Turkey vs Greece for cheap boat storage on handstand + refit – advice needed!

[Ian680]

Hi all,

I’m looking for recommendations and real-world experience on storing and refitting my boat in Turkey or Greece, and would really appreciate some advice.

Boat details:
Colvic Watson 45ft, approx. 20 tons
Planning to ship the boat from the UK for a longer-term refit/maintenance project.

What I’m looking for

Affordable long-term hard standing storage
Good value local labour (mechanical, electrical, carpentry, hull/paint, etc.)
A yard familiar with traditional/heavier displacement boats.

Questions for people who’ve been there

Which is generally better value – Greece or Turkey – for storage and labour costs?
Which yards would you personally recommend (and why)?
What sort of rates have you paid, roughly, for:

• Haul-out / lift
• Monthly or yearly hard standing
• Labour rates (mechanic, electrician, shipwright, painter etc.)

1. Any locations or yards to avoid due to price, quality issues, or delays?
2. Anything else to watch out for: bureaucracy, visas, security, language barrier, parts availability etc.

My priorities

Safe yard with reliable trades
Not “superyacht pricing”
Good value overall vs shipping/logistics cost

I’d really appreciate any advice, yard names, contacts, or recent cost experiences. Thanks very much for any firsthand insights!

Cheers,


Ian

 

[TSailors]

IMHO Turkish marinas are 3 times more expensive and full of restrictions. I don't plan on bringing my own boat to Turkish marinas myself.

 

[Tranona]

Hi all,

I’m looking for recommendations and real-world experience on storing and refitting my boat in Turkey or Greece, and would really appreciate some advice.

Boat details:
Colvic Watson 45ft, approx. 20 tons
Planning to ship the boat from the UK for a longer-term refit/maintenance project.

What I’m looking for

Affordable long-term hard standing storage
Good value local labour (mechanical, electrical, carpentry, hull/paint, etc.)
A yard familiar with traditional/heavier displacement boats.

Questions for people who’ve been there

Which is generally better value – Greece or Turkey – for storage and labour costs?
Which yards would you personally recommend (and why)?
What sort of rates have you paid, roughly, for:

• Haul-out / lift
• Monthly or yearly hard standing
• Labour rates (mechanic, electrician, shipwright, painter etc.)

1. Any locations or yards to avoid due to price, quality issues, or delays?
2. Anything else to watch out for: bureaucracy, visas, security, language barrier, parts availability etc.

My priorities

Safe yard with reliable trades
Not “superyacht pricing”
Good value overall vs shipping/logistics cost

I’d really appreciate any advice, yard names, contacts, or recent cost experiences. Thanks very much for any firsthand insights!

Cheers,


Ian

Welcome to the forum

Neither places are cheap. You will find it difficult if not impossible to import a UK boat into the EU and transporting a boat there would cost more than the boat is worth. Not sure how much research you have done into boat renovation, but a boat of that type has very little market value and the cost of refit, even if you do it yourself would be far higher than it will ever be worth. Not sure why you think the Med would be a good place to go with a boat designed for northern waters. Not only is it unsuitable, but nobody there would have any experience of working on such a boat.

Sorry to sound negative but that is how it is.

 

[Ian680]

Hi Tranona
Thanks for your reply much appreciated, well I’ve said it a Colvin Watson as it the closed boat I think it looks like, it’s actually a wooden crabber that was built for my grandfather back in 1959 I’ve been restoring her in Devon with boat builders and now the hull has been restored was thinking of taking her for fit out ready to take her around the Mediterranean when I’m not working which is 6 months of the year, I was hoping to find a place that could finish her inside to a nice standard plus I can be over their in the sun at the same time, sorry for the confusion

 

[Tranona]

You will have difficulty in taking that boat to the EU. If you are a non EU resident and the boat is UK registered you are allowed to temporarily use it in the EU for up 18 months at a time after which it must leave the EU. The boat can then re-enter for another 18 months. However you are only allowed 90 days out of 180. These constraints make it extremely difficult to take a UK boat to the Med. Also costs, both berthing and getting work done (if you can find anybody interested ) are far higher than in the UK - may have been reasonable 30 or 40 years ago, but times change. You will also find the climate will destroy your boat in very short order.

