Spain -- Local Knowledge Needed

[Dockhead]

My very dear sailing friend, who just spent more than a month on my boat sailing from one end of the Baltic Sea to the other, despite already owning two other yachts, including a 100 foot motor cruiser with crew of 5, has decided to buy a beautiful almost 70 foot sailing yacht in Spain which he and I, probably double handed, will sail across the Atlantic to the Caribbean in December.


The vessel needs a certain refit -- sails, standing rigging, running rigging, electronics, and some other things. The mast needs to come out. It's at least €100k worth of work, so needs to be put into the proper hands.



Where in Spain is the best place to do this? Or is there even a good place? Barcelona? Alicante? Or is it hopeless, and we need to sail her up to the Solent and have it all done there?


Sails I will order from my wonderful sailmaker in the Solent. My friend fell in love with the in-mast furling system on my boat (despite a lifetime with full batten mains) and wants the exact same sails I have. But a rigger? Electronics? Hull polishing, soda blasting the underwater parts, thorough revision of the main engine and generator and servicing, etc etc etc. ???



I will be really grateful for any tips.

Advice from those with local knowledge urgently needed!

[Seaworthy Lass]

I have no information about Spain, but has he considered neighbouring France?

The Swiss owner of our previous boat utilised one of the French yards in the Med (sorry, I have no information regarding which one) to have a €200,000+ refit done. Quality of workmanship was his prime concern, not cost.

I would contact a surveyor or two in the area, as I think that would be your best source of information for a project such as this.

SWL

[goboatingnow]

There are good yards in the La Rochelle area.

Personally I wouldn’t rate the Solent above or below most good yards in Holland or France.

[Munoz]

Sorry, not Spain, but what about Portimao in Portugal?
3 yards that can handle larger boats side by side and l many independent tradespeople. It's considered the best place to get blasting work done in the region, Sailmakers, less so, but that shouldn't be an issue for you

Sopramar(?, Not sure of the spelling) in Lagos around the corner also has a great reputation, but isn't cheap and I belive they prefer do the work inhouse when possible.....

[onavegador]

where in Spain is the boat located eg. med, atlantic, gulf of biscay?

[Stewie12]

Palma de Mallorca is one of the biggest places in the world for yachts and services. There are literally thousands of yachts there. You will find all you need including customs agents if you need to ship stuff in. North Sails would be a good place to start to find a rigger and they will know of other trades too that you require. I live in the south of Spain, but would go to Palma for major works.

https://www.northsails.com/sailing/e...ails-sailmaker

[dcarratt]

From personal experience of using them for a repair, I second that Sopromar in Lagos has some of the best repair facilities in Europe. Lagos is also a convenient start point for a transatlantic crossing. The nearest airport is Faro which is an hour or more away from Lagos.

EMV Marine in Badalona, near Barcelona, has everything you would expect for servicing 100ft sailing yachts. They are a Nautor Swan service center. I have seen the yard but won't be using it until my boat has doubled in size!

[peterbeale]

I have just had major work done on my boat in the Carboneras yard. It included hull repair, electrical, mechanical and carpentry. Their main work is building b¡g fishing boats in fiberglass and and maintaining large wood, steel and fiberglass fishing boats.

Call Jesus at 609 457 064‬

Send me an email address and i will provide before and after photos.

[Dockhead]

Thanks for all the useful replies! I know people in Portimao and on Mallorca, so those plus Lago are top of the list so far. I think next I will start talking to potential contractors.


I need a good rigger, and I need someone good with electronics. All recommendations gratefully received.

[keithw88]

I second Palma de Mallorca. There is an abundance of really good contractors there. (I had a lot of work done over the five years I had my boat there,) CD

[Clivevon]

Hi. I was based in Alcudiamar marina in Port D’Alcudia for 12 years in the north of Mallorca. Plenty of expertise in all marine trades in the locality up there. Enough competition to keep prices realistic although i would be surprised if the mainland isnt cheaper. Probably cheaper than Palma though. My only other Spanish experience was in La Coruna. Again several local yards. Very impressive. If interested l could dig out the name of the yard i used.

[Pete7]

Dockhead, I think your biggest problem will be running out of time, but interesting plan.

Pete

[kish]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

My very dear sailing friend, who just spent more than a month on my boat sailing from one end of the Baltic Sea to the other, despite already owning two other yachts, including a 100 foot motor cruiser with crew of 5, has decided to buy a beautiful almost 70 foot sailing yacht in Spain which he and I, probably double handed, will sail across the Atlantic to the Caribbean in December.


The vessel needs a certain refit -- sails, standing rigging, running rigging, electronics, and some other things. The mast needs to come out. It's at least €100k worth of work, so needs to be put into the proper hands.



Where in Spain is the best place to do this? Or is there even a good place? Barcelona? Alicante? Or is it hopeless, and we need to sail her up to the Solent and have it all done there?


Sails I will order from my wonderful sailmaker in the Solent. My friend fell in love with the in-mast furling system on my boat (despite a lifetime with full batten mains) and wants the exact same sails I have. But a rigger? Electronics? Hull polishing, soda blasting the underwater parts, thorough revision of the main engine and generator and servicing, etc etc etc. ???



I will be really grateful for any tips.

Advice from those with local knowledge urgently needed!

I expect that with the proposed work outlined for a 70 footer you would need to plan for at earliest, a December 2022 departure, and that would be optimistic, irrespective of which yard you find.

[sailormed]

Originally Posted by Stewie12

Palma de Mallorca is one of the biggest places in the world for yachts and services. There are literally thousands of yachts there. You will find all you need including customs agents if you need to ship stuff in. North Sails would be a good place to start to find a rigger and they will know of other trades too that you require. I live in the south of Spain, but would go to Palma for major works.

https://www.northsails.com/sailing/e...ails-sailmaker

This is for me the best possible place to have all required competences in one place.
Otherwise look at Marseille in France where they have done a very succesfull conversion of the shipyard activities to superyacht maintenance and upgrades.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by kish

I expect that with the proposed work outlined for a 70 footer you would need to plan for at earliest, a December 2022 departure, and that would be optimistic, irrespective of which yard you find.

Really? I did a similar job some years ago in Cowes, over about 3 months. Even doing some of the work myself. Rerig and replace electronics? How long can that take?