Boat Watch in Cape Coral & Lee County. The dock gets a report too.
A home watch visit that ends at the lanai door leaves your boat alone for the season. Trident checks the boat, the lift and the dock on every visit, measures the battery, runs the engine when you want it run, and puts it all in the same report as your house. Our team is led by a U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain.
- Battery
- 12.7 V at the house battery, charger on
- Lift
- Cables wrapping evenly, no broken strands, motor housing dry
- Cover
- Snug, no pooled rain, one strap re-tightened
- Drain plug
- Out, per owner instructions
- Engine
- Ran 10 min on flush muffs, strong telltale, gauges normal
- Dock
- Lines and cleats sound, one loose board photographed
Sample entry. Your checklist is built around your boat and your instructions.
- Led by a USCG-licensed captain
- InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspector
- $1M/$2M insured · $20K bonded
- Fingerprint background checks
- NHWA Accredited
- Same report as your home
A boat doesn't sit still just because you left it
Most home watch checklists end at the back door. That works in a lot of places. It works less well in Cape Coral, a city built around more than 400 miles of canals, where the boat out back can be one of the most expensive things you own.
A boat on a lift spends the summer under an afternoon thunderstorm almost every day. A cover that sags collects water until a frame bends or a seam lets go. Batteries drain. Wasps move into the console. Lift cables corrode a strand at a time in the salt air, and a boat kept in the water grows a crop of barnacles below the waterline that nobody sees from the dock.
None of it announces itself. You find it in November, when you lower the lift and turn the key.
Your home watch report says the house is fine. That's half of what you left behind.
Trident treats the dock as part of the property. The team that walks it knows what a frayed lift cable looks like, what a weak telltale means and why a drain plug matters, because it is led by a U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain who has been running boats since he was sixteen.
Boat watch rides along with your home watch visits, so there's no separate trip and no second report to read.
The boat, the lift and the dock
Every visit follows a checklist written for your boat and your instructions. Here is what it usually covers.
The boat
Cover, canvas and enclosure checked for tears and pooled rain. A look at the hull, rub rail and engines, and inside the console or cabin for mildew, wasps and rodents.
The battery, measured
A meter reading on every visit, not just a glance at the charger light. The voltage goes in your report, so a battery that's slipping shows up before it's dead.
The lift
Cables, drum wraps, bunks, pulleys and the motor housing. We note anything frayed, rusted or out of line, and run the lift up and down when your instructions call for it.
Engine start-ups
Run on flush muffs or lowered into the water, your call. We log how it started, the gauges, the telltale stream and the run time, then leave everything the way we found it.
The dock & seawall
Lines, cleats, fenders, boards, dock lights and the shore-power pedestal, with an infrared look for heat at connections where there shouldn't be any. Visible cracks or settling along the seawall cap get photographed.
Golf carts
Charger connected and working, charge indicator noted, tires and the garage around the cart checked. A short run in the driveway if you want one.
Set it up once at the dock. We take it from there.
Tell us what you keep
The boat, the engines, the lift, the golf cart, and how you want each of them handled while you're away.
Walk the dock with us
We photograph a baseline and record the battery switches, breakers, lift controls, key locations and your written instructions.
Every visit
The boat is checked on the same visit as the house, and it lands in the same time-stamped report.
When something changes
We call or text right away with photos. With your approval we line up your mechanic, canvas shop or lift company and let them in.
On the water, on the lift or in the garage
Boats at the dock
For the boat behind the house, whether it hangs on a lift or floats at the dock.
- Center consoles, bay boats, deck boats and pontoons
- Cruisers and sportfish kept at a private dock
- Boat lifts, davits and floating lifts
- Jet skis on PWC lifts
Garage, trailer & golf cart
For everything with a battery or an engine that sits on land while you're gone.
- Boats on trailers in the garage or side yard
- Golf carts and LSVs, gas or electric
- Kayaks and paddleboards on dock racks
- Cars that need starting, through our concierge services
A photo of the boat is a start. It isn't a check.
Plenty of home watch companies will snap a picture of your boat on the lift. Here is what you get when the person on your dock knows boats.
| Photo-only boat check | Trident Boat Watch | |
|---|---|---|
| Who walks the dock | Whoever is on the route that day | A team led by a USCG-licensed captain |
| Battery | Charger light noted | Voltage measured and recorded every visit |
| Lift | Photo of the boat on the lift | Cables, wraps, bunks and motor checked, run per your instructions |
| Engine | Started if requested | Run on muffs or in the water, gauges, telltale and run time logged |
| Shore power | Not checked | Infrared look at pedestal and charger connections |
| After a storm | Photos once access returns | Dock, lift, seawall and roof by drone as soon as it's safe to fly |
| The report | A few photos, sometimes a separate note | The same time-stamped report as your home |
The owner was up north. Nobody secured the boat.
