Bonehead Boatyard Antics

[mvweebles]

Sea trials yesterday. Still need to dial-in stabilizers. And a ton of interior work to finish, but mechanically she's almost there. Shaft was tight so pulled it today. Will post separately.

 

[mvweebles]

This will be my last post to this thread. Moving on from BS of prior guys into trials tribulations of finishing a major refit.

As I mentioned in previous post, the prop shaft was tight. I knew that going on - prop rotated by hand, but not as easily as I thought it should. On the sea trials, the stuffing box heated up and no water was coming out.

Today the shaft was pulled and we sent a boroscope up the stern tube to check for alignment. It took a while to figure it out, but the cutless bearing (about 1/2" is visible as it exits the bearing housing in the pic) had been incorrectly installed. The set screws on top were over tightened without drilling relief holes in the bearing housing, thereby crushing it into the shaft.

I'll start a new thread with a more positive vibe to it. But to close, major refits are difficult. I'd like to believe I have decent knowledge so consider that. And you have to find the right team. I didn't and it cost me.

Finally, I'm super excited. Having Weebles out yesterday was great. There was a long 4-foot swell running and she was right at home.

Peter

 

[Slowmo]

I've had yards screw up, it seems inevitable. The big question is how the 'make it good'. I had reputable yard change out our fuel injectors last year. When I did the pre-start up check after the first night out (only a couple hours from port) I found the bilge full of pink stuff....oh oh. My first thought was coolant (pink) but no...it was diesel. One of the injector lines hadn't been tightened. Needless to say I was livid. The yard talked me through tightening it and then bringing it in for them to run a full check and clean up. They did so immediately upon arrival and this time they sea trialed carefully. But frankly they were careless and they knew it.

 

[mvweebles]

Boatwork is often custom work. Even long run production boats vary widely due to owner choices or general design changes - TwistedTree likes to quote "when you've seen one Nordhavn.....you've seen one Nordhavn."

I'll go one further. On a large project, you need to give people the latitude to make mistakes. To use their own judgement to fill in the blanks which means the outcome may not be exactly what you'd planned. There are two ways to contract for this stuff: outcome based where you can bitch if it isn't exact and are constantly arguing over changes - fine for tightly defined, compact work. Or more T&M where you hire the right team and understand when you only get 80% of their effort. There are merits and downsides to both.

But you need to have the trust that mistakes will be treated with transparency, not covered up. Behind dismal project management skills, this was the core issue I had with Mario/Niza - the inability to admit a mistake. Yesterday was a case in point. I knew the prop wasn't spinning as freely as it should. During the seatrial, the stuffing box heated up and there simply wasn't much water exiting even when the pressure plate of the stuffing box was totally relaxed. Something was up. So we removed the prop shaft which was difficult - it did not slide out. It took a while to figure out, but the set screws holding in the cutless bearing had been over tightened and deformed the cutless bearing. It took two guys 4 hours and lots of lube to pull the 9-foot shaft out.

Here's the part about recognizing the mistake. Niza workers had to have known something was wrong when they went to reinstall the shaft. Clearly, when they reinserted the shaft it had to have required some sort of hammering to get it past the cutless deformation.

Yesterday the yard happened to have a 4-foot section of 1.5" shaft being replaced on a different boat so we tried inserting it. Would go on about 2 inches then stop. I watched two strong me try their best to wiggle the shaft past what we soon discovered was the deformation and while they could eek it in a bit, it clearly wasn't correct - not even close.

I'll also point out how the two different payment methods get used. When the time came to pull the shaft - before the issue was known, I could have asked Guillermo for a quote to pull the shaft. I'd guess he would have put a "risk premium" on it for some unknown, then when the going for rough told me he needed to increase the fee. Or we could do what I've already done - just get it done. I know my monthly burn-rate with LaCosta for labor and am comfortable with it. In rough numbers, pulling the shaft, running a boroscope up to check stern tube, and noodling through the problem cost around $200 in labor.

Long winded way if agreeing with Slomo - how mistakes are remedies is the best test. But you have to find people who can and will recognize a mistake.

Peter

 

[Fletcher500]

People on this site often question why someone would buy a new boat. Following along the past couple years on the renewal of your older boat is one of my answers. Even after spending a lot of time and money, you still have older generation systems and structure that will also eventually fail or need replacing due to their age. Now with that said, you have stated before that you like your boat and it works well for your intended cruising needs and it was worth it to you. Bottom line, + and - for every scenario and that includes new vs older.

