Owner Commissioning - Tayana 37 Operation & Maintenance Manual

B. OWNER COMMISSIONING
There are a couple of very significant advantages that accrue to the owner who
commissions his own yacht:
1. He will probably save between $600 and $1,000 dollars getting his yacht assembled
and ready for sailing.
2. He will learn his yacht from top to bottom and will benefit greatly from the
confidence and practical knowledge that he will have at his fingertips.
In addition, there will be increased pride of ownership and a greater tendency to stay
on top of necessary care and maintenance which will pay great dividends over the
long run.
As you can imagine, there are a few disadvantages:
It does require some experience and a level of skill that is above that of the average homeowner
who does some of his own home maintenance. Commissioning is not merely an assembly job.
It requires time A professional crew can commission a TAYANA 37 in about eight-days, for
example. The average owner/commissioner takes - over a month.
One must find a yard that allows owners to work on their own yachts. This is not always easy.
Some yards will allow one to do certain things while demanding that certain work and materials
be supplied by the yard. This not unreasonable requirement can obviate quickly many of the
savings which one might have expected by doing his own commissioning.
The commissioning list shown here outlines what is required to commission yachts sold
by SOUTHERN OFFSHORE YACHTS. You will note that it does not include the
installation of such extras as instruments, radios, refrigeration, air conditioning, and
similar extras that are normally purchased separately. The list only includes those
operations that are required to make the basic yacht ready to sail.
Tools required are generally pretty basic. A good carpenter's tool chest of hand tools
(hammer, pliers, rulers, screw drivers, etc.), adjustable wrenches between 1/4" and 1-
1/4", a set of box and open end wrenches between 1/4" and 1-1/4", a small electrical tool
box including wire strippers and solderless connectors and terminals, a mechanic's tool
box including a feeler gauge, channel locks, and a set of socket wrench's sized above, and
a selection of stainless steel fasteners. Also very useful are a portable workbench like the
workmate, a 3/8" variable speed electric drill. hole saws, soldering iron with plastic
cutter, materials for splicing and whipping line, and a plastic covered notebook.
Most of the items on the commissioning list are pretty self-explanatory. Nevertheless, it
would be useful to comment on certain items that seem to be most difficult for people
who have never commissioned a yacht before:
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