Good value Boatyards in the Ionian

Aktio Marine

Happy new year to everybody and sorry for my english.
Does someone know if to Aktio Marine (Preveza) they mesure the boats to check the boat's paper'?
Many thanks.
 
nimbusgb said:
To each their own bluetwo.

Nothing stopping a travelift being used at Aktio! Two concrete jetties, level and strong enough for a lift. I have never seen a boat 'leaping about' between the jetties at Aktio.

Frankly I rather prefer the weight of my vessel to be distributed over 6 well spaced pads than two narrow straps where a single failure will dump my boat.

In case you weren't aware, when the earthquake hit Preveza in 2003 Aktio was the only marina to NOT have any boats fall over. They have designed the best cradles by far ( copied rather poorly now by the two other yards - across in the somewhat 'rustic' Margarona yard they still use wooden props ) . BTW There was a 4.8 quake at Preveza (7km) just 2 months ago.

During the autumn the yard crew go round doubling up on props and cross chains. When I get to the yard at the beginning of the season there's a veritable forest of steel under my boat. I know I'd rather have peace of mind when I'm not there!
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I know about the eathquake in Preveza because I was having a shower when it hit.

I have no axe to grind whichever boatyard is chosen. I still use the one my boat was in when I purchased her two years ago. However I do walk along the "front" between boat jobs and notice the different techniques for hauling. Cleopatra have two travel lifts and because of their enclosed bay can haul and launch in all weathers. Ionion and Aktio have a problem in strong winds mainly because boat owners cancel out in very bouncy conditions and prefer to stay on land or against the Preveza quay. I have seen the condition of both bays in strong westerly winds when the precailing wind is augmented by the hot land sea breeze. This is why morning activity is fully booked before afternoon launches are booked.

The only advantage to underlift haulout is for large boats where the mast and rigging can cause the Ionion Marine travel lift operators to ask for a stern first entry into the bay. This does not apply to Cleopatra who have an enormous travel lift.

A massive disadvantage of underlift boats is the spacing between the cradled boats. The boats are so close in Aktio that one guy told me that an owner was absentmindedly strolling between the boats when his head jammed between the boats. True or not, but it is a fact that topside work in Cleopatra and Ionion Marine is no problem because there is room to move the supplied wheely gangplank things between the boats. Also the travel lift is used to lift boats for keel and rudder work.

As I said I am just an observer, but I would really and truly avoid Aktio while there was still room in the other two.

Last point, the Aktio bay is a slipway, the travel lift would have to drive way into the bay to sling their slings. No thank you. Which is why (apart from stacking the boats like sardines in a can) they are committed to underlift.
 
BlueTwo said:
I know about the eathquake in Preveza because I was having a shower when it hit.

I have no axe to grind whichever boatyard is chosen. I still use the one my boat was in when I purchased her two years ago. However I do walk along the "front" between boat jobs and notice the different techniques for hauling. Cleopatra have two travel lifts and because of their enclosed bay can haul and launch in all weathers. Ionion and Aktio have a problem in strong winds mainly because boat owners cancel out in very bouncy conditions and prefer to stay on land or against the Preveza quay. I have seen the condition of both bays in strong westerly winds when the precailing wind is augmented by the hot land sea breeze. This is why morning activity is fully booked before afternoon launches are booked.

The only advantage to underlift haulout is for large boats where the mast and rigging can cause the Ionion Marine travel lift operators to ask for a stern first entry into the bay. This does not apply to Cleopatra who have an enormous travel lift.

A massive disadvantage of underlift boats is the spacing between the cradled boats. The boats are so close in Aktio that one guy told me that an owner was absentmindedly strolling between the boats when his head jammed between the boats. True or not, but it is a fact that topside work in Cleopatra and Ionion Marine is no problem because there is room to move the supplied wheely gangplank things between the boats. Also the travel lift is used to lift boats for keel and rudder work.

As I said I am just an observer, but I would really and truly avoid Aktio while there was still room in the other two.

Last point, the Aktio bay is a slipway, the travel lift would have to drive way into the bay to sling their slings. No thank you. Which is why (apart from stacking the boats like sardines in a can) they are committed to underlift.
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Sigh! Oh dear! Well, never mind I doubt you'd fit in with the crowd at Aktio anyway. We do things like arrange a United Nations Easter bash with a lamb on the spit while your lot get the blazers and cravats on and go down to the restaurant while the crew polish the silverware aboard!

:D :D :D
 
BlueTwo said:
I know about the eathquake in Preveza because I was having a shower when it hit.

I have no axe to grind whichever boatyard is chosen. I still use the one my boat was in when I purchased her two years ago. However I do walk along the "front" between boat jobs and notice the different techniques for hauling. Cleopatra have two travel lifts and because of their enclosed bay can haul and launch in all weathers. Ionion and Aktio have a problem in strong winds mainly because boat owners cancel out in very bouncy conditions and prefer to stay on land or against the Preveza quay. I have seen the condition of both bays in strong westerly winds when the precailing wind is augmented by the hot land sea breeze. This is why morning activity is fully booked before afternoon launches are booked.

The only advantage to underlift haulout is for large boats where the mast and rigging can cause the Ionion Marine travel lift operators to ask for a stern first entry into the bay. This does not apply to Cleopatra who have an enormous travel lift.

A massive disadvantage of underlift boats is the spacing between the cradled boats. The boats are so close in Aktio that one guy told me that an owner was absentmindedly strolling between the boats when his head jammed between the boats. True or not, but it is a fact that topside work in Cleopatra and Ionion Marine is no problem because there is room to move the supplied wheely gangplank things between the boats. Also the travel lift is used to lift boats for keel and rudder work.

As I said I am just an observer, but I would really and truly avoid Aktio while there was still room in the other two.

Last point, the Aktio bay is a slipway, the travel lift would have to drive way into the bay to sling their slings. No thank you. Which is why (apart from stacking the boats like sardines in a can) they are committed to underlift.
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What utter Rubbish.

The boats are not that close together by any means.

The travel lift if used would only go onto the existing piers as there is PLENTY of depth there.

Aktio is the only yard that allows outside workers in without charge. Cleo does not allow ANY in.

So do go into Aktio - they are a delightful bunch of people.
 
nimbusgb said:
Sigh! Oh dear! Well, never mind I doubt you'd fit in with the crowd at Aktio anyway. We do things like arrange a United Nations Easter bash with a lamb on the spit while your lot get the blazers and cravats on and go down to the restaurant while the crew polish the silverware aboard!

:D :D :D
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What ho Bertie...:eek:
 
Why do these threads always end up in a slanging match ??
However to put the record straight Cleopatra do allow outside trade in but charge a whopping 30% surcharge on their bill. Presumably to ensure work for the large number of local people working in their yard. BUT....if you approach Simon Trippier of Sivota Yacht Services and ask him to introduce you into the yard then he can work on your boat without the 30% surcharge, presumably because he has brought them business. This will probably be the case with a number of other local engineers etc but Simon is the only one I know and trust.
I would also add that I think all the yards at Preveza are good, its just a matter of personal preference. Call in, walk around and make your decision.
The only place I would not go is the marina berths at Cleopatra as the current and wind rip through there and can make things tricky in the extreme at times.
 
curlysue said:
Why do these threads always end up in a slanging match ??
The only place I would not go is the marina berths at Cleopatra as the current and wind rip through there and can make things tricky in the extreme at times.
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I agree which is why I backed out of the thread when things got personal.

However, regarding the current in the Cleopatra Marina. This is very interesting because I thought the breakwaters were solid down to the sea bed. Is it a through current or a swirly thing from the entrance.

However, I have heard a complaint about the Marina causing silting in the access to the Ionion and Aktio haulout bays. I do know of two boats that went firmly aground while trying to enter the bays in 2012. Both were Bavaria 37 yachts with a bulb keel that dug in like a CQR needing a tow off despite a low speed grounding. They had been in and out of the yards for five years without previous trouble.
 
BlueTwo said:
I agree which is why I backed out of the thread when things got personal.

However, regarding the current in the Cleopatra Marina. This is very interesting because I thought the breakwaters were solid down to the sea bed. Is it a through current or a swirly thing from the entrance.

However, I have heard a complaint about the Marina causing silting in the access to the Ionion and Aktio haulout bays. I do know of two boats that went firmly aground while trying to enter the bays in 2012. Both were Bavaria 37 yachts with a bulb keel that dug in like a CQR needing a tow off despite a low speed grounding. They had been in and out of the yards for five years without previous trouble.
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Getting diesel from Cleopatra jetty you are fighting the current if it's running as it comes straight under the fueling jetty. Pretty sure that their pontoons are not solid all the way down they are anchored concrete boxes.

The area to the East of their marina is definitely getting shallower and to the East of the Aktio jetties is much shallower than it was a couple of years back.

Who knows if it was caused by their development but there is certainly a lot of rumour running about in the area as to how Cleopatra actually got the permission to build the Marina in the first place. I have heard all sorts of things like a lack of Hydrological survey, 'purchased' permits and other stuff. Most of it highly inflammatory and probably slanderous to some extent.

I have heard that Ionian and Cleo 'have it in for' Aktio. Aktio charges at least 20% less than the other two and the feeling is that they don't like it. Last season there was a rumour that Cleo was trying to close the access road beyond their jetty. I spoke to Ioannis at Aktio and he just shrugged and said 'there is access round the back anyway' so there may have been some truth in it. Next time I got to the boat the poor dirt path had been replaced by lovely smooth tarmac, all the way up to ( and past Aktio's front gate ). When faced with the option to move from Ionian to Aktio people are told in no uncertain terms how **** the yard is.

It's all rather silly really certainly very 'Mediterranean', lots of machismo about.

Personally after 6 seasons in Aktio the staff have always been helpful, my boat has been safe and well handled and looked after and I have never got my head stuck between two boats nor have I had any trouble working on the hull, topsides or other bits of the boat. I have never heard of anyone suffering any damage due to using an underlift trailer at Aktio and there are some heavy HR's, lots of lightweight AWB's and quite a few ali boats in the yard.

Live and let live is my opinion.
 
nimbusgb said:
I have heard that Ionian and Cleo 'have it in for' Aktio.
It's all rather silly really certainly very 'Mediterranean', lots of machismo about.
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One thing always puzzled me and that is the daily shuttle run to Preveza town from the boatyards. There is no co-operation between the three yards. They operate individual shuttles. If they got their act together they could operate staggered shuttle times on ad hoc basis so you could go out at different times and come back on a different shuttle. But no, as it stands, you get two hours to do the shopping on a semi rigid timetable and only use the vehicle from the boatyard your boat is in.

Not only that, but the convention of taxi drivers licensing scam do not allow the shuttle busses past the army barracks so it is a ten minute walk to the first shop. No bikes in the tunnel so its a nice earner for the taxis if you have business in town that requires more than two hours. This came to light one day during a mini-mutiny in Ionion when the driver was "asked" to drive direct to Lidl. The shuttle driver just shrugged his shoulders and dropped everyone off at the old army barracks.

Perhaps the boat owners from all three yards should get organised and force the issue. Right now it is impossible to reach Lidl in under two hours.

Maybe I'm the only one to moan about it.
 
BlueTwo said:
I agree which is why I backed out of the thread when things got personal.

However, regarding the current in the Cleopatra Marina. This is very interesting because I thought the breakwaters were solid down to the sea bed. Is it a through current or a swirly thing from the entrance.

However, I have heard a complaint about the Marina causing silting in the access to the Ionion and Aktio haulout bays. I do know of two boats that went firmly aground while trying to enter the bays in 2012. Both were Bavaria 37 yachts with a bulb keel that dug in like a CQR needing a tow off despite a low speed grounding. They had been in and out of the yards for five years without previous trouble.
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BlueTwo - I am sorry I was a bit blunt in my reply, however, I did feel you went a little over the top in saying.
"but I would really and truly avoid Aktio while there was still room in the other two."

So apologies, but you might like to clarify your statement, as these guys are a decent bunch of people, and I really don't think your statement was fair to them.
 
Chris_Robb said:
BlueTwo - I am sorry I was a bit blunt in my reply, however, I did feel you went a little over the top in saying.
"but I would really and truly avoid Aktio while there was still room in the other two."

So apologies, but you might like to clarify your statement, as these guys are a decent bunch of people, and I really don't think your statement was fair to them.
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Thanks. I backed out of the thread because it seemed to be heading in a direction that maybe would concentrate on people rather than the facilities which is what the thread was (and still is) about. My remark about not choosing Aktio was in no way based on the people or their boats. It was based solely on the lifting system and the way Aktio used the close quarters ability to close the gap between boats. I have been around preveza for only two summers but I have concluded that only 20% of boats are launched at any one time. Same in all three but it is only a guess. This leaves gaps in the line of stored boats and it may be that an underlift boat can squeeze a larger boat in a gap vacated by a smaller boat which a travel lift could not.

I know that Ionion and maybe Cleopatra also have an underlift trailer and use it sometimes to transfer boats from or too the travel lift. I think this is to speed up the process and free up the travel lift but I don't know.

Anyway I do like the clubhouse and TV at Aktio which is open all the time not just office hours like the other two. That's a big plus when internet can be used in the evening after working on the boats.

Edit: The barking dogs in Aktio are another story.
 
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Nothing quite like coming down the ladder in the middle of a dark night and startling the donkey ( and her new foal ) awake so that she brays at you. Nearly didn't need to continue to the can!

Cows in the yard too occasionally :)
 
Yes, the donkey and foal wander across the fence occasionally. Never met the goat though. In Ionion the frogs have returned. All boats get their resident frog on deck which hide under cleats and croak to one another.

My neighbour (a French woman) came down her ladder and stepped on a snake. Long green thing.

Along with barking dogs, braying donkeys, frogs, scorpions, snakes and a gigabillion mossys, its like a zoo at times. Then there are the birds that nest in the boom and top of solar panels and radar arches. All good fun and what is attractive about Greece.
 
BlueTwo said:
Yes, the donkey and foal wander across the fence occasionally. Never met the goat though. In Ionion the frogs have returned. All boats get their resident frog on deck which hide under cleats and croak to one another.

My neighbour (a French woman) came down her ladder and stepped on a snake. Long green thing.

Along with barking dogs, braying donkeys, frogs, scorpions, snakes and a gigabillion mossys, its like a zoo at times. Then there are the birds that nest in the boom and top of solar panels and radar arches. All good fun and what is attractive about Greece.
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You forgot the wasps and their nests in anchor lockers and unplugged exhaust and through hull fittings! ( I KNEW I'd forgotten something this winter! )
 
I do agree that the folk in Aktio are likeable and they are relaxed about life. However I do agree that the closeness of the stacked boats can make working on the outside of yours difficult if not impossible.
What I do find less agreeable is the surreptitious additional charges made in all the Preveza yards which makes what appears to be an economic price less so.
Couple that with the difficulties of travelling back to the UK and the lack of easy access to the facilities of the town brings all the Preveza yards way down my list of desirable over-winter places, below such places as Kalamata, Messolonghi or Ag Nikoloas.

However, unless you pay through the nose there are no perfect overwinter places, either their lift-out facilities are riddled with weaknesses (Messolonghi) or their standing is limited and expensive (the other two).
 
Janet-Mick Marguerite said:
We are in Marina di Ragusa till April. Does anyone have experience of a good boatyard where you can work on your own boat? We need to have our Westerly Discus out for a week. Somewhere in Sicily, S Italy or Greece/Corfu mainland?? Thanks
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We too have our yacht in Marina di Ragusa. I have heard that the marina at Licata is very helpful and keen for new business. I have no idea if they allow one to work on your own boat but is would no harm to ask as it is not far away.

TudorSailor
 
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