 

[mvweebles]

People on this site often question why someone would buy a new boat. Following along the past couple years on the renewal of your older boat is one of my answers. Even after spending a lot of time and money, you still have older generation systems and structure that will also eventually fail or need replacing due to their age. Now with that said, you have stated before that you like your boat and it works well for your intended cruising needs and it was worth it to you. Bottom line, + and - for every scenario and that includes new vs older.

For us, we tend towards vintage stuff. With exception of the venerable Perkins 4.236 diesel, everything is new - more or less what is called in the automotive world a "Frame-Off Restoration." Fuel tanks replaced, all wiring was removed and replaced, panels, valves, plumbing, everything. For painting every bit of hardware was removed. Now, most folks don't go that far so your point is well taken about older systems.

What I have thought a LOT about is how much time and effort building Hull #1 must be for a builder. Taking it from drawing board to bill-of-materials to actual as-built has to be difficult. For example, up-thread I mentioned the original cleats I purchased were too wide to be properly mounted. So I had to replace them. That's a Hull #1 Lessons' Learned. I have a couple large crates of spare parts that didn't work for some reason or another. It's an expensive and time consuming process that is mostly invisible to the consumer. I'd guess even after 35-years of succes that PAE has teething pains with Hull #1 of a new model.

Peter

 

[garbler]

Your experiences are disturbing to say the least but I think the real problem and lesson in this story is conducting business like this in Baja, Mexico. I’m curious how much experience you’ve had not touristing but dealing with contractors in Mexico or most Latin American countries. Unless you have a partner that is a Mexican National your legal recourses are few to non existent and our state dept won’t help. If you come to the point where it’s a stand off it’s very simple for a Mexican contractor to chain your boat to the dock and keep it until you pay wharfage that can get very creative.

Many years ago I worked for a guy who made his living essentially recovering boats, planes and heavy equipment from Mexico. Lots of cute tricks most requiring bribes and pay offs to insure the equipment was able to run. The lending institutions paid handsomely for this dangerous skill. Ensenada was close enough to the border to be a quick run but the dicey part of the those jobs was it’s a naval base with lots of fast response craft. There are some good marine contractors down there especially on steel hulls requiring plate repairs at very reasonable rates but I’d always be very carefull and if possible enlist an agent to protect your interest

 

[rgano]

Then there was the time a yard took a TFer's boat out for a sea trial after an extensive refit without informing the owner so he could be there and ran it aground mangling the running gear (twins). To their credit, they made it all good, but there was loss of lots of boating season time, etc.

 

[mvweebles]

Your experiences are disturbing to say the least but I think the real problem and lesson in this story is conducting business like this in Baja, Mexico. I’m curious how much experience you’ve had not touristing but dealing with contractors in Mexico or most Latin American countries. Unless you have a partner that is a Mexican National your legal recourses are few to non existent and our state dept won’t help. If you come to the point where it’s a stand off it’s very simple for a Mexican contractor to chain your boat to the dock and keep it until you pay wharfage that can get very creative.

Many years ago I worked for a guy who made his living essentially recovering boats, planes and heavy equipment from Mexico. Lots of cute tricks most requiring bribes and pay offs to insure the equipment was able to run. The lending institutions paid handsomely for this dangerous skill. Ensenada was close enough to the border to be a quick run but the dicey part of the those jobs was it’s a naval base with lots of fast response craft. There are some good marine contractors down there especially on steel hulls requiring plate repairs at very reasonable rates but I’d always be very carefull and if possible enlist an agent to protect your interest

I'm glad you brought this up. There is a lot of myth here that I'd like to dispel.

THIS IS NOT A MEXICO PROBLEM. I DON'T CARE WHAT TYPE OF REPO-MAN STORIES YOU HAVE, THEY HAVE ZERO RELEVANCE TO MY EXPERIENCE.

Whew....now that I got that off my chest, I have had the same types of issues in the US, was just able to catch them sooner. My worst contractor experience was with a guy in Florida who was a total crook, though due to the nature of the work, I didn't lose a dime. But I have to wonder how much of your experience is recent, or if it's just second hand.

Second, I actually have a fair amount of experience in Mexico. I've been coming to Mexico for 30-years, and have owned property in Mexico and had a ton of work done for the past dozen years. Most has gone well, a couple of issues. Nothing extraordinary compared to similar work in the US. Labor is cheap, supplies are expensive, Mexican repairs can be creative as result. It's been years, but I've seen broken pushrods welded rather than replaced. You only do that when you have no choice.

