Haul out places in the Bahamas?

[Rod Headlee]

I'm just curious on the availability of haulout facilities in the Bahamas and pricing?

[onestepcsy37]

abaco yacht services in black sound, green turtle cay, abacos. hauling and storage are about the same as florida. problem is getting any kind of marine supplies. you almost always have to order it from florida and have it flown in, so bring anything with you that you might need - bottom paint comes to mind. on the plus side, with your cruising permit you'll only pay about 8% import duty instead of the usual astronomical percent.

[S/V Antares]

Yes, Green Turtle is great, No problem in Marsh Harbor area, Man-o-war does great work. If you have a wide cat the yard in Spanish Wells, Eluthera has a big syncro lift. I have heard the qualitry of work to be exceptional for gen. Maintinence.

[osirissail]

For down south in the Bahamas - for Georgetown Marine Boatyard at Georgetown, Great Exuma - see: #3

[Rod Headlee]

Thanks!

[Vasco]

If you definitely intend to haul out for a bottom job the best bet is to take your paint with you.

[osirissail]

Don't forget brushes, roller, trays, paper suits and chemicals (thinners, cleaners, etc.) In other words take "everything" you might need with you along with spares for things that may need replacing once the boat is out of the water on the hard.

[42SeaHorse]

Have been reading along and gotten some good tips. We also need some serious paint work. Are overdue for a complete deck redo. Need complete sand down (from old teak removal) and then a sprayed deck. It is a pretty big job on our 42'.
Can I ask, where would we look for a good Awlgrip spray job in the Bahamas?

[Vasco]

Originally Posted by 42SeaHorse

Have been reading along and gotten some good tips. We also need some serious paint work. Are overdue for a complete deck redo. Need complete sand down (from old teak removal) and then a sprayed deck. It is a pretty big job on our 42'.
Can I ask, where would we look for a good Awlgrip spray job in the Bahamas?

For Awlgrip I think the US might be better. Have seen them do it outdoors in Nassau, Browns Boatyard.

[nautical62]

I hauled and stored my boat at Abaco Yacht Services on Green Turtle. It was cheaper than what I'm now paying in Florida. I also found the disadvatage to be that I can't just drive my car to a marine store of fill it with tools the way I would at home.

Also in the Abacos - Man-O-War hauls boats on a ramp for work. The Marsh Harbour Boat Yard has a work yard and hard storage. The Light House Marina on Elbow hauls small boats with a fork lift (smaller than your 43 cutter)

[Cheechako]

I wonder if you could ship in paint form Trinidad? IF so, you might get paint actually worth putting on!

[Canibul]

If you find yourself Waaaaaay down south in the Bahamas, just 45 miles south of Mayaguena is Providenciales. Essentially, the Turks and Caicos Islands are geologically the same as the southern Bahamas. The Caicos Marina and Boatyard has a travel lift and does some decent work. And you can import any paint you like here, if the boatyard here doesn't have it, they can get it. No US restrictions, if you were planning to cruise for a year or two. You CAN get some good bottom paint. Tropical ES in black, for example, was what I used living here with a boat in the water full time. Got two years out of it.

[osirissail]

Last time I was at the Turks and Caicos - Caicos Marina & Shipyard See: Caicos Marina
they did not do paint jobs other than bottom painting. Their operation is very small.

I think you would have to go all the way to the B.V.I. or St Martin before you will find competent topsides painting shops, at least at decent prices better than what is available in Florida.

[onestepcsy37]

42seahorse - from my observation, and i'm talking only about the abacos, i wouldn't do any kind of painting other than the bottom. best to do it in the states. i'm pretty sure that only abaco yacht services on green turtle and marsh harbor boatyard in marsh harbor could lift your boat.

marsh harbor - marsh harbor boatyard does excellent mechanical work (ask me how i know) and they have a large travellift. they had a limited supply of marine paints this summer but prices are way above those in the states. if you need anything beyond basic parts they must order and ship it in from florida, although they do have an excellent system in place and parts arrive in good time and with a reasonable shipping cost.

parts in general are simply unavailable in the bahamas, with the possible exception of nassau. the reason is the exorbitant import tax which makes it financially unsound for merchants to stock their shelves, particularly with slow moving items. for instance, this summer there were neither depth sounders nor vhf radios available anywhere in the abacos, although you could order one through the boatyard and have it sent from florida.

[osirissail]

Originally Posted by onestepcsy37

. . . parts in general are simply unavailable in the bahamas, with the po-ssible exception of nassau. the reason is the exorbitant import tax which makes it financially unsound for merchants to stock their shelves, . .

This is the crux of the matter not only in the Bahamas but also in most of the small island countries in and around the Caribbean Basin. You can always order what you need from the USA or Europe but then you have to have it shipped in. That gets expensive due to freight costs because of weight and speed of delivery requirements. Sometimes very expensive, even doubling and tripling the cost of the item/part.

I suspect the Bahamas is most new cruisers first experience with not having an overabundance of stuff available like in places like Florida. One fact of life for the small countries is that they cannot tax their citizens as - most of the "locals" work for cash and there are not really any records of their work. the countries are just too small. the exceptions are the "tourist" orientated resorts, etc. and even there it is the "tourists" who are taxed, not the locals.
- - So what the little countries do is to heavily tax imports. The Customs department (by whatever name they use to call it) becomes the single most important part of the government as it is the source of almost all the revenue coming into the government.
- - As cruisers we are a prime revenue source as we want/need the parts, food, and stuff that has to be imported. So it is a good idea to be sure to stash away (vacuum packed - another CF thread) every part, piece or supplies that you reasonably think you will need for the duration of your cruising outside the major supply "hubs" like the USA, Puerto Rico, St Martin, etc. Unless you have so much money that you don't care if you have to pay double, triple, whatever . . .