Yacht Restoration

February 3, 20180

Yacht Restoration and Yacht Repair – Tips, Process & Advises

It is a perfectly normal thing to have a yacht owner hand over the responsibility for the repairs, routine maintenance or even total restoration of a yacht to a shipyard. While this is in fact the more common practice, it is also possible to have a yacht owner decide to get very involved in the yacht restoration, repairs or maintenance process.

There are one of two reasons why a yacht owner may decide to handle some aspects of the yacht’s repairs.

First, this can be a major cost saving decision. Certainly, cutting off the need to pay to have the work done by someone else will surely save cost.
Secondly, when a yacht owner handles the job by him/herself, s/he gets to know the ins and outs of the yacht in more detail.

Yacht Restoration or Repairs – Why Would this Be Needed?

If you look around today, you will see how things are quickly evolving. The same is applicable here. An owner may demand that certain refitting or upgrades be made to bring the yacht up to trending designs or simply to meet the owner’s current needs which may be different from what it was when the yacht was first built.

Aside from repairs or upgrades informed by changing personal taste, there are also statutory maintenance and repair schedule that by law has to be kept. Some of the combined reasons why a yacht may need a repair or restoration job include:

Emergency repairs
Overhaul of the machinery and engine
Upgrading of the interior
Vessel extension
Servicing and/or upgrading of the HVAC system
Superstructure repainting – required every 3 to 5 years
Hull repainting – required every 3 to 5 years
Antifouling repainting – required every 1 to 2 years
Statutory surveys – required by flag states every 5 years

The above are just some of the reasons why a yacht will need to be taken to a shipyard for repairs. There are many other reasons which can include a total conversion of the yacht, a total renovation and more.

Aspects of Yacht Restoration and Repairs

The process of repairing or restoring a yacht can be very demanding to say the least. For those planning to take on this project, it is important that you understand what you are signing up for.

Get Your Free Consultation Now!

The process of a yacht repair or restoration can be broken into several segments. These are:

Assessment of work to be done as a part of project pre-planning
Choosing the best shipyard to handle the repairs
Understanding the cost implication through quote sourcing
Technical input and logistic demands
Finding suitable contractors
Complete project supervision and management

What Services to Expect from A Shipyard

Every standard repair yard will have the capacity to offer many different services. As a result of the magnitude of a yacht repair or restoration job, there is usually the need to move to different facilities to get different aspects of the job done.

Ideally, any repair yard worth its salt would have the necessary facilities and capacity to handle these different aspects of the job. Be they minor repairs or major restoration or yacht renovations.

Below are some services you should expect from a standard shipyard:

Inspection of rigs and spars
Yacht restoration, renovation and conversion
Painting of the interior and exterior
Repairs and redesigning of the interior
Extensions and other structural conversions
Repairs of fiberglass and GRP
HVAC repairs and refitting
Carpentry work
Metal works
Electrical work
Repairs or refitting of the electronics
Repairs or refitting of the hydraulic system
Full engineering services and more

When embarking on a yacht restoration, repair or renovation project, being able to have the entire project handled in a single shipyard is something that every yacht owner should look for. Like any expert will tell you, this is very efficient and also highly cost effective.

Should I Go for a Totally New Yacht or Should I Opt for the Renovation or Conversion of an Old One?

When it comes to the acquisition of a yacht, there are usually two options before the buyer. You can either go for a totally new build or you can find an old yacht and have it converted and restored to your taste.

When you hear of converting or renovating an existing yacht, you may think that this is an inferior choice. Well, you couldn’t be more wrong. Experts actually recommend this over going for an outright new build for the following reasons:

First, with the level of technological advancement today, yacht restoration or renovation can be so complete and total that the finished product will in no way look like the original yacht from which it was restructured.

Experts say there’s actually not limit to what you can do when converting an existing yacht. It can be extended, have its interior and exterior totally redesigned and more. The level of expertise and creativity now available is such that a simple fishing vessel or an ice breaker can be converted into a super luxury yacht.

Secondly, this is a more cost effective option. Choosing the option to renovate or convert an existing vessel can cost a third of what it will cost to build a new one from scratch. Despite this huge savings, your end result can favorably compare with new builds.

Get a Free Quote

Lastly, choosing to build totally from scratch can mean waiting for years to have the yacht completed. On the other hand, if you choose to convert or renovate an existing vessel, your project can be done anywhere between 3 months to a few years. This of course will be determined by the extend of work that needs to be done.

Watch this interesting story of a restoration job done over some years in a front yard – Restoring Shawnee.

Important Hints and Tips to Note In a Yacht Restoration Project

Never make the mistake of under-estimating the amount of time it will take to fully gather all the different parts you will need to complete the job. You may actually end up spending a lot of time on this. To be on the safer side, place your orders quite early because some of the items you may need are not always readily available.
When budgeting, be sure to make some allowance for unexpected expenses. Be sure that unforeseen challenges might arise. This should not be a problem especially if you are mentally and financially prepared to accommodate them.
When there is a decision to be made, be forthright with it. Do not dilly-dally. Take ownership and responsibility.
Be smart in determining the tasks that you will handle. A wise person picks his fights well. While it’s true that handling the project by yourself may save you some money, this may not always be so. There are some aspects of the project that will be more cost effective if handled by a professional who will use the right tools and get it done faster.
Try to quickly identify areas that may be more problematic than others during the project so you can give it attention.
It may be wise to assume the entire project will cost more than you earlier thought. In the same vein, you should also assume it will take longer.
The most important things to ensure you get right are the yacht’s structure and main systems. This should be your main focus.
This is a good time to ensure all essential systems have backups. Having a redundancy of these essential equipment will make your yacht more reliable.
For yacht owners handling the job themselves, you can increase your efficiency by having a store or workshop close to the yacht.
Finally, you need to understand that in the marine industry, spring time is the busiest. If your project will be carried out during this time, you should try to sort out all issues regarding the commissioning of the job long before this time. You should also define all the tasks that need to be done so you will not have to be adding new tasks along the way. This is a good way to avoid extra labor costs.

The Place of the Crew During Yacht Restoration or Repairs

Now that you have your yacht in the yard for repairs or renovations, what happens to your crew? It is common practice for some key crew members accompany the yacht on this trip. In most cases this will include the captain, chief engineer and the chief steward/ess.

If you are adding some new equipment to your vessel, then regard this as a great time to have your crew trained on how to use and possibly maintain such equipment. You need them to be fully up to speed when the yacht is ready to set sail again. You will usually find that most ship yards have facilities to accommodate your crew for purposes like this.

For professional guidance, you can contact the experts at Cantieri Navali di Sestri Genoa Italy

Get Your Free Consultation Now!

NEWS

Yacht refit

September 20, 20170

How to plan your Yacht refit project

Cantieri Sestri, is one of the most prestigious shipyards in Europe, located in north Italy near the city of Geneva, carrying on over 30 years of experience and progress in super yacht refit.

The yard is capable to assist with the most advanced technologies almost any kind of vessel, boats and the most ambitious Yacht Restoration projects.

The company has an extensive and glorious boat refitting portfolio, allowing its modern yard and prepared teams, to ensure a bespoke service in line with briefs, schedules and client budgets.

Sailboat and yacht refit and repair projects are keys services and elements of the Cantieri Sestri’s portfolio.

Professional planning consultations and expertise to ensure a complete yacht refit management process that meets client’s requirements, quality regulations, preventative maintenance schedule and technical safety standards.

Some of ours common yacht refitting requests

The most common refit requests are mechanical, electrical, structural and boat and yacht interior rift, including high complex refitting projects until a complete boat re-building

Often when a new owner arrives, immediately they want to put their stamp on the vessel – such as a change in the accommodation, updating the interior décor, changing the teak deck.

Other common reasons we found can also be related to the desire to empower the new yacht with new motor engines, new stern, upgrading sewage treatment, new generators and electrical systems, or a whole new mechanical or painting re-style.

For any kind of sailboat refit projects, it required to be prepared and proactive, and based on our large experience as yacht and boat refuters, we want to share few advices to help superyacht owners to improve the efficiency and timing of our refitting service and reduce the time their yacht is out of the sea.

Click Here For A Free Consultation

1. Plan your boat refit earlier

It’s all about pre-planning, we always suggest to start the idea to refit the each at least 12 months ahead of the desired work start date. The reason is because based on our work load,

Sometime our yard could be booked up for months in advance and also for the fact that no two refits are alike so each one needs the right amount of time and resources.

Another important reason is because, depending on the type of work to do, we might need to hire subcontractors for some specific aspect of the rift project, and they need to be notified and pre-booked in advance.

Same reason in case a rare, complex or large component needs to be ordered, or there is a yard maintenance process to assign.

Contacting the right shipyard several months ahead of the desired starting date is the best advice for your yacht, because all refitting plan can be easily pre-planned ahead.

Obviously just like a house renovation, surprises or new problems, can pop up when yard workers start dismantling mechanical and electrical systems and discover new problems, and this is also why is advised to start considering the refitting at least a half-year heartier for large yacht refit and repair.

2. Prioritize your refit goals

“We fall in love with the boat and yacht we repair and It’s important for the owner’s representatives to work together with us especially to prioritize the wordlist.”

We ensure to our clients the best timing efficiency through a programmatic approach and once the list of refit goals are prioritized, all the work necessary can be programmed into our work-list assigning all work plan to the crew with specific deadline.

3. Be proactive before the refit

This is way it’s so important also to be proactive with the yard, before and during the refit, especially during the part procurement which is another important step during the refitting planning process.

Yes! I Want A Free Consultation

NEWS

YACHTING: WHAT’S THE ROUTE

June 1, 20170

“The boats are made to sail, not to host parties on board.” Fulvio Montaldo, chairman of the Board of Directors of Sestri Shipyards, is always very clear and direct.

This phrase seeks to emphasize a fundamental spirit of Ligurian Maritime culture, the same deep culture that characterizes all the CNS employees, who are first of all men of the sea.

Perhaps that is the spirit behind the long-standing success of the CNS: passion, skill, and quality. These are the values that allow shipyards to look to the near future with