The survey costs $1,500. The boat costs $299,000. The mistakes cost more than both — and almost all of them happen before the surveyor ever steps aboard: the questions you didn't ask, the paperwork you didn't demand, the deck you walked over without knowing what was under it.

We bought a catamaran, refitted her stem to stern, held NZ Cat 1 through four offshore seasons, and wrote twelve free guides about what we learned. The free guides give you the knowledge. The Buyer's Pack turns it into process — the printed-out, tick-the-box, take-it-to-the-boatyard version you actually use on survey day.

What's in the pack

  • The pre-survey checklistWhat to check and ask before you spend a dollar on a surveyor — the fifteen-minute walkthrough that disqualifies the wrong boats free.
  • The survey-day checklistWhat to watch while the surveyor works, what to photograph, which answers to get in writing, and the questions surveyors wish buyers asked.
  • The sea-trial checklistEvery system, under way, in order — engines, rig, sails, steering, electronics, autopilot — so nothing gets skipped in the excitement.
  • The NZ Cat 1 preparation listThe certification that de-risks an offshore purchase, itemised — what inspectors look for and what it proves about a boat that holds it.
  • The US tariff & landed-cost worksheetA fill-in spreadsheet that turns "what would she really cost me home?" into a number — tariff by country of build, shipping, state taxes.
  • Questions to ask a sellerThe one-pager that separates honest listings from stories — including the questions we'd ask ourselves, and answer.

USD $39 · one-time · instant download

PDF pack plus a printable version of every checklist and the tariff spreadsheet. Buy once, use on every boat you look at.

Launching this week. Join the list and you'll get the launch email — with a $10 launch discount for subscribers.

Why it's $39 when the guides are free

The guides will always be free — they're how you found us, and knowledge shouldn't be paywalled. The pack is different: it's the working documents, formatted to print, laminate and tick off with a pencil in one hand and a torch in the other. If it stops you paying for one survey on the wrong boat, it's paid for itself forty times over. If it catches one issue the excitement would have walked past, it's paid for the delivery fuel too.

Honest questions, honest answers

Is this specific to the Fusion 40 or NZ?

No. The checklists apply to any cruising catamaran anywhere; the Cat 1 list and tariff worksheet are bonus depth for the NZ-buying and US-importing paths our readers most often take.

Does buying this get me anything toward Mā Tori herself?

If you end up buying our boat, mention the pack and we'll knock ten times its price off at settlement. Fair's fair — you did your homework.

What if it's not useful?

Email us within 30 days and we'll refund it, no questions. We're cruisers; our reputation in this community is worth more than $39.

Do the free reading first: buying a catamaran in New Zealand, best cruising catamarans under $500k, US boat import tariffs and owner-built vs production cats. And if you want the boat that taught us all of it, Mā Tori is for sale.