More details below taken from my Western
Caribbean Cruising Notes. It includes info on
Honduras and
Belize. The mainland
Honduras options I would avoid these days due to
security issues. The
Belize options I would avoid...well, because it is Belize...and the Rio Dulce is close by.
Welding is available on the Rio Dulce from Carlos the welder and in Linton Bay Marina from Guido (who is also a
mechanic and now runs a
chandlery in the marina).
"
Boat Yards
Below is an overview by country of the resources available.
Belize
Cucumber Beach has an aging travel
lift, but skills & good quality materials can be a challenge to find in Belize. Importation of
parts and supplies can be an expensive hassle. Because of this, most boats
head to Rio Dulce,
Guatemala for
maintenance. The Rio has several boat yards, a few chandleries, a wide of skills at favorable prices, and easy inexpensive importation of
parts and supplies.
Thunderbird's Boat Yard is a new yard in Placencia offering haul outs, dry
storage, and
dock space for rent.
Hakim's Boat Yard in Belize City recently added a travel lift with 30' beam and can lift catamarans.
Guatemala
Guatemala's Rio Dulce is the ultimate
hurricane hole in the NW
Caribbean. This makes it a Mecca for cruising boats and related services. There are 3 boat yards to choose from, a plethora of
marinas, several chandleries, and skilled labor available for almost every aspect of yacht maintenance. Rates for these services are relatively low. Importation of goods is easy. This also makes the Rio Dulce an excellent choice for refits.
The 3 boat yards are Nana Juana, RAM
Marine, and Abel's.
Nana Juana has an articulated
trailer which can accommodate most recreational vessels including larger catamarans. This is a distinct advantage because it means larger cats can avoid the potentially nerve wracking transit under the bridge and
power lines to get to Abel's (I cover the details of making this transit in my “Belize & Guatemala Cruising Notes” also available on Amazon).
RAM Marine is large full
service boat yard complete with a travel lift,
paint shed, dry storage lot,
fuel dock, restaurant, West Marine distributor (effectively the same thing as a West Marine store), and restaurant. The one thing missing at RAM is the ability to haul larger cats, but there are plans to add an articulated trailer (the
ramp is even built for it).
Abel's is a
family run yard which has been in operation for decades. They have a marine railway system and a relatively recently added travel lift. Competition from the new yards has forced them to up their
game by adding things like the travel lift, but unfortunately that necessitated increasing their rates too. As mentioned, they are upstream of the bridge. This is not an issue for smaller vessels, but is a significant consideration for larger vessels with tall masts.
Marinas. I wont cover all of the marinas on the Rio Dulce, that's more in the
scope of a cruising guide, but below is an overview of what is available.
Honduras
There are several options for boat yards in Honduras (the order I list them in has no meaning)
One, there is a ship yard in French Harbor, Roatan. Their market is mostly the
fishing fleet and small ships, but they can certainly haul you or dry dock you.
Two, the naval yard in Puerto Cortez. Sometimes a little dicey in terms of schedule and availability. Typically they only haul you and you must do the
work yourself or arrange for it do be done.
Three, La Ceiba Ship yard. Full
service yard which does many recreational vessels. La Ceiba Ship Yard is more oriented toward servicing recreational vessels than some of the other options. See
http://laceibashipyard.com/. Good prices on
bottom paint in the past (relative to Rio Dulce where it is way high). La Ceiba also has the big advantage of being a Free Port -- no duties on stuff you ship in for your boat, but your boat must actually be there.
Panama
Marinas and boat yards in Panama are clustered around three areas: Bocas del Toro, Colon, and Linton Bay.
Bocas del Toro offers one boat yard and three marinas. The boat yard unfortunately cannot haul catamarans, but is an option for monohulls. The three marinas are Bocas Marina, Carenero, and Red Frog. Both Bocas Marina and Carenero are located near Bocas Town. Red Frog is further away from Bocas Town on Isla Bastimentos, but has good amenities and access to the beautiful Red Frog property...including one of the most beautiful beaches in the W Carib.
Colon has one significant option in Shelter Bay Marina. It is the marina of choice for preparing to transit the
Panama Canal. Shelter Bay is very protected and offers many amenities, but this of course comes at a
price. Shelter Bay also has a full service boat yard.
Linton Bay has the new Linton Bay Marina which is in operation but still a work in progress. They have a huge 100 ton travel lift and a large working yard.
PanaMarina offers storage on moorings or ashore and has a trailer for
haul out. They have a small
chandlery and a sail maker ashore.
"