When Hurricane Milton came through in October 2024, this boat's owner was a snowbird, out of town for the storm. Nobody had secured the boat before it hit, and the surge did the rest.
It wasn't a Trident client's boat. We show it because the work that would have saved it is not complicated: the boat raised and strapped, lines doubled and given room for the surge, the canvas and the drain plug dealt with. It takes an hour or two before a storm. It just has to be somebody's job.
When a storm is named, the boat already has a plan
Strip the canvas, double the lines, raise or lower the lift, clear the dock. Every owner does it a little differently, and most of those plans live in someone's head a thousand miles away.
We write yours down with you before the season, carry it out when a storm is named, and photograph the boat before and after. Boat storm prep is scheduled through our storm services, alongside shutters and the rest of the house.
Sample plan. Yours is written with you and kept on file.
Added to your plan. Priced per visit.
Boat watch rides along with your scheduled home watch visits, so you pay only for what's added to each one.
Per visit, added to any home watch plan. Includes the battery reading and photos.
Per visit, only when your instructions call for it.
Per visit. Charger, charge level, tires and a short run if you want one.
No home watch plan? Boat-only visits start at $55. Boat storm prep is quoted with your storm services. Repairs and vendor charges are separate and always approved by you first. See our home watch plans.
Put the boat on the report
Tell us what you keep at the house and we'll call within one business day to schedule a walk-through at the dock.
What happens next
- We call to set a time to walk the dock with you or your representative.
- We record the boat, lift, switches, keys and your instructions.
- Your next home watch visit includes the boat.
Prefer to talk?
Call or text 239-356-6600 or email info@tridenthomewatch.com.
Boat watch FAQ
What is boat watch?
Boat watch extends a home watch visit past the back door. On each scheduled visit we check your boat, lift and dock, take a battery reading, run the engine if your instructions call for it, and put the photos and readings in the same written report as your home.
Do I need a home watch plan to get boat watch?
Most clients add boat watch to a home watch plan so the boat is checked on the same visit as the house. If the boat is the only thing you need watched, we also offer boat-only visits starting at $55.
What does boat watch cost?
Added to a home watch plan, a boat, lift and dock check is $25 per visit. An engine start-up is $15 more per visit when you want it, and a golf cart check is $10 per visit. Boat-only visits without a home watch plan start at $55.
Will you start my engine?
Yes, if you want it run. We run outboards on flush muffs or lower the boat into the water, whichever your written instructions call for. We log how it started, the gauges, the telltale stream and the run time, then shut down and leave everything the way we found it.
Will you take my boat out or move it?
No. Boat watch is done at your dock, lift or garage. We operate the lift and run the engine only as your written instructions direct, and we do not take the boat away from the property.
Do you repair or service boats?
No. We observe, measure and report. When something needs attention, we call or text you with photos and, with your approval, coordinate your marine mechanic, canvas shop or lift company and let them in.
What happens when a hurricane is coming?
Before the season we write a storm plan for the boat with you: canvas, lines, lift position, drain plug and dock items. When a storm is named we carry it out and photograph the boat. Afterward we check the dock, lift and seawall as soon as it is safe and send photos, including drone photos when conditions allow. Storm work is arranged through our storm services.
Do you check golf carts?
Yes. We confirm the charger is connected and working, note the charge indicator, check the tires and the garage around the cart, and give it a short run in the driveway if you want one.
What do I get after each visit?
A time-stamped written report with photos of the boat, lift and dock, the battery voltage, engine run notes if requested, and anything that has changed since the last visit. It arrives in the same report as your home.
Who does the checking?
Our team is led by a U.S. Coast Guard licensed captain and an InterNACHI Certified Professional Inspector. Everyone who works on your property has passed a fingerprint-based background check, and Trident carries $1,000,000/$2,000,000 general liability insurance and a $20,000 bond.
What areas do you cover?
Cape Coral, Fort Myers, North Fort Myers, Pine Island, St. James City, Bokeelia, Burnt Store Marina and Punta Gorda.
Boat watch along the Cape Coral and Lee County waterfront
From the Cape Coral canals to Pine Island Sound and Charlotte Harbor. Looking for more than the boat? See our home watch, storm services and keyholder services.
Do you know what your boat is doing right now?
If you're not sure, nobody is checking. Add boat watch in two minutes, or call and we'll set it up over the phone.