Third, while the tort laws are much different in Mexico, it is not nearly as easy as you believe for a contractor to merely chain-up property. As a matter of fact, when it comes to boats, it's probably easier in the US where a mechanics' lien is pretty dang easy to get. In Mexico (as most countries), everything goes through the Capitania del Puerto (Port Captain) who reigns supreme. It's a very lofty government official position similar to a Police Chief. Talking that guy into allowing a boat to be chained-up isn't nearly as easy as you think.

Finally, the bribe-thing is way over-stated, and it ebbs/floes with administrations. Under AMLO, its clearly in an ebb phase. La Mordida is noticibly less now than 3-4 years ago when he took office.

I do have an advisory team in Ensenada as I do where we own property (just as I do in the US). Included are an agent and an attorney in Ensenada, though I wish I had engaged the agent as BandB suggested to perform daily spot-checks. Would have been easy and inexpensive.

In closing, I 100% reject the undertone of the problem is Mexico. I've found the people here warm, helpfu, and honest. Even Mario with Niza I think started with good intentions, just got jammed-up and didn't know how to extricate so started to lie which compounded his ignorance of boats. Sadly, that's a human-nature flaw that's hardly unique to Mexico.

That said, undertaking a project far from home is a challenge - it's a risk. Covid compounded it because it took months to unwind instead of weeks.

Peter

 

[Bob Cofer]

She's sure a good looking vessel!

 

[BandB]

Your experiences are disturbing to say the least but I think the real problem and lesson in this story is conducting business like this in Baja, Mexico. I’m curious how much experience you’ve had not touristing but dealing with contractors in Mexico or most Latin American countries. Unless you have a partner that is a Mexican National your legal recourses are few to non existent and our state dept won’t help. If you come to the point where it’s a stand off it’s very simple for a Mexican contractor to chain your boat to the dock and keep it until you pay wharfage that can get very creative.

Many years ago I worked for a guy who made his living essentially recovering boats, planes and heavy equipment from Mexico. Lots of cute tricks most requiring bribes and pay offs to insure the equipment was able to run. The lending institutions paid handsomely for this dangerous skill. Ensenada was close enough to the border to be a quick run but the dicey part of the those jobs was it’s a naval base with lots of fast response craft. There are some good marine contractors down there especially on steel hulls requiring plate repairs at very reasonable rates but I’d always be very carefull and if possible enlist an agent to protect your interest

From New England and Michigan you paint a very inaccurate picture of getting work done in Mexico and of laws there. Just a few aspects.

First as to good and bad yards and contractors. Same everywhere. La Paz. Anacortes. Actually much easier to move on in Mexico as in the US you'd have a lien on your boat quickly.

Bribery, far overstated and don't think it doesn't exist in all countries.

As to running items across borders. Some of that in border towns. Oh you mean like setting up chop shops for cars in Chattanooga and then running the cars across to Alabama because it's so easy to title them and sell them there? Or running to Canada to avoid the draft or to avoid the death penalty? Or stealing and putting on the next container our in port areas? When I was young, stolen boats ended up in one state and trailers in another because one state didn't title boats and the other didn't title trailers. SC still doesn't title boat trailers.

Don't present this picture of perfect civility in the US and lawlessness elsewhere. In fact, people from most countries are shocked by the litigiousness of the US and today even more shocked by our divisiveness and our gun crime.

I've done business throughout the world and found very little difference in the business practices you need to follow to protect yourself. I see over and over people finding shade tree mechanics and getting screwed in the US or disreputable yards, no different than what he encountered here with a yard. I've seen people make deals with companies they've long worked with, only to get ready for the actual work and find it's been sold and entirely different people now. Heck, I even had a friend with a doctor appointment recently and she shows up to find that doctor has left the practice and she's scheduled with a new doctor she doesn't know and actually none of the staff she knows is still there. She said "Heck no" and ran and they tried to bill her as a no-show.

Rule #1 of contracting is monitoring the work and during the pandemic, Weebles wasn't able to do so in his normal way. I know. We bought and opened stores without our executives seeing them, but thankfully found people to walk through wearing bodycams. We built a boat in Italy but had someone on site, living in a villa there, and actually stuck there. Visa extended due to Covid 19.

