Which countries are better/cheaper for some things than others

[SteveSadler]

We bought our boat in Croatia. I found everything we needed was available for similar prices as US, but with vat added. We got the vat back when we left.
Same in Greece. We had tons of work done in Athens for around 35 Euros/ hr. Quality, experienced pros.Same in Spain. Again in the Canaries. In the Caribbean prices doubled for labor and parts scarce but fairly priced.
Aruba was cheap for haulout, storage, labor, except for the Honda dealer was US priced.(expensive) Panama labor reasonable, provisioning great!
Galapagos very cheap and surprisingly wide range of skills and services, no provisions. Tahiti very expensive for haulouts, labor. Tonga also expensive for haulout, storage, labor. Thats as far as I've got to date!

[jmschmidt]

Well let's see. Hookers are cheaper in south China than in the Philippines or Bali.

[AndyEss]

I’ve found medications in Mexico to be about ten cents on the dollar as compared to the US. Not infrequently, meds in Mexico, for some odd reason, cost the same retail as the co-pays one believes are a good deal after paying for insurance premiums in the US.
Hmmmm.
Stay away from the neighborhood farmacias and go to the branded majors. Some more expensive meds that are sold by the pill for more lifestyle type issues are counterfeited and leave disappointment in their wake.
Parts are more expensive, but paints, solvents and resins are less expensive, sometimes substantially so. I suspect these have much to do with lower environmental regulations. I don’t have enough experience to evaluate quality, but oil based paints are inexpensive, and far better than water based coatings that have become ubiquitous in the US.
Nightclubs and life music venues are far less expensive than in the US, as is the partaking of local libations. Mexican pilseners are excellent only on hot days and evenings - just as long as you stay away from Tecate or Indio.
Love hotels are available by the hour and some are quite discrete and relatively nice.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by AndrewA2

Things like standing rigging. parts + labor, where for that.
Sail repairs, replacement
Engine haul out and rebuild
Fiberglassing
Electrical wiring
Electrical systems.
Electrical applicances.
....
etc
etc
etc

It seems some places are far more expensive than others.The Med v's Panama. And some places have surprising services ie Sails in Thailand...

Standing rigging. If not in a venue with a reputable rigging shop who uses top grade components of verifiable origin, which are few outside of 1st world, then have it made up elsewhere and shipped in. Redid all my standing rigging in Panama a few years ago. Had it all mostly made up and shipped in, quite reasonable.

In the W Carib there are several venues known for being good places to refit. Boats sail to them for that purpose. Rio Dulce, Guatemala tops the list. 3 boat yards, qualified contractors in almost every specialty, reasonable importation of supplies, very favorable rates. Google up "Parley Revival" for an example. Other contenders are Cartegena, Colombia and Linton Bay, Panama.

[JPA Cate]

Fast work is not good or cheap.

I know one man of whom this is not true. He works very fast--call it efficiently. His work is excellent. And, he has tried to retire twice now, and yields to peoples' requests for help with projects. He jogs around his shop. He's amazing! I feel so proud to count him among our friends. He taught his elder son, "No one will pay you well for sauntering." He has an impeccable work ethic. Self employed.

But it is very rare.

How do you know if you found one like this who could help you? They will decline a coffee break if they want to work just then. They are very busy and may ask you to come back in 2 or 3 months. They are that much in demand. But, barring some sort of disaster, they'll do the job, and well. Just rare.

Ann

[tomfl]

Originally Posted by AndrewA2

Hi all.
Cant really find anything specific on this, so sorry if repeat posting.

Im curious which countries are better/cheaper for various thing than others. Very broad here, but for example I hear that the US is cheap for provisioning, South America for haul out. Curious for all of your views ranging from oil filters, to sails, to remodeling, to solar panels... you get the idea

I somewhat imagine that EU, N.America, S.America, Mid-East, Asia etc all have different benefits.
Also curious if anyone ever set their route based on boat projects quality/cost/materials etc.

There are too many 'it depends' associated with this issue to answer the question. There are certainly places where it is cheaper to get something like standing rigging replaced than others; problem is if you have to get there and the standing rigging fails on the passage you will wind up with a bigger bill than if you fixed it before heading out. On the other hand it may be worth buying bottom paint in the US and sailing down island to get it applied. But something like Copper Coat needs a specific method to apply it and not all yards are up to speed on how to do it.

Another big consideration is the quality of labor. There are plenty of third world countries that have great labor at low prices; and plenty of poor quality labor in those countries as well. As a rule the US has the best court system if you get ripped off but that may still happen.

So if you are going to plan your route based on getting work done on your boat you should know beforehand just what will be done and where it will be done.

[S D Sailor]

In Ensenada I'm getting Yanmar Saildrive oil, gaskets & seals replaced at $33/hr. Also, fuel is now $2.53......parts were ordered from US so no savings (actually more due to international shipping - beware the shipping costs!!!!). Rebuilt alternators at $60/each.

[Pania]

Australia would be the most expensive