When you chose to put your boat in a Shipyard, it is stressful and expensive! Sometimes you don’t have a choice, something goes wrong and you have to get it in for some work. A few tip on “How to be successful in a Boatyard” even if it is in a foreign country.
Things to pay attention to:
- List of items you want/need fixed?
- Keep track of what you want done
- Get good solid bids
- Understand yard cost for haul out and the skills of contractors by seeing prior work and quotes. Look for discounts
- Track what else they find while doing the required work
- Will the yard allow you to work on stuff DIY? (some yards don’t)
- Plan for additional time and cost in yard
- They will find other items and you will have to make a decision
- Plan for 25 – 50% more, depending on age of your boat
- Choices to make, Do you fix now or later?
- Can you fix yourself?
- Haul-out Cost Money & Time
- Having your boat leak or break costs more money than preventive work
- You will have to pay again later if you wait and it fails
Ways to Help Them Help YOU:
- Be on-site every day
- This helps you monitor what they are doing
- You can review what they find, right then and there
- Keeps them honest and actively working
- Do you have to rent a place nearby? Do it
- Reduce your cost
- Make sure you have a project manager overseeing everything, all contractors, his workers and others.
- Can you stay on board? Most shipyards allow for this with afterhours water usage
- Can you do work yourself, are there any restrictions?
- Bring your buddies to help you out
- If it can wait, and be done in the water, wait.
- Have a good relationship with workers and Project Manager
- US or Mexico, you get more done with sugar than vinegar!
- Try and understand both sides of a story
- Mexicans are much more relationship based than US
- Be nice and grateful for their hard work
- Mexicans work 6 or 7 days a week
- They only make 1000-1500 pesos a day = to $5.00 to $7.50 a day
- They work hard and have great skills
Recap of Our Mexican Boat Haul-out Event:
- 8 different suppliers working on our yacht
- 60 Days on hard
- 82 Overhaul days (22 in water)
- 8 New pieces of “Boat jewelry”, e.g.; shiny expensive metal parts for boat
- 3 Non -boat Adventure days while being overhauled
- 5 days off for Dan/Angela
- 250 1+ mile Bike rides (rode bicycles everywhere)
- 9 Repeat restaurants
- 51 breakfasts at shipyard “yacht club” restaurant. It was great!
- 2 Restaurants with 5-star quality
- 7 Ice cream store visits
- 5 Malecon vendor buys
- 240 dirty/grey ankles, washing needed (ours)
- 2 pair of destroyed shoes (1 each)
- 20 lbs of cardboard floor covering
- 3 bottles of bug spray
- 2 bottles of sunscreen
- 2 tired boat owners
- 1 shiny gorgeous boat
Review of work done @ A SHIPYARD STORY ….#24
FYI – Video of boatyard lift and splash, may take a bit to load. Also few more photos below!
Next Up…. more adventures on the water, with our pretty new boat!