For SAMS-CMS & NAMS solo surveyors
Insurance-grade boat survey reports —
dictated, not typed.
Telltale turns the dampest, scrappiest boat-side note into a publish-ready paragraph in under ten seconds — with severity rating, ABYC reference, and the standardized language underwriters expect. Built for the solo surveyor who's tired of trading Saturdays for transcription.
No credit card. • Demo unlocks instantly. • Pay $49/mo only when ready.
YOUR NOTE
"crazing in gel coat at port quarter near transom, ~6 inches, surface only, no fiber exposure"
"Surface crazing observed in gelcoat at the port quarter adjacent to the transom, measuring approximately six (6) inches in length. The crazing appears cosmetic; no fiber exposure or substrate compromise is evident. While typical of vessel age and exposure, recommend the area be monitored and addressed cosmetically during next haul-out per industry standard practice."
The Saturday that never ends
You charge $700 for a survey. You spend half a day on the boat — and another full day at the keyboard.
"I dictate notes into my phone, then transcribe and reformat for two days."
— SAMS member, /r/sailing forum
"Underwriters reject reports if the language doesn't match their template exactly. So I copy-paste the same sentences across hundreds of reports."
— Boat insurance surveyor, IIMS thread
"Long hours, technical knowledge, ability to write — for less than $500 a day."
— IIMS, on why no youngsters are coming into the trade
Existing software (Force5, InspectX, NewAge 3D) gives you a static phrase library with 21,000 canned sentences. It's a thesaurus, not an assistant. You still have to hunt, paste, edit, and reformat — for every finding, on every report.
How Telltale works
From scrappy field note to publish-ready paragraph in three steps.
Type or paste a finding.
Plain English. Field-style. "Stiff seacock on raw water intake" works.
Pick the report style.
Pre-Purchase, Insurance Renewal, or Damage Survey — Telltale matches the voice each audience expects.
Get an insurance-grade paragraph.
Severity rating, ABYC reference, recommended action — copy, edit, paste into your report.
Proof
A 6-inch gelcoat crack, written four ways.
Same finding. Different audiences. Telltale knows the voice each one expects.
Pre-Purchase
"Surface crazing observed in gelcoat at the port quarter near the transom, approximately six inches. Cosmetic; no fiber exposure. Recommend monitoring and cosmetic repair at next haul-out."
Insurance Renewal
"Cosmetic gelcoat crazing — port quarter, ~6 inches, surface only. No structural compromise. Not a material defect; insurability unaffected. No condition of binder required."
Damage / Casualty
"Surface crazing at port quarter, ~6 inches, no fiber exposure. Pattern and orientation are consistent with normal flexion and UV exposure; NOT consistent with the reported casualty event of [date]."
Force5 / InspectX
You scroll through 21,000 phrases, paste three of them into Word, edit for ten minutes, and hope you matched the carrier's template. For every finding. On every report.
Pricing
Half what you charge for one survey buys a year.
Telltale Solo — built for the one-person practice.
- ✓ Unlimited finding-to-report generations
- ✓ Last 200 generations stored in your history
- ✓ All three styles: Pre-Purchase, Insurance Renewal, Damage
- ✓ ABYC / USCG / NFPA-302 reference suggestions
- ✓ Copy-paste into Force5, Word, InspectX, or anywhere
- ✓ Cancel any time. No annual lock-in.
Free during early access. We'll email you when paid plans open.
vs. the alternatives
| Telltale | Force5 | InspectX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $49/mo | $50/mo | ~$80/mo |
| Generative AI | ✓ | — | Library search only |
| Single-purpose focus | Just report writing | Full system | Full system |
| Works alongside your existing tools | ✓ | — | — |
| Setup time | 30 seconds | Hours | Hours + training |
FAQ
Things solo surveyors actually ask.
Is the AI going to hallucinate ABYC standards?
Telltale only cites a specific ABYC, USCG, or NFPA section when the model has high confidence; otherwise it falls back to "Industry standard practice — surveyor judgment." Every output is a draft you review before delivering. Always.
Can I use this alongside Force5 / InspectX / Word templates?
Yes — that's the whole point. Telltale generates one paragraph at a time. You paste it into whatever report tool you already use. No data migration, no contract escape.
What about underwriter-specific verbiage?
Roadmap. We're working with two carriers to publish their preferred language as first-class output styles. If you want yours included, email us — solo surveyors who sign up early get input on which carrier templates ship next.
Will my client data be used to train AI?
No. Generations are stored in your private history (last 200) for your recall only. We don't share, sell, or train on surveyor outputs.
I'm 60 and I hate software. Is this hard to learn?
One text box. Three buttons. If you can text a photo, you can use Telltale.
Get your Saturdays back.
Try the demo. No card, no signup. See your own writing turn into a paragraph that reads like a 30-year SAMS-CMS pen.
Try the free demo →