivery or a long passage asks more of a yacht than a season of day trips. Engines run for hours at steady load, generators run day and night, fuel comes from different ports, and the crew is tired by the time the lines go ashore. Whether you've come from the Côte d'Azur, from Sardinia or across from the Atlantic, the first two days in Mallorca are the best time to find what the passage has worn.
This is the checklist we'd work through on a visiting yacht before her first guests come aboard.
Before you arrive: send the list ahead
The most useful thing a captain can do is send a short defect list while still at sea. Note anything that alarmed, leaked, vibrated or behaved differently during the passage, with running hours and photos. If you book a service online before you arrive, our AI technical intake will ask the follow-up questions and we can line up parts and the right technician for when you're alongside.
Day one: walk the engine room cold
Once the engines have cooled, look before you start anything.
- Leaks. Oil, coolant, fuel and seawater under each engine, gearbox and generator. A passage at steady load often shows up a weeping hose clamp or gasket that a day trip never would.
- Belts and hoses. Glazing, cracking or dust from belts; soft or swollen coolant hoses.
- Engine and gearbox mounts. Cracked rubber or movement, especially if there was vibration on the way.
- Bilges. Note the level and where any water is coming from. Fresh or salt makes a big difference.
- Exhaust system. Look along wet exhaust hoses and mixing elbows for salt deposits or soot, which point to leaks.
Fuel: the passage's biggest unknown
Taking fuel in several ports increases the chance of water or contamination.
- Drain the water separators and note how much water came out of each.
- Look at the primary filters. Dark or blocked elements after one passage mean the tanks are carrying something that will reach the engines again.
- Check the filter differential gauges, where fitted, and change elements before they reach the limit, not after.
- If you saw fuel-related alarms or power loss on the way, tell us. Fuel polishing or a tank inspection may save an injector problem later.
Cooling and seawater
Mallorca's water is clear, but the seawater intakes still collect weed, plastic and loose Posidonia leaves, especially in sandy anchorages.
- Clean all seawater strainers: main engines, generators, air conditioning and watermaker.
- Check impellers if the engines ran hot on the way, or if the impeller hours are close to the service interval.
- Look at anodes on heat exchangers and running gear; a long passage after a period in a warmer marina can use them faster than expected.
Generators
On a long passage the generators may have run more hours than in a month of normal use.
- Compare running hours against service intervals and bring forward the oil and filter change if needed.
- Load-test each set and check that the changeover to shore power works.
- On yachts with two generators, check that load-sharing or changeover works both ways.
Shore power
Spain's grid is 230 V, 50 Hz. Yachts built for 60 Hz, including many American-built or American-specified yachts, need a shore-power converter or frequency isolation transformer; plugging straight in can damage motors, compressors and chargers. Check the berth's socket type and amperage with the marina before connecting, and inspect the shore cable and plug for heat damage after the first night.
Stabilisers, steering and hydraulics
- Run the stabilisers through their self-test, then underway and, for zero-speed systems, at anchor. Note any alarms and look for hydraulic oil around the actuators.
- Check the steering from lock to lock and look at the hydraulic reservoir level.
- Run the passerelle, crane and bathing platform through their full travel before guests need them.
Air conditioning and watermakers
After a long passage at sea temperature, the first warm days in port test the AC.
- Clean the AC seawater strainers and check the seawater pumps for air locks; our guide to air conditioning in August explains why seawater flow matters so much.
- Don't start the watermaker in harbour water. If its output or salinity changed during the passage, see the watermaker guide.
Anchoring around Mallorca
Visiting crews are sometimes surprised by the rules. Under Decree 25/2018, anchoring on Posidonia seagrass is generally prohibited in Balearic waters; anchor on sand or use an authorised buoy. The Balearic government's Posidonia map shows where the meadows are.
When to call us
If the list turns up more than the crew can deal with before the guests arrive, call +34 971 251 374 or WhatsApp +34 674 427 692. We work across Mallorca, and our main engine service, generator and stabiliser pages explain each type of work in more detail. Every builder page in yacht service by builder lists the published machinery for the yachts we look after.