I do use agents to clear in most foreign ports, but only as a matter of laziness and convenience. As to doing business with marinas and yards, generally straight forward and every country I've ever been to is more language literate than I am or the US is in general. I have never had a problem conducting business in English, although do sometimes use translators for accuracy.

This thread is not about Mexico. It's about two yards in one location which happens to be in Mexico.

We don't elevate our country by putting other countries down.

 

[SteveK]

I agree with Brett.

Peter you have to take responsibility for not being able to monitor the progress. Then accepting it before finding the issues.

 

[mvweebles]

I agree with Brett.

Peter you have to take responsibility for not being able to monitor the progress. Then accepting it before finding the issues.

Oh man, you have no idea how many ways I've beaten myself up about this. I can blame Covid and the difficulty of getting into Mexico, but there was more than that. I finished a remodel of my house and got it sold (as in I did much of the work myself), finished the remodel of another house so we could have a place to live (as in finished much of it myself), etc.

The fact of the matter is that when you're in too deep, it takes a while to unwind the deal. Warren Buffet loves to quote Swanson's Rules of Business. Rule #2 is it's easier to get into a deal than out of it (as anyone who has ever been divorced will agree).

I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to business. Yet I somehow ended up on the wrong end of this one. I have not called Niza/Mario a crook, but I have called them inept and dishonest through ommission. Honestly, it took over a year to unwind this - to get the boat out of the yard, under my control, and remove entanglements and assure payments were made direct from me to the underlying subcontractor (such as yard storage bills, etc.). This is not an overnight thing.

You guys know my boat-creds pretty well. My purpose in coming forward is two-fold. First, to give some idea that it isn't just sheep who get shorn, but sometimes it happens to pretty bright guys. Not quite an American Greed episode, but you get the idea. Second, I admit to some desire to communicate what a lousy experience I had with Niza.

Peter

 

[BruceK]

Then there was the time a yard took a TFer's boat out for a sea trial after an extensive refit without informing the owner so he could be there and ran it aground mangling the running gear (twins). To their credit, they made it all good, but there was loss of lots of boating season time, etc.

Golden Rule (as illustrated above): If you mess up (or better still you"@&*k" up), you fix up. But if someone is in denial or too silly to realize they messed up, there is little hope.

 

[Miz Trom]

I consider myself pretty savvy when it comes to business. Yet I somehow ended up on the wrong end of this one. I have not called Niza/Mario a crook, but I have called them inept and dishonest through ommission. Honestly, it took over a year to unwind this - to get the boat out of the yard, under my control, and remove entanglements and assure payments were made direct from me to the underlying subcontractor (such as yard storage bills, etc.). This is not an overnight thing.

You guys know my boat-creds pretty well. My purpose in coming forward is two-fold. First, to give some idea that it isn't just sheep who get shorn, but sometimes it happens to pretty bright guys. Not quite an American Greed episode, but you get the idea. Second, I admit to some desire to communicate what a lousy experience I had with Niza.

Peter

Hi Peter:


Everything you've said in this thread is commendable. Your main point is about the LACK of OVERSIGHT, and a teachable lesson for others regarding your lack of foresight about the lack of oversight.


This is the best purpose of Trawler forum. Teaching others through our experiences.


I attempted to accomplish a similar sort of "Warning for New Boat Buyers" with my thread discussing some of the repairs required (over $100k worth on boat & trailer) on our brand new Great Harbour TT35 boat.

https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s63/splash-tt35-hull-1-a-43015.html


It has been very painful for me to read your thread, even though our problems all stemmed from the boat builder. We knew, once Great Harbour delivered such a defective boat, that we had to oversee, on a daily basis, the repairs.


Your experience has been about the repairs and improvements to an older vessel, while our experience was about the repairs necessary for a brand new vessel.

Either way,here's the lesson:
Buyer beware. when it comes to boats. Either monitor the build or the repairs yourself, or hire someone experienced to do the monitoring for you.

Thank you - tremendous thread,
Mrs. Trombley

 

[mvweebles]

Hi Peter:

Everything you've said in this thread is commendable. Your main point is about the LACK of OVERSIGHT, and a teachable lesson for others regarding your lack of foresight about the lack of oversight.


This is the best purpose of Trawler forum. Teaching others through our experiences.


