Major Sailboat Repairs (Thailand, Malaysia, or Philippines)

[beantownn]

My brother has a 50' custom made race/cruiser catamarran and is currently about 2 days from Hermit Islands, Papua New Guinea (far from civilization)

While sailing in 6 knots of wind with a Genoa - a sudden 30 knot squall hit them and de-masted (broken in half) them. He had already planned some extensive work and planned to leave the boat somewhere and come back in a few months.

He is motoring at 6 knots - Does anyone know where "good" extensive work can be performed on a Sailboat in that region?

Indonesia, Thailand (Phuket), Malaysia, or Philippines?

Thank you

[imagine2frolic]

There is a new marina, and a boatyard in Davao, Named Holiday resort. In Carmen on Cebu there is Pinoy Boatyard that specializes in cold molded, one offs, and multis........i2f

[James S]

Welcome to the forum beantownn.

[undercutter]

There is a boat yard in Kudat in Sabah province on the Island of Borneo. Not much in services but they can haul you out and arrangements can be made to leave the boat for extended periods. This is a commercial yard so you have to do all your own work. Apparently no problems with the boat and of course the weather is safe in the area. All parts have to be shipped in but Malaysia customs are not a problem.

Another option is Brunei, Atoll Yachts in Kuala Beliat has 2 good scandinavian ship wrights with a large local crew who can perform any refit. Their carpentry is beautiful as well as any glass work that is required. Again, everythin has to be imported and the customs process is not as easy but once you get everything formalized there is no problem. We sent everything but the galley sink by Fedex and they were very helpful in making this work even going with us to the capital to meet with the customs officers to get shipments precleared duty free for a yacht in transit. Not a lot of room here, only 4-5 boats but they are a rather new yard and are expanding.

Other than that you will have to go to Peninsular Malysia which a long way. The other good thing about Brunei is that the diesel is only 0.39 litre but you have to get a local to get it for you. The yard can make arrangements.

Good luck to your brother and let me know how he makes out. We will be in Brunei in Jan and heading for the Malaca Str.

Undercutter
Atoll II

[bangkaboat]

Just read your post & was kicking it around with a fellow who has sailed in the area. He recommends heading to Aus - Darwin, Pt. Douglas, Bainbridge, whatever is closest - & that makes sense. As "Imagine..." suggests, there is a new yard in Davao, but don't know whether they are equipped for such a job. If he decides to head to Davao, I can probably find a shop that can do his work, with 1 phone call. I'm leaving for Ensenada, then south, on Tuesday, however, & probably won't see much/any internet for a week, until I hit La Paz. In all of this, I'm assuming he has an aluminum mast?

[bewitched]

If it can be sleeved, Phuket, Langkawi or Singapore have good operations capable of this type of work.

Shipping a new mast..... Philippines, Indonesia and to a lesser extent, Thailand may not be as easy or as cheap as Malaysia and Singapore.

Another thought on shipping a mast is the notable number of masts that sustain shipping damage enroute to this part of the world. Can be insured against, but drives the price up significantly.

The suggestion to divert to Australia seems sound advice to me.