Any cruisers from San Diego?

[Fidu666]

Hey people

Me and my girlfriend will go cruising mid year. We have purchased a Kelly Peterson 44 in Mexico and ourselves we're from central Europe.

She needs upgrades, replacements and work as they always do. We're planning on doing a first big passage in May, and we'd like to set off with as much of the needed materials as we can.

Now the question is:
We'll cross the border via San Diego/Tijuana and so we wanted to ask if anyone in the area would be willing to be the place we can ship all our gear to we order in the US so we can come pick it up when we head down?

Any input is welcome!

Thanks guys

[mvweebles]

I'm 80% through a major refit in Ensenada MX, 75 miles south of San Diego. I've had a LOT of parts shipped to a mailbox service in San Diego and picked up by the Ensenada-based company doing my refit (Niza Marine, good folks). Probably made over 40 border crossings at San Ysidro/Otay Mesa (Tijuana). You don't say what part of Mexico your boat is in, but if it's in Ensenada and you need a lot of stuff, you may want to consider bringing her to San Diego and loading parts there - much easier to bring stuff as part of the boat importation.

You are supposed to declare the value of goods brought into Mexico and pay 16% VAT (there is a $350/person waiver for incidentals). I've traded notes with people on boats in other parts of Mexico and their experience varies, though hard for me to tell whether they just crossed once or twice with small stuff and got lucky, or whether the border practices varied elsewhere. Both are plausible.

Prior owner of your boat should have had a TIP on the boat. That needs to be canceled and a new one done in your name. Ask at whatever marina you are at and chances are there is an agent who can assist, usually for no/low charge

Good luck!

[Fidu666]

Ensenada, too! Cruiseport Marina.

TIP is renewed already.

What's the mailbox service you have used?

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Fidu666

Ensenada, too! Cruiseport Marina.

TIP is renewed already.

What's the mailbox service you have used?

Niza Marine uses "Postal Annex"

https://www.postalannex.com/mailbox-...san-diego/5007

It's located in a shopping center about a 5-minute drive from Downwind Marine (very well stocked chandlery) and a large West Marine near downtown San Diego. You may find it more convenient to be further south than downtown San Diego. Note - these mailbox stores are not exactly large, so if you have large items coming in, they will want you to pickup ASAP. Doing work in Ensenada is a love/hate thing for me. Getting stuff into Ensenada via driving from US means it's relatively cheap and decent quality is available. However, getting to/from Ensenada via bus/driver from San Diego is a pain, especially headed back into the US where the border crossings can have a 2-hour delay.

My boat ("Weebles") has been on the hard in Guillermo's for about 6-months (sort of a semi-commercial yard located about 1/4 mile north of Baja Naval, just at end of the pedestrian/tourist Malecon, though you cannot get to it via the Malecon, you have to go around on the streets - it's difficult to find).

I liked Cruiseport, and will berth there when my boat is done. Docks at Baja Naval are pretty rickety and a ton of boat-wake traffic. Marina Coral resort is a bit manicured for my tastes, and their docks for boats my size are at the end of their marina. Cruiseport is decent - easy walking distance to many restaurants. A bike would be nice though - grocery is quite a distance. Uber is very reasonably priced in Ensenada

Good luck - feel free to PM me with any specific questions. I've been pretty happy with Niza Marine - I found them when I needed a replacement for Baja Naval.

[Fidu666]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

Niza Marine uses "Postal Annex"

https://www.postalannex.com/mailbox-...san-diego/5007

Note - these mailbox stores are not exactly large, so if you have large items coming in, they will want you to pickup ASAP.

Which is why I'd prefer to send to someone personal.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Fidu666

Which is why I'd prefer to send to someone personal.

Granted, my refit is very comprehensive with virtually every boat system being touched, but knowing what I know now, I'd only only ask a close friend or family member. Too much stuff comes in that needs a signature, is heavy, and I'd worry about theft leaving it on the doorstep or it arrives the day after they've left for a 2-week vacation.