I attempted to accomplish a similar sort of "Warning for New Boat Buyers" with my thread discussing some of the repairs required (over $100k worth on boat & trailer) on our brand new Great Harbour TT35 boat.

https://www.trawlerforum.com/forums/s63/splash-tt35-hull-1-a-43015.html

Thanks for posting your link. I missed the thread when it was first posted. It was a really good read and I admire your ability to keep a civil tone, something I struggle with.

Where I think our stories diverge is not so much with new-build vs major-refit, but in reading your story, my sense was the builder (Mirage) was purposefully unscrupulous and callous. My team (Niza Marine) was ignorant - there is lot they just don't know and don't know they don't know (hope that makes sense). Yet both Niza and Mirage had two common deficiencies: transparency and accountability which begins the slippery slope to dishonesty.

Accountability is an integrity thing, and I've noticed over the years that it's a sliding scale depending on the consequences of admission. People are quick to admit a mistake when the consequences are low. As the consequences rise, say admitting a mistake that could get you fired, they clam-up. What's funny is we all know mistakes don't age well. We've all seen politicians get in trouble for the cover-up, not the mis-deed.

I don't think you can be faulted for trusting a builder who has been in business as long as Mirage has. I, on the other hand, should have known better. There is nothing in my story that could not have been mostly prevented with just a bit more sensibility on my part, even with Covid-related travel restrictions, though it definitely complicated unwinding the deal with Niza (it took almost a year to tick-all-boxes to assure no entanglments).

By the way, I really like the design of the TT35. It's a sensible boat, and sounds like you guys are using it in a manner for which it was designed. Way cool.

Peter

 

[OldDan1943]

By the way, I really like the design of the TT35. It's a sensible boat, and sounds like you guys are using it in a manner for which it was designed. Way cool.

Peter

After the 'roll out' of the first hulls and their problems, are they still building the TT35?

 

[Miz Trom]

It was a really good read and I admire your ability to keep a civil tone, something I struggle with.

Accountability is an integrity thing, and I've noticed over the years that it's a sliding scale depending on the consequences of admission. People are quick to admit a mistake when the consequences are low.


I don't think you can be faulted for trusting a builder who has been in business as long as Mirage has. I, on the other hand, should have known better. There is nothing in my story that could not have been mostly prevented with just a bit more sensibility on my part, even with Covid-related travel restrictions, though it definitely complicated unwinding the deal with Niza (it took almost a year to tick-all-boxes to assure no entanglments).

By the way, I really like the design of the TT35. It's a sensible boat, and sounds like you guys are using it in a manner for which it was designed. Way cool.

Peter

Hi Peter:

(Laughing) I struggled mightily to maintain a civil tone in that thread, because much like your experience, it was about getting screwed by someone you trusted. You have indeed maintained a civil tone, which is what makes your thread compelling.

Civility is also "an integrity thing."

One of my TF pals who posted one of the responses to that thread sent me a PM before the thread was finished, to inform me that someone from Mirage/Great Harbour had sent him a threatening PM in response to his post. That really concerned us.


Peter, actually, I do think we can be faulted for not having a maritime attorney review our boat build contract before we signed it. It wasn't until we realized that they were not delivering what they had promised verbally, that we sought out an attorney.

Because of the contract, the attorney recommended that we take the boat and repair it, because the cost of litigation would likely surpass the value of the boat. This is but one of the realities of civil lawsuits in our legal system; another reality is that every litigation is a roll of the dice, no matter what the facts are. You can easily lose a lawsuit because either the judge or a single member of the jury doesn't like the cut of your jib.

The owner of Mirage/Great Harbour, Ken Fickett, actually sent us a mocking email saying that he never guaranteed us a quality boat. Our attorney told us that Mr. Fickett was correct. We didn't have anything he verbally promised us in writing.


There was a later thread here on TF wherein I was attacked by a Mirage/Great Harbour owner/employee, and I was immensely gratified when BandB jumped in and shut the guy down in no uncertain terms. His post saved me from myself in a way, because I was ready to rip the guy a new one in a way that could have exposed me to legal consequences.


We put our lousy experience behind us, got the boat properly repaired, and moved on. We believed we would own the boat the rest of our lives. And we loved the sensible design, too. She is a fabulous liveaboard.

Then life suddenly changed - my Mom needed help and moved in with us at our dirt home.

We fought the obvious, but eventually recognized that we would not be able to cruise for months/years at a time any longer. Mariso sat in storage throughout 2020.

