Saidia Morocco or Port Yasmin Tunisia

[momathome]

Hi everyone,

I'm new here and boy, do I have a lot of reading material.

My husband and I are moving our 57ft cat (old but sturdy) from the Aegean Sea to a bit closer to the Canary Islands: Morocco or Tunisia.

The standing rigging/mast has to be refitted somewhere over the next year. Does anybody have experience with the boatyard at Saidia or Port Yasmine lately?

I already read some experiences on the forum about Port Yasmine, and they sounded good. I'm not sure Port Yasmine has a suitable lift though (beam 9.60 m)? I know Saidia has that, but I have no idea if the boatyard is any good there?

Any experiences, good or bad, about boatyards in that area are greatly appreciated.

Kind regards, Momathome

[spiv]

Momathone,

did you get any PM or any info on that?

I am planning to do some major refit to a smaller cat and am chasing the same info.

I was in Saidia in 2011 on my Salina 48, the marina was not quite completed then, it was cheap and very secure, trades were lacking and so were supplies, but the management was EXCELLENT and all people very friendly.

I invite any cruiser with experience of refitting in Tunisia or Morocco to please tell us of their experiences.

Thanks and....

[momathome]

Hi Spiv, I'm afraid I didn't hear from anyone. In the end we decided to leave our boat in Marmaris for now. Without any feedback we didn't feel it was a good idea, timing wasn't right either. I would certainly still be interested in any news about Saidia, since we're planning on taking our cat to the Caribbean in a year (or two), so Morocco would be a good place to stay for some time before that. Hope to hear from some people! Momathome

[spiv]

Well, Marmaris is good, lots of excellent tradesmen there.
There are just a few more info here on Tunisia :
http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...d.php?t=202676

[chuckr]

If you are in Marmaris get it fixed there. We were there last winter and great craftsmen and lots of chandlers for parts. We have also spent 2 winters in Port Yasmine and loved it but haul out is a bit difficult but what is really difficult is boat parts.
We are currently in Israel and looking a crossing coming up and will get the entire boat ready here before we set out next spring and that is after spending quite a bit in Marmaris last year.

[spiv]

Originally Posted by chuckr

.......
We are currently in Israel and looking a crossing coming up and will get the entire boat ready here .......

So, how would you rate Israel against Turkey as far as craftsmanship, availability of parts and cost of refit in general?