I've come to believe refits and major work is a 3-legged stool: labor (rates and skill); parts availability; and general accessibility. Places that have very cheap labor are often compromises on the other two. In my opinion, Ensenada is pretty good on all three, though although Baja Naval advertises low labor rates, their overall costs seem to compete with SoCal prices. Not sure where the savings go with Baja Naval, but I have been happy with Niza Marine.

[Imagineou812]

I too had my boat painted from the keel bottom up to the deck @ Baja Naval !!! 10K for the Copper coat bottom (labor intensive prep and application processes ) and 10 K for the Awlgrip sides on a Bruce Farr 58 ( And they did it twice do to their mistake on an upper boot stripe @ no extra charge ) .
So in the end it about 1/2 to 2/3rds less than a cheap SoCal yard , and they did Xxxxcelent work ! I will say though that if you are not there and present while the work is being done , they tend to nickel and dime you to death on the consumables i.e. brushes, tapes,gloves,ect.ect. !!!
I also had a complete rudder rebuild,4 winches repositioned 2 of which were new electric installs , and an electronic anti fouling system installed aLL for a total cost of 43 K which I thought was ALOT of work for what I considered a fairly reasonable price !
So would I do it again........yes probably !!! But I would make it a point of being there to keep an eye on things !

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Imagineou812

I too had my boat painted from the keel bottom up to the deck @ Baja Naval !!! 10K for the Copper coat bottom (labor intensive prep and application processes ) and 10 K for the Awlgrip sides on a Bruce Farr 58 ( And they did it twice do to their mistake on an upper boot stripe @ no extra charge ) .
So in the end it about 1/2 to 2/3rds less than a cheap SoCal yard , and they did Xxxxcelent work ! I will say though that if you are not there and present while the work is being done , they tend to nickel and dime you to death on the consumables i.e. brushes, tapes,gloves,ect.ect. !!!
I also had a complete rudder rebuild,4 winches repositioned 2 of which were new electric installs , and an electronic anti fouling system installed aLL for a total cost of 43 K which I thought was ALOT of work for what I considered a fairly reasonable price !
So would I do it again........yes probably !!! But I would make it a point of being there to keep an eye on things !

I originally brought my boat from San Francisco to Ensenada to go to Baja Naval. I'd traded emails and 100s of photos with them for a year. When I arrived, they were totally disinterested despite the yard being half empty. I spent 2-months waiting for quotes and only received half of the quotes I needed. Quotes to repaint the boat were double the top of their estimated range, and matched quotes I had received in SF Bay. Okay, so it's hard to tell from pictures. But what really caused me to pack up and leave was several quotes for brand new fabrication such as a fiberglass hard top also doubled. Nothing changed except I was now in their yard, presumably captive.

Glad to hear others have had good experiences. For me, pretty much the worst yard experience in 26 years of having work done in yards. The plus I have to mention is the dock manager was really nice, as was the front office gal. Super helpful people.

[Fidu666]

What do you think concerning paint for hull and deck?

Better to buy in the US and bring with us or should we buy it in Mexico?

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Fidu666

What do you think concerning paint for hull and deck?

Better to buy in the US and bring with us or should we buy it in Mexico?

In my opinion, yes. Best I can tell, it's a myth that more toxic paints are available in Mexico (Comex, sort of the Mexico equiv to Sherwin Williams, sells bottom paint, but seems to be sourced from Amerpaint in the US).

To my knowledge, there are only two places to have a boat painted in Ensenada - Baja Naval, and Guillermo's yard. Both will charge some fee if you bring your own paint, but will be better in the long run due to cost and availability.

[Fidu666]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

In my opinion, yes.

Sooo, US or Mexico?

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by Fidu666

Sooo, US or Mexico?

Ha! Sorry, yes, purchase in US and bring to Mexico. Bring everything you can down with you. I can think of very few boat parts that are less expensive and more accessible in Mexico than in the US, especially in Ensenada where most stuff comes from the US anyway.