Last week we sold the boat to a wonderful fellow, Jim in New Jersey. Mariso went to a very good home.


Now we are having a larger house built, and our experience with our boat build is serving us well. There is a shortage of builders here on the west coast of Florida, and we had to pick one who said he could get the job done in under two years. We are keeping a close eye on him and will not tolerate any shenanigans, although we do so as politely as possible.

I expect that your experience with Niza/Mario will serve you well in the future, too. And hopefully, benefit others who read this.


Warm Regards,
Mrs. Pea Trombley


P.S. Old Dan, I have no idea if Mirage/Great Harbour is still building boats. I simply do not care.

 

[rpackard]

Peter,

Describing your difficulties is very generous of you. I am sure we all feel that "There but for the grace of god go I."

I don't want participants on this list to think that most boat work in Mexico is bad. As you know I had a tremendous amount of work done in San Carlos, Sonora, by several people. i was very happy with the work and the price. HOWEVER, i had the luxury of always being there and knowing how it should be done.

Regarding the lack of bolts and backing for your cleats: you probably know that Willard used only lag bolts into the soft teak and fiberglass under layer for that. Pretty inferior idea. When I had new cleats installed on Lilliana we found the skinniest 12 year old in the area and paid him to climb into that 3" wide space and hold a wrench to tighten the nuts.

Lilliana is about to be delivered by ship in Nanaimo. May 26. I will then motor up to Alaska. My greatest regret about leaving Mexico will be the absence of inexpensive boat work. It will be just too painful to pay $115/hr knowing that Alberto, Arturo, Manuel, Omar, etc. would do the same job for $10-20/hr. Actually these guys all eventually knew that if they charged me too little I would double the amount out of guilt. We both benefitted from that.

I hope that after your shakedown time you will have smooth sailing after that.

Richard

 

[mvweebles]

Peter,

Describing your difficulties is very generous of you. I am sure we all feel that "There but for the grace of god go I."

I don't want participants on this list to think that most boat work in Mexico is bad. As you know I had a tremendous amount of work done in San Carlos, Sonora, by several people. i was very happy with the work and the price. HOWEVER, i had the luxury of always being there and knowing how it should be done.......

Thanks for posting this Richard. I really hesistated to lay-bear my experience. It's a bit embarrassing, a bit humbling, and there's more than a wee bit of self-ass-kicking. But in the end, I figured I have some creds here and I hoped it would be instructive for at least one or two people that someone who wasn't a newbie made a mistake. At some point, I'll write a longer piece (perhaps for publishing, or blog so it can be searched more easily) on what to look for and how to mitigate risk.

This was not a "Mexico" story. This isn't even a story about getting it done cheap vs a story of wanting more work done for the budget I had. This isn't even an American Greed style rip-off, though I firmly believe Mario/Niza are on a continuum that start with over-eagerness, proceeds to incompetence, passes through making excuses, and eventually lands in calous rip-off. It's a well known path - Florida Roofing Contractors seem to be Exhibit #1. I just hit them somewhere at the beginning.

That said, there are people who will read this who just don't like Mexico and will hold this up as "See!! That's what happens down there!!" It's too bad because Mexico is a wonderful country with hardworking people and a family-based culture. The only place where I might say this is a Mexico story has to do with Mexico being a developing country - much work is still done with hand or basic handtools. Shops don't have the same advanced tools even good home mechanics have. Its also hard to get parts even when they are only 75 miles north in San Diego.

It's also not a story about needing to be on-watch to make sure the work gets done, but rather a story of you need to be there to answer questions. Without that, work will stall. It's not a nefarious thing, it's just human nature that when they don't know what they should do, they go do something else. Or god forbid, they power-forward and make a mistake.

At any rate, thanks for the kind words. And to anyone reading who wants to say a big "I coulda told you so..." Well, keep it to yourself. And if the motivation to make the statement is at all Mexico-related, well, you are wrong. Really wrong. This is a good country with good people. You learn a lot when you travel and open your eyes. What's incredible to me is Mexico would welcome you with open arms and just stun you with their largess.

Peter

 

[billdomb]

Sympathize with ya bigtime.

Our boat's been on the hard and in port for over six months now. Think it all started when a clown captain blew out the seam on our blackwater tank attempting to 'free a clog'. MANY other issues followed. Including over $100K on engine work, gennies, hydraulics, thrusters, etc. Every time they worked on one thing, they screwed up sumthin else.