Nice idea, but I am afraid hopelessly unrealistic. I kept my boat in Greece for 10 years so have good idea of what it is like. 20 years ago it was full of old boats taken from the UK in earlier years when there were less constraints and life was cheap. Mostly rotting away in the harsh climate and abandoned because they were uneconomic to keep going.

 

[Ian680]

You will have difficulty in taking that boat to the EU. If you are a non EU resident and the boat is UK registered you are allowed to temporarily use it in the EU for up 18 months at a time after which it must leave the EU. The boat can then re-enter for another 18 months. However you are only allowed 90 days out of 180. These constraints make it extremely difficult to take a UK boat to the Med. Also costs, both berthing and getting work done (if you can find anybody interested ) are far higher than in the UK - may have been reasonable 30 or 40 years ago, but times change. You will also find the climate will destroy your boat in very short order.

Nice idea, but I am afraid hopelessly unrealistic. I kept my boat in Greece for 10 years so have good idea of what it is like. 20 years ago it was full of old boats taken from the UK in earlier years when there were less constraints and life was cheap. Mostly rotting away in the harsh climate and abandoned because they were uneconomic to keep going.

Hi Tranona
Thanks so much for the information it’s much appreciated, yes it’s sounds like both places would be more than the UK which like you say times change, with regards to the environment I’ve totally rebuilt the boat as it was built for my great uncle used grandfather so abit of a family airlom as it were, all new oak beams, and to try and keep the sun at bay will be beach plying the deck and wheelhouse with 24 mm then fibreglass with permeable deck linings, I’m trying to get her finished off inside as the structure work is nearly complete, I just want to get going now as it’s been 3 years and I’m not getting any younger

 

[westernman]

You might like to check out the following.
However they will all be open wallet surgery at the very least.

Chantier Naval Bernard, en Normandie, restaurations de vieux gréements : Le Marité, Fleur de Lampaul, Reine des Flots...
charpentier marine restaure les bateaux bois
https://chantierduguip.com/yachts-classiques/

None of them will be cheap. Or available. Or interested. Or willing.

You might be better off with one of the traditional boatyards in Bristol UK. Such as:-

https://tnielsen.co.uk/rebuild-and-restoration/

or if it must be in the Med (you will be better off in Britanny the UK) :-

https://www.monacomarine.com/fr/shipyards/toulon/renovations

 

[billskip]

Plenty of wooden boats in Greece...

Try giving these people a call ...Zacharias the father is a carpenter and has his own carpentry factory (or had)..his son Dennis now runs the boatyard i think and Dennis speaks good English ....worth a call maybe...

 

[DoubleEnder]

She’s a great looking boat, and how nice to have that family connection and history. Well done for taking her on and investing in her future. Honestly, I’d say that if you are happy with the yard that’s been doing the work so far, you should stick with them for the rest of the fit out. It may be that you can join the workforce in some way, depending on your own skills and experience, but even pushing sandpaper will help with the cost.

I don’t think you will find cheaper tradesmen or yards in the Mediterranean, who are knowledgeable about the type of vessel and the materials used. There are yards on Spetses in the Saronic gulf that still build and maintain wooden vessels, but really they are specialist in local types and designs. And will be expensive. There are yards in Italy and France, that are world class, but they will be mind blowingly expensive. And again, not really the right people for your type of vessel. There will be others, but they wont be cheap anywhere.

Tranona has I think given a clear picture of the rules about importing a boat in to the EU, and about a U.K. subject spending time there. (Turkey is of course not in the EU).

If I were you I’d get the boat ‘finished’ here. It looks like she’s already in a yard where they know you and you know them. That’s a big advantage and will probably save you at least a year over trying to get in to a yard in another country. There are other yards here in the U.K. too, I could suggest a few - but I’d be interested to know who’s been doing the work so far. And again, just getting booked in somewhere new, even here in UK , will mean another year goes by……

She’s a big boat, so there are lots of options for fit out. Then you can have the pleasure of sailing to the Mediterranean, enjoy the places on the way, and see if you like it when you get there. It’s the sort of boat that to my eye looks like she will be much more fun in Scotland, Ireland, maybe Brittany, maybe the Baltic.

But again, hats off to you for the project. Keep us in touch. And I recommend the Wooden Boat Forum as a source of information too.

 

[DoubleEnder]

I sent a direct message. You will see a little envelope icon top right of the web page

 

[st599]

As well as the VAT being due on import, the boat would need to meet the current RCD regulations. That may not be possible.