Twelve questions before you book: what to ask any phinisi, and Elrora's answers so far

A phinisi is easy to judge by its photographs and hard to judge by its paperwork. This list turns the paperwork into twelve plain questions. I put them to any boat in the same order: what keeps people safe, what keeps the boat moving, what makes a night comfortable, and last the papers.

For each question you will find two lines. Elrora's answer is what the boat's schedule sheet and the published listings state, where at least two agree. Ask before you pay is the document or the figure to request from the advisor, in writing, before the deposit leaves your account.

Nothing here is a mark against Elrora. The same twelve questions apply to every boat in the park, large or small, new or old. A boat that answers them quickly and in writing is telling you something good about how it is run.

Keep the replies. They belong with your booking, next to the invoice and the cabin plan.

1. Cabins, decks and berths

Elrora's answer: 6 cabins on three decks and 14 berths. The Master cabin is on the main deck, two Deluxe cabins on the upper deck and two Superior cabins on the lower deck. The Family cabin's deck is shown on your written cabin plan. Ask before you pay: the cabin plan with each guest's name on it.

2. Life jackets

Elrora's answer: life jackets are on board, and the snorkelling gear comes with life vests. Ask before you pay: the count, the sizes and where they are stored. A guideline from the harbour authority, reported by detikBali in October 2024, asks for enough jackets for every passenger. Ask for children's sizes by name.

3. Life rafts and fire-fighting gear

Ask before you pay: the boat's safety equipment list, with the number of rafts, the date of their last service and where the extinguishers hang. A boat that keeps such a list sends it the same day.

4. Navigation and radio

Elrora's answer: radar, GPS, an echo sounder, AIS Class A, and VHF and SSB radio. Listings give different model numbers, so this page quotes none.

5. Crew and certificates

Ask before you pay: the name of the captain, the certificate he holds and when it expires, and who on board has first-aid training. These are ordinary questions, and a well-run boat expects them.

6. Bathrooms

Elrora's answer: an en-suite bathroom in each of the six cabins. Ask before you pay: the water temperature in the shower, and the height of the step into it. For an older guest, that step matters more than the size of the room.

7. Air conditioning and power

Elrora's answer: air conditioning in every cabin, and a 40 kVA main generator with a backup set of the same size. Ask before you pay: how many sockets each cabin has, and whether the air conditioning runs while the engines are off.

8. Stairs and handrails

Three decks mean stairs. Ask before you pay: the count between each cabin, the dining room and the sundeck, and whether there is a handrail on both sides. It costs the boat nothing to count them.

9. Dining space and shade

Elrora's answer: an indoor dining room, outdoor dining on deck and a sundeck on the upper deck. Ask before you pay: whether an awning covers the sundeck or a roof covers the outdoor table. In the afternoon heat, shade decides where a party spends its time.

10. Drinking water and food

Elrora's answer: drinking water, coffee and tea come with the fare, and the listings give a fresh-water tank of 8000 litres. Ask before you pay: send each guest's dietary needs, and ask for the reply in writing.

11. Landing from the boat

Ask before you pay: how guests step from the boat to a beach, whether a tender carries them, and who on the crew gives a hand to anyone who needs one.

12. Papers and the pier

Ask before you pay: the sailing approval, the vessel registration and the operator's insurance. Elrora's answer on the pier: every name on the e-boarding pass must match its passport, and we ask for passport details 7 days before sailing. The captain decides each day which stops go ahead.

If a party had time for only three questions, I would not start with the cabins. I would start here, in this order.

• Life jackets, life rafts and extinguishers. Counts, sizes, service dates and where each one is kept, in writing.
• The captain's certificate and the crew's first-aid cover. A boat can be handsome and still short of people who know what to do.
• The stairs. The count settles which cabin goes to which guest, and it takes a minute to give.

Cabin photographs come later. They matter, but a photograph shows a bed. It cannot show how quickly twelve people find a life jacket in the dark, and it cannot show who is trained to help.

Ask all three in one message. One clear reply to three questions tells you more about a boat than three replies spread over a week, because it shows that someone on board keeps the answers ready.

You do not have to wait for a quote to ask. Write to us with the points that matter to your party, and the advisor replies in writing before you pay a deposit.

Families with grandparents should start with points 8 and 11, the stairs and the landing. A party with young children should start with point 2 and ask for the sizes. A couple choosing between the Master cabin and a Deluxe should start with point 9, because the shade decides where the afternoon is spent.

Every line marked Elrora's answer can be checked against the cabin and vessel pages of this site. Every line marked ask before you pay is a document or a figure to hold in writing before any money moves.

Park tickets, ranger fees and a guide or photo and video documentation sit outside the boat checks, and each has its own page. The private charter price is on request and confirmed in writing before you pay.