Refit works Gibraltar

[slipknot]

Just wondering if anyone could help me with some information. I am looking to undertake a significant refit of a 55ft yacht that is currently in Spain and was thinking of having the work done in Gibraltar. I was thinking of using MH Yacht Preserve. Does anyone have any experience of this company, or indeed able to recommend anyone else in the Gibraltar area. The works to be undertaken will include:
Replacing the original teak deck with a synthetic teak deck
Stripping the fairing material on the underwater sections, applying a new epoxy coating and then finishing with 4-5 coats of Coppercoat
Fitting a bowthruster
Full upgrade of electronics.

Any guidance appreciate. PM me if you prefer.

 

[capnsensible]

You could try the yard over at Algecieras. Isla Verde. Very good, they have masses of experience of all kinds of vessels. They are in the duty free zone of the port so no IVA. Shiplift will take your boat easily.

Manager speaks fluent Enlish and is worth a call.

MH preserve are actually in La Linea boatyard. And.... um....:ambivalence:

 

[gertha]

2 years ago I was looking for similar work to be done, in similar area.
Never tried Gib , it has few skilled trades on the rock, cost of housing and resources has created a place for dodgy insurance and banking and numbing repair costs.

Almerimar, further back in Spain , was good 5 years ago and competitive when I asked 2 years ago, this presumes Chris is still manager, he is Yorkshire with a german name.
Lagos in Portugal was also competitive, the price quoted was better than Almerimar.

The problem any boat yard, they can price a job as seen, however when the work starts the extras start and price can double; but I guess you know this.

I ended up sailing to UK and having work done close to home, the cost was less .
My teak is old and could have been replaced, however I have refurbed it my self and saved 50k.

 

[capnsensible]

Never tried Gib , it has few skilled trades on the rock, cost of housing and resources has created a place for dodgy insurance and banking and numbing repair costs.
.

If you had you would know that is actually completely false. They can refit ships on the Rock and have done for hundreds of years. Its simply cheaper to nip across to Isla Verde and not pay sales tax.

 

[gertha]

What I should have said is.
I spent two weeks on Gib working with an ex employee of a well respected boat yard, whilst my own boat was parked in a marina on the rock.
His advise was the rock has been taken over by banking ,insurance and gambling. There is no one he co7ld recommend to tale on deck removal and replacment, removal of keel and new rigging.
I took his advise and moved on.
My mistake.
Where are the competitive,skilled yacht repairs on Gibralter?

 

[capnsensible]

Gertha, understand what you are saying. However I spent around thirteen years altogether living on my yacht in Marina Bay running sailing schools with the need to keep them in good order.

We were also members of the Gibraltar Yacht Business Development Association.

Soo, I reckon I gat a fair handle on who can do what!

There are several small independent boat repairers I could recommend plus the well known Sheppards who can do absolutely anything. Problem is all that comes at a price. And since the old travel hoist area down near Marina Bay has been built on, a lift out is frankly, a pain in the arse.

Across in La Linea is a very good lift out. I used it a lot for routine lifting and surveys of my school boats as its a twenty minute walk away. I'm afraid that for other marine services, I was quite unimpressed.

So if you want good work done by experts at a fair price, then nip over to Isla Verde. You can live on the boat still, they got good showers and stuff plus canteen type food available. They refit up to quite large tugs and can do anything on yachts. Hence my recommend.

Have also lifted in Estepona, Sotogrande and across at Marina Smir. Should I be that way again, Isla Verde is the one for me. Let's hope that you prompting this helps the OP.

 

[Sea Devil]

There are no boatyard facilities in Gibraltar any more. There are no lift out facilities (except by hired crane) in Gibraltar any more. There are some excellent marine engineers who keep the police and customs boats running but thats it! The rate for any work you do manage to get done is almost double that of Spain and whilst it is VAT free a customs duty of 10% is added to almost everything. It is not the place to refit a boat.
The recently established facilities in the La Linea marina are OK although the odd boat has fallen over and the marine engineers that you are obliged to use are very expensive and unreliable.
All is not lost! Just across the bay facing Gibraltar a family run boat boat yard called Isla Verde who have a highly skilled workforce and have been in the boatyard trade for decades.
0034 956 600 511 info@isla-verde.es www.isla-verde.es
Miguel - Michael, speaks perfect English and the guys doing the work speak enough to get the job done.