Screw-ups are the name of the game. As noted, comes from poor training, poor thinking, sloppiness and laziness. About the only thing that seems to help is constant OBSERVATION AND SUPERVISION by owner and captain.

Generally, pointing fingers and affixing responsibility is a losing game.

 

[BandB]

Sympathize with ya bigtime.

Our boat's been on the hard and in port for over six months now. Think it all started when a clown captain blew out the seam on our blackwater tank attempting to 'free a clog'. MANY other issues followed. Including over $100K on engine work, gennies, hydraulics, thrusters, etc. Every time they worked on one thing, they screwed up sumthin else.

Screw-ups are the name of the game. As noted, comes from poor training, poor thinking, sloppiness and laziness. About the only thing that seems to help is constant OBSERVATION AND SUPERVISION by owner and captain.

Generally, pointing fingers and affixing responsibility is a losing game.

And just gives the comparative example as we get all our work done by a West Palm/Riviera boatyard and have never encountered the kind of issues you point to. They are well trained and supervised and not sloppy or lazy. They don't screw things up. So just like Weeble's situation, same general location and very different results.

 

[billdomb]

Interesting; that's the yard we use, I'd bet. BUT...it's not so much the yard but who comes onto the boat while IN the yard that makes a difference.

Just had another one today, though back in the water now. Had hired a feller to renew the NMEA lines for autopilot, sonar, etc. Then the system refused to move the rudder or give rudder position indication. Their conclusion: you need a new hydraulic pump.

NO. Had the hydraulics guy in today and he found the other dude just hadn't connected one of the sensor lines. !@%$!@#%!@ %!%$

 

[lwarden]

At any rate, thanks for the kind words. And to anyone reading who wants to say a big "I coulda told you so..." Well, keep it to yourself. And if the motivation to make the statement is at all Mexico-related, well, you are wrong. Really wrong. This is a good country with good people. You learn a lot when you travel and open your eyes. What's incredible to me is Mexico would welcome you with open arms and just stun you with their largess.

Peter

Agree with this 100%
I've lived my entire life in San Diego and spent a considerable time south of the border. Mexico (and Mexican) bashing often seems to come from those who have never really been down there, met the people and relaxed and just experienced the culture. Treat the Mexican folks with kindness, respect and a dose of modesty and you will be rewarded by a culture of warmth and humble nature.

If you've spent any time in the yards in San Diego you will likely find most are immigrants from Mexico, and some have worked in the yards in Ensenada at some point. Perhaps the oversight is a bit better in San Diego, but the labor is similar. I've known quite a few folks who've had some nice work done at Baja Naval over the years and they've been pretty satisfied. The downside is Baja Naval isn't that much cheaper than San Diego yards from the quotes I've seen so not a huge advantage cost-wise.

 

[Cartouche]

Under the heading of "I have to laugh or I'd cry...." comes today's story of the perils of refits. I've been pretty quiet on my trials and tribulations, but I had to share this one today.

First....a HUGE WARNING: If you want work done in Ensenada MX, DO NOT USE MARIO AT NIZA MARINE. He's a nice guy and means well, but is clueless when it comes to boats; and is the type who is afraid to be transparent. I've assembled some pictures HERE..

The good news is I have been working with Guillermo at LaCosta for the last few months which has been great. It's only been recently that I've been able to laugh at the crazy stuff Niza did. Their cluelessness cost me a lot of money, but I am looking forward as I'm getting closer to moving on.

But I had a good laugh today. I took Weebles out for a sea-trial and the thruster didn't work (amongst other items). Motor turned, but no oooomph.

TToday's installment of Bonehead Boatyard Antics: When Niza installed the props on the new thruster, they forgot the locking pins that actually engage the props. Look at the exploded diagrams below - these pins are almost impossible to forget unless you had zero mechanical aptitude. Of course, the guy who installed the props and had no idea what the spare parts were tossed them in the trash so these pins are long gone so will have to fabricate something.

Anyone have any other bonehead boatyard stuff? I have a zillion of them - when I pull pictures I'll fill-in. I wish I could post the short video of the props free-wheeling. I almost spit-out my beer!

Peter

View attachment 128709

THOSE LOOK LIKE THE SIDEPOWER 5 BLADE UPGRADE KIT. I found out when I did my upgrade is - the only way to mount the pin is to not install the blades on the inner hub. as with the blades on it is almost impossible to keep the shear pin centered.