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Yard suggestions for a complete rebuild

Discussion in 'General Yachting Discussion' started by CTdave, Sep 11, 2013.

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  1. CTdave

    CTdave Senior Member

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    Greenwich CT/ Stuart FL
    Hi all....
    We have a 33 foot Fortier as our yacht club's race committee boat & it's in need of a complete/major overhaul.
    There are soft spots in the deck, engine needs replacing, fuel tanks while we are at it, you name it.
    I have always tried to deal with south FL marinas when I took my boats down for larger work in the past but it's been a while since I've dealt with anyone.

    We currently have a quote from a place in the northeast but my head nearly exploded when I heard the numbers last night. I figured that if it's going to be trucked somewhere, it should head south. Now that I'm thinking about it, there are tons of places between CT and FL that could do it like Jarrett Bay & others.

    I need your help. I have been given the helm to find the right yard for the job. It can be a two step process where someone does the glass work & paint job & someone else can do the mechanical but ideally, one stop shopping.
    I can't deal with a "good guy" with a great price that takes years to finish or someone who will charge 10 times what the quote was. If you have a name and a contact person/number, it would help.

    Suggestions?

    Thanks,
    David
  2. Ormond Bert54

    Ormond Bert54 Senior Member

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    Ormond Beach, FL
    Front Street Shipyard, Belfast Maine - Contact Justin Wiegleb
  3. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    Jarrett Bay seems to always do good work at reasonable prices. I think one of our members had his 65' Donzi painted there and was very happy. Yacht Management in Dania Beach might be another good choice. What kind of engine does it have? What type of boat is a Fortier?
  4. CTdave

    CTdave Senior Member

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    Location:
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    Bayside, the issue is the northeast guys have a downeast thing going & they all seem to think that their work is far superior so their prices are worth paying three times what the southern yards get. I've had several "pricey" experiences up north & then took the boats south for the work.

    It's not a complicated boat at all. Here is a photo of the same model/layout.
    The engine is a 300+- hp gas inboard.

    Attached Files:

  5. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    If you take the tower off, you could truck it just about anywhere easily. But then you get into the expense of trucking it and removing and replacing the tower.....prices up there might not be so bad. I'm not familiar with too many yards in the NE.
  6. bliss

    bliss Senior Member

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    Have you cosidered the still very soft used boat market?
  7. NYCAP123

    NYCAP123 Senior Member

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    I second Jarrett Bay. We'll be laying up the Hat for some major work there. We did most of the refit up your way. Costly,way behind schedule, and ignored a lot of things. The boat sat most of the winter when they could have been doing all the smaller stuff, but instead they let it sit waiting for the larger jobs. We finally took the boat unfinished, and had most of the work finished over at Brewers in Glen Cove. Good people there and I'd recommend them if you need to stay local, but Jarrett Bay and a couple of other yards in that area would be my first choice. I'd be hesitant for anyplace in Florida for a couple of reasons I won't mention here, but mainly because they have some major refit work on much bigger boats at this time of year. You're likely to be put at the bottom of their list.

    I also highly recommend that someone be able to go to the yard periodically to keep the fires lit wherever you take it. Too often out of town boats get put in the back of the yard and a 2 month refit can end up lasting years.

    P.S. if you end up thinking in the L.I. Sound area send me a PM. I have a fair list of who NOT to go to.
  8. CTdave

    CTdave Senior Member

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    Bliss, that's a pic of another 33 Fortier. This one can be trucked just by removing the radar (no tower).
    CaptJ, absolutely, looking at options.
    NYCapt, Yeah, I bet I know some of the ones on your list LOL. It's a small world.
    I'm surprised nobody has mentioned Rybo/Spencer. I had some paint work done there but it was 15 or so years ago. The price was right but it might have been at a time when they weren't busy.
    I know there must be dozens of smaller yards which would do a great job & really be proud of their work instead of proud of how much they can tell the boss they made.
    I was thinking if it were a FL yard, I could make excuses to get down to my Stuart FL house a few extra times!
  9. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    They have tenders in Rybovich that are larger than that!!!!!
  10. olderboater

    olderboater Senior Member

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    My Captains love Rybovich and have had major work done there. We've been there but no major work yet. Still the atmosphere and professionalism is impressive.

    My cousin uses Jarrett Bay and has been very pleased, recently having his sportsfisherman completely refit. He also has a hurricane agreement with them. I don't know if the sale to Bluewater has impacted things at all.
  11. Ormond Bert54

    Ormond Bert54 Senior Member

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    You were around when I bought my Bertram 54 in Orange Beach, AL. I was thinking .. let me get the work done here where my cash will go further. The rest of course is history. What an absolute nightmare from the failed $65k engine overhaul to the guy who tried to fix my tower, took $6k and walked with the tower irreparably damaged, to the guy who built the new shortie tower with the completely wrong angle (because the boat was out of the water) so it was somehow my fault! He charged me $2500 to fix what he screwed up and then when I didn't want to pay him that $2500, he immediately moved to seize the boat! Surrounded by crooks is putting it nicely.

    I have experienced NONE of that here in Maine.

    I'm glad to hear there are some honest, hardworking folks in FL.
  12. Capt J

    Capt J Senior Member

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    I think people in Maine in general are more honest and straight shooters, than AL. I haven't had any issues at any of the yards in FL with shoddy work, or if they did something wrong they re-did it correctly for free when it was brought to their attention. But there are some down here that aren't as honest.