They service superyachts, tugs, mobo, tiny sailing yachts and AWB and have all the skills at very reasonable rates. For years I hauled there and always felt I got a first rate job done at a fair price. You can DIY and live aboard or stay in a hotel nearby for 40€ a night - we did both. A proper boat yard at sensible prices with excellent facilities.

 

[Sea Devil]

Just read my own page on Gibraltar and below is a bit more about Isla Verde boat yard;

Situated at 36° 07’.28”N 5° 26’ 08”W it is in the ‘Freeport’ area of Algeciras and as such, does not have to add 21% Spanish VAT to it’s charges. The prices are very competitive compared to the La Linea marina travel lift facility. They have a chandlers and can obtain most items within 24 hours if not in stock. They have excellent workshops and professional shipwrights, electricians and osmosis treatments. Main dealers for International and Jotun.

May 2014 - I have just finished the annual refit - antifouling, greasing Maxi-prop, renewing anodes and polishing topsides at the Green Island Yacht Centre and it was a very very good experience. They speak excellent English, the travel lift is huge making lifting and splashing easy. The yard did my antifouling and topsides polish for me to a very high standard, quickly and efficiently. I came away with a bill lower than I expected! I cannot recommend this yard highly enough - nice people. We could have lived onboard but instead chose to taxi 4-8€ to a hotel in Algeciras each day. A very nice town centre with the excellent cafe 'Monte' near the centre plus very inexpensive meals in the evenings at The Magic Flute.

 

[slipknot]

Thank you for your replies. All are really helpful to me and I will certainly take into account your advice. Choosing the right people to carry my work is crucial. If anyone else has any good refit yard recommendations I should consider, please let me know. Many thanks.

 

[Heckler]

You could try the yard over at Algecieras. Isla Verde. Very good, they have masses of experience of all kinds of vessels. They are in the duty free zone of the port so no IVA. Shiplift will take your boat easily.

Manager speaks fluent Enlish and is worth a call.

MH preserve are actually in La Linea boatyard. And.... um....:ambivalence:

Indeed :ambivalence: Also you cant live on the boat in the yard. Far better in Algeciras.

 

[Garold]

I agree with most of the info above.

We used the yard at La Linea a couple of years ago for our lift out and full winter maintenance work. We used MH yacht services and whilst they seemed to have the skills available to do all the jobs and servicing, they were a bit difficult to manage. Also, there seemed to be no working relationship between the crane operators and MH. The yard manager had to negotiate for several hours to get them to put our boat back in the water.

It seems like a couple of people above are offering sound local advice based on personal experience. I’d follow their advice.

 

[Paul1804UK]

Just read my own page on Gibraltar and below is a bit more about Isla Verde boat yard;

Situated at 36° 07’.28”N 5° 26’ 08”W it is in the ‘Freeport’ area of Algeciras and as such, does not have to add 21% Spanish VAT to it’s charges. The prices are very competitive compared to the La Linea marina travel lift facility. They have a chandlers and can obtain most items within 24 hours if not in stock. They have excellent workshops and professional shipwrights, electricians and osmosis treatments. Main dealers for International and Jotun.

May 2014 - I have just finished the annual refit - antifouling, greasing Maxi-prop, renewing anodes and polishing topsides at the Green Island Yacht Centre and it was a very very good experience. They speak excellent English, the travel lift is huge making lifting and splashing easy. The yard did my antifouling and topsides polish for me to a very high standard, quickly and efficiently. I came away with a bill lower than I expected! I cannot recommend this yard highly enough - nice people. We could have lived onboard but instead chose to taxi 4-8€ to a hotel in Algeciras each day. A very nice town centre with the excellent cafe 'Monte' near the centre plus very inexpensive meals in the evenings at The Magic Flute.

Is there any accommodation that you can rent in the area

 

[Sea Devil]

Is there any accommodation that you can rent in the area

yes there are a couple of hotels within long walking distance or 4-6 euro taxi ride -
Hotel Marina Victoria at 30 UKP a night - 2 star in the main road of the town - we always stayed there - close to restaurants and bars etc .. walking distance - in the Arab area - we loved it but may not be for everyone..
Globales Reina Cristina at 75 UKP a night - very old 5 star hotel - service pretty dire but a wonderful WW2 history - long walk to other restaurants and bars - this is where the boat yard puts professional crew off luxury yachts -