Superyacht Maintenance Guide: 10 Expert Yacht Maintenance & Repair Tips from Edmiston’s Luxury Yacht Services

Every responsible superyacht owner knows that continuous planned superyacht maintenance is essential in protecting your yacht investment in terms of performance, safety, and long-term value. From routine checks to annual yacht surveys, it’s a lot to stay on top of, which is where a luxury yacht management company like Edmiston comes in.

A technical management service will assist with the planning of survey schedules so as to deconflict with the Owner’s need of use of the yacht, plus oversee how religiously the crew plan, observe and execute the yacht’s maintenance routines.

To ensure your yacht remains seaworthy, in luxurious condition, and compliant with maritime regulations at all times, follow Edmiston’s top 10 guide to luxury yacht maintenance.

1. Develop a Planned Maintenance System

Continuous Planned Maintenance is crucial for preventing issues aboard your yacht before they arise. Even before receiving the keys to your yacht, you should be thinking about laying down the foundations for regular yacht surveys, updates, and thorough inspections through a professional Planned Maintenance System.

The regularity of the different types of maintenance yacht jobs – from engine servicing to luxury interior and exterior care to compliance and safety checks – depends on a few factors, based on your yacht’s size, and type, as well as how it is used, though manufacturers’ guidelines are often a good starting point and a good technical manager will know what’s needed.

Importantly, all of this information should be stored in a trusted Planned Maintenance System Software, such as IDEA or Deep Blue or the Owner’s preferred choice so that valuable records are not lost should whoever is in charge of the system move on from the yacht.

And don’t forget to make clear this yacht maintenance schedule is communicated to crew, so they can keep an eye on things and let you know should they spot something amiss.

2. Put time and resource aside for setting up your system

A well-researched, populated and executed maintenance database looks after the yacht on the Owner’s behalf in terms of reliability, availability and value. 

Installing a Planned Maintenance System on a yacht is a huge undertaking that requires trawling every aspect of the yacht and considering everything, from the part requirements to the scheduling of tasks. 

“While it may be tempting to give the responsibility of populating the database to a member of your existing crew, the chances are they will already be at capacity, so it’s worth getting a contractor in,” says Scott Slavin, Edmiston’s Technical Manager.

“Your chief engineer will no doubt do their best, but with so many other jobs to do, will their best be good enough? It’s worth remembering that the detail in the information that the maintenance system is populated with will go on to dictate how thoroughly the maintenance is carried out and how well upkeep of the yacht is performed.

“You could use the best Planned Maintenance System in the world but it’s only as good as the person who populates it.”

3. Make sure you back the data up

Having gone to great lengths to ensure your maintenance system is as thorough as possible, it’s crucial that you back the data up with a shore-based system, so that should a system failure occur at sea, the information is not lost.

Scott Slavin says he knows of one yacht that lost four years of records overnight as it was not backed up, and this can have dire consequences when it comes to selling your yacht.

“Can you imagine how something like that would affect your resale value if you were not able to provide data on how and when different aspects of your yacht were serviced?”

4. Provide shorebased access

As well as backing the data up shoreside, you might also want to consider providing your technical team with access to your maintenance programme while you are away.

Though a remote access licence for a shore-side Technical Manager will cost extra, it does provide the ability for regular scrutiny of how the maintenance is being kept up to date and recorded.

This will allow your technical manager to log in at any time, enabling them to check things on a weekly basis, such as querying whether it was valid to postpone certain superyacht maintenance jobs, and verifying how well the yacht maintenance schedule is being adhered to.

5. Understand the different yacht maintenance approaches

For the most part the yachting industry practices ‘Preventative’ maintenance, which involves proactively addressing potential issues before something goes wrong. However some Owners take more of a ‘Reactive’ maintenance approach (especially those operating their yachts on a tight budget).

While this reactive, or run-to-failure approach may cut down on annual servicing costs, it can result in costly, unexpected repairs that can also cause unwanted disruptions at inopportune times for your yacht (such as in high season). For instance, the payment of penalty clauses a yacht Owner might be liable for should they not be able to fulfill a charter agreement (due to a breakdown) would likely exceed the cost of carrying out maintenance on a preventative rather than reactive basis.

There are two other approaches to yacht maintenance that we are beginning to see more of due to improved technologies: ‘Predictive’ maintenance that aims to predict when machinery might start to fail and act accordingly; and ‘Reliability Centred Maintenance (RCM)’, whereby the cost-effectiveness, machine uptime, and reliability are all taken into consideration in terms of deciding when to service what.

Whichever method you decide to use, Edmiston recommends talking to a technical manager to weigh up the pros and cons.

6. Factor in surveys

As well as the day-to-day running of your yacht’s maintenance, which includes electrical and navigation system checks, HVAC and climate control system servicing, plumbing and water system maintenance – some of which needs to be checked daily, some weekly and some as part of the pre- and post-season upkeep, you’ll also need to bear in mind your yacht’s surveys.

Make sure you work into your maintenance programme the class survey schedule, which includes the Five Year Special Survey, which is particularly extensive and requires advance planning.

As a yacht ages, the risk of emergent work increases, particularly in black and grey water tanks and other areas susceptible to corrosion. It is therefore inadvisable to plan charters for immediately after the predicted end date of a special survey period.

Tail shaft surveys also run on a five-year cycle – for most yachts, this involves pulling the tail shafts to inspect the propellers, shaft cones and bearings. A docking survey is also required every 36 months, and an intermediate survey will be due at some point in the middle.

7. Don’t forget safety equipment & compliance checks

An important part of your yacht maintenance schedule includes carrying out routine inspections of life-saving equipment and fire-fighting equipment.

Your maintenance programme will also need to adhere to maritime safety regulations, which are governed by the Merchant Shipping Regulations to make sure you are complying with the rules set out for your class of yacht and that you are sufficiently equipped to meet safety standards as determined by SOLAS (Safety of Life at Sea).

It’s also imperative that all crewmembers are trained in safety protocols and emergency procedures so they know what to do in case of an emergency.

For seamless handling of all these aspects, look to leverage full management services with trusted superyacht experts, enquire with Edmiston yacht management for an all in one yacht maintenance programme.

8. Stay on top of refit and upgrade planning

Preserving the value and performance of your yacht requires thoughtful, forward-planned refit and upgrade strategies. These may include modernising navigation and entertainment systems, updating luxury interiors, or implementing technical upgrades to enhance efficiency and onboard experience. Such investments not only extend the operational life of the yacht but also support its long-term resale value.

Major refit tasks such as full repaints, typically needed every 7 to 10 years are significant undertakings requiring careful scheduling and budget control. Routine maintenance items, including bottom antifouling and coating inspections, should be planned at every docking opportunity to ensure peak performance and prevent deterioration.

To support these complex processes, on request Edmiston offers tailored project management services designed to assist with the planning and execution of maintenance, yard, and refit periods. Our experienced team works closely with captains, crew, and shipyards to streamline workflows, manage budgets and timelines, and ensure the highest quality standards are met throughout.

In addition, for owners embarking on new builds, Edmiston provides full owner representation services. On request, we can assemble a dedicated team to oversee the entire lifecycle of your Mega yacht project from early-stage concept development and shipyard negotiations through production oversight to final delivery. With Edmiston’s guidance, clients benefit from deep technical expertise and a commitment to excellence at every stage.

We also collaborate with leading refit yards around the world, including Pendennis, specialists in classic motor yacht restoration; MB92, with premier facilities in Barcelona and La Ciotat; Amico & Co., renowned for superyacht and megayacht refits; Navantia in Spain; and Monaco Marine, with a strong presence across the South of France.

9. Set aside appropriate maintenance budget

You’ll need to set aside a substantial budget to cover your annual yacht maintenance costs and if you are using one of the more reactive approaches you should also allow for a large contingency.

Some experts say you should set aside 20 percent of your yacht’s value for maintenance yacht jobs. A yacht manager can help you draw up a realistic budget to cover the cost of maintaining your yacht.

10. Make sure your technical manager visits the yacht in person

As well as overseeing your maintenance programme, technical managers should also “go onboard at least once annually – though this should be seen as a minimum rather than a fixed number of visits – and check everything in person.  This gives them the chance to question whether the right maintenance decisions have been taken. 

This is an opportunity for them to assess overdue and postponed maintenance too – “We are effectively the maintenance police,” Scott Slavin says. 

“Part of our task when visiting the yacht, is to provide verification that the maintenance is being completed on time and recorded correctly. The technical manager can also support liaison with contractors and make sure everything necessary has been done to comply with legislation. Our value is not only in checking the maintenance on the yacht has been done, but also in taking a broad brush overview of how well it’s been done,” Scott says.

Contact Edmiston to find out how our yacht management services can ensure your yacht’s performance and luxury appeal are retained for longer and that your yacht continues to hold its value.