Anybody Taken Their Boat to Central or South America to Have it Rebuilt?

[osirissail]

- - Having been in the business, time is money to repair facilities and if you are not there or do not have your own supervisor there - more times than not they will switch to the "quick and cheap" fix and then paint over it. It is amazing what I have seen yard workers do to boats without a owner or owner's supervisor on site.
- - Money buys quality. Since you might be floating out in the ocean with the boat - what is your life worth? Not to mention any investment in the boat. Little things like interior trim, upholstery, painting, etc. are no big deal safety wise, but structural or mechanical/electrical systems should be closely supervised and inspected. Also it is very easy to get a worker to "not do it wrong" in the first place with supervision. It is nigh on very difficult or impossible to get anybody to "re-do" something that is "wrong" after they have finished.

[GordMay]

Originally Posted by silversands

I think hiring a project manager might end up costing us more than we want to spend ...

osirissail has it right!
An absent owner, who doesn’t hire a competent project manager, inevitably spends more, and gets less, than he intends.

[JamuJoe]

Originally Posted by sanssouci

I have heard some good things about LaCeiba Marina, Honduras.(15-47N / 86-46)
check it out!

I currently have my boat on the hard in La Ceiba Shipyard. I would not recommend trying to do any major work there unless you can be present to supervise and do much of it yourself. The yard management is cordial but indifferent to yachts, as the commercial fleet makes up most of their business. The chandlery is very limited, and shipping gear from the USA is expensive and variable. Fiberglass work, painting and welding are reasonably competent. There is no planning or project management expertise for yacht work. That said, the yard has the only travel lift in Central America before Panama. A number of cruisers leave their boats on the hard their for hurricane season, and do their own maintenance and upgrades.

[Fishman_Tx]

Bring her to Rockport, Texas to the House of Boats. Cost us $3000 to ship 34' x 10,9" Bristol from Tampa (not including haulout, mast step, etc), with all the extras was just shy of $4k. HOB went and got it in Madiera Beach, brought it home, and put it on the hard. They have 2 yards, one work and one storage. We got a "deal" on the yard space for paying in advance, but won't say what as you may not get quite the same. If you let the guys do the job, John (the owner) will probably make a hell of a deal on the yard fee. Per day is $10, but I bet you'll get WAY better than that. They don't look like much, but they do good work, and they'll do as little or as much as you want. A hell of a lot cheaper than Florida!

And since we're there almost every weekend working on Baby, maybe we can help keep an eye on things.

House of Boats :: Full Service Boatyard and Haul Out in Rockport TX

[Bash]

Latin America is no different than here. If you will be absent, you have to hire a project manager to ensure that the work is done properly before the subcontractors get paid. Don't rely on the yard to do this. You need a jefe.

[Canibul]

I would agree with the idea of having the boat fixed up in the US. I hate to say it, but if you are unhappy with the way things go, you have a heck of a lot better chance getting legal recourse to make it right in the US. Lets just say that the USA has an overall better QC program due to a preponderance of lawyers.

If you have problems in a Latin American country, I think you can pretty much forget filing suit against anyone and actually getting anywhere with it.

A contract in the USA has some clout. You have some protection.

[Fishman_Tx]

I found this one on yachtworld. Are the specs and construction the same as yours(teak decks, etc)?

1968 Cheoy Lee Offshore 40 Sail Boat For Sale - www.yachtworld.com=