Buying a sailboat in San Carlos, Questions

[SKG56]

I've done a search on this but could not find recent info, I'm considering buying a boat in San Carlos, through a broker, anybody have advise as to surveyors in or outside of the local area, would need a surveyor that knows diesel engines, a good honest surveyor, I've never been to San Carlos or Mexico for that matter, don't know if there are legal ramifications to a surveyor from the US doing a survey in Mexico, I could call some in San Diego and see what they say, any advise at all about buying a boat there would be very much appreciated, Thanks

[JPA Cate]

One time, zeehag recommended Kjell Christiansen from SD, as an honest surveyor, who will go to Mexico for you.

However, I would think that there would also be Mexican, bilingual surveyors around.

PLEASE MODS, CAN YOU CORRECT THE SPELLING FOR THE TITLE OF THIS THREAD?.......THANKS, VERY MUCH!

Do a search, this is not the first time the subject has arisen.

ann

[SKG56]

Thanks Ann, Contacted the mods about fixing this, saw Zee's recommendation but I read a review that said he didn't know diesel engines very well, that's important to me

[zeehag]

kjels should be able to refer to a diesel man.
i found most of the diesel repair men in mexico aint worth a crap if they speak english.
find diesel repair in spanish for best good fortune.
kjels is awesome and honest. ye cannot go wrong with him. he is number one on my referral list.

[jeremiason]

San Carlos has a huge Dry Storage facility and one of the most beautiful marinas in Mexico.

Consequently, there are lots of different people to fix boats... From simple detailing to Electronics, Mechanics and even two guys doing Custom Stainless Steel work... They are all there.

I would suggest you get on the Southbound Yahoo Group and ask the people in Mexico what they recommend. My guess is there are a couple of American surveyors down there already.

Here is the link:
https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/...und_group/info

[SKG56]

Thanks Zee and Jere, I'll get into that yahoo group and see what I can find out, repowering a sailboat is not cheap, even though the owner says all is good, I want a good diesel mechanic, with no relationship to the broker or owner to tell me it is, as far as he can tell, all engines can fail for many reasons, I'm a decent mechanic but don't have any experience with diesel's , it's a 30B three westerbeke 27 HP, if anybody knows that engine

[vivabob]

I'm in San Carlos for the third time. After the normal trial and error, I finally found an excellent diesel mechanic here, a Mexican, Omar speaks English and is a joy to have around when he works on your engine. He's honest and reliable. I haven't used a local surveyor but there is one who has an excellent reputation and two who do not. PM me and I'll dig out the good guy's name and number. IMO, San Carlos has decent workers in most fields but lacks people with rigging and electronic expertise. Good luck with the purchase.

[sloopman]

VIVABOB is right on with Omar for the diesel. Great rep. Good luck

[CLady]

Kells Christian is an excellent surveyor--
Here's his contact info
Christian & Co.
1276 Scott Street
San Diego, CA 92106
Toll Free: 800-944-4789 FREE
Phone: 619-223-7380
kells@themarinesurveyors.com

[neophytecruiser]

I'd also recommend Kells Christian for hull surveys. We used Kells for purchase surveys and insurance surveys. He (and the surveyors in his company) are members of The Society of Accredited Marine Surveyors (AMS), which is something to look for when hiring any marine surveyor. Christian & Company Maine Surveyors is located on Scott Street in San Diego. They can be reached toll free at 800-944-4789 (website:Christian & Co. Marine Surveyors is the marine surveyor to call.). Understand that if you want your diesel evaluated or your standing rigging, these surveyors are outside of what is done for hull surveys and generally requires separate experts. Kells may be able to recommend someone to you. While surveyors do travel to perform surveys, depending on the cost of the boat you're considering, you might want to consider getting a local surveyor, although there's no cost for inquiring about costs of traveling to San Carlos to perform a survey.

[duefocena]

Kjell's is great for hull surveys but he used Brad Destache for the engine survey on one of my boats. I have hired Brad 6 times to do surveys, ( both hul and engine ) he is very thorough. Make sure to get an oil sample and send it to CAT diesel. It is imperative. Cost is $30 ( $40 if you want overnight ).
Whatever you spend on the right surveyor will be paid back to you in spades going forward. You can find Brad, Kjells and all accredited surveyors online by typing Southern California marine surveyors.

[SKG56]

Thanks everybody, this is a big help for me, I'm looking at a couple of boats down there and in San Diego too

[Dennis.G]

I have also used Christian as surveyor, but that was in San Diego. I have doubts about him doing a survey in San Carlos however. For one, you are talking about having a professional service provided in Mexico. Legally this needs to be by a business licensed to do business in Mexico. I don't know if Christian & Co is so licensed, but I doubt it. And even if they are the costs will be extreme as you will need to include travel time and expense to the normal costs of a survey. Getting in and out of San Carlos is not difficult, but it is not a one day thing either.
There are local surveyors in San Carlos. I can't recommend one as I have no direct experience, but I think that you will need to plan on finding one and using their services.

[Dennis.G]

As a bit of info, most boats you will see for sale in San Carlos will be in Mexico from the USA or Canada under a Temporary Import Permit (TIP). The TIP does not allow the boat to be sold in Mexico without payment of import duties. This is not a problem, as legally the title transfer or "sale" will be done outside of Mexico (in USA) but as an "off shore delivery" and import duties are not required to be paid. If using a local broker, they will know exactly how to do this, as they do it all the time. You will also use a stateside yacht document service company (Dona Jenkins in San Diego comes to mind) to check clear title and perform other paperwork services.
I would not recommend doing a direct purchase from a seller without going through a broker due to the legal steps required. Again, this type of purchase is not a problem, and is part of normal business in San Carlos area yacht sales, but just be aware that it is different from doing a purchase in the US.

[SKG56]

Originally Posted by Dennis.G

As a bit of info, most boats you will see for sale in San Carlos will be in Mexico from the USA or Canada under a Temporary Import Permit (TIP). The TIP does not allow the boat to be sold in Mexico without payment of import duties. This is not a problem, as legally the title transfer or "sale" will be done outside of Mexico (in USA) but as an "off shore delivery" and import duties are not required to be paid. If using a local broker, they will know exactly how to do this, as they do it all the time. You will also use a stateside yacht document service company (Dona Jenkins in San Diego comes to mind) to check clear title and perform other paperwork services.
I would not recommend doing a direct purchase from a seller without going through a broker due to the legal steps required. Again, this type of purchase is not a problem, and is part of normal business in San Carlos area yacht sales, but just be aware that it is different from doing a purchase in the US.

Yeah, these are the things I've been wondering about, tried to call the broker a couple of times, but can't seem to call when they are around, or after business hours, been living in Thailand since 09, got a cabin in Colorado, probably will sell it, in Iraq right now, just trying to do some home work on this so I don't go down there blind, I would like to deal with local people, surveyor, diesel mechanic and so forth, if I do buy down there, I'll go through a broker for sure, from what I've been able to tell, San Carlos looks like an interesting place, nice, thinking about flying in and renting a car, maybe Hermosillo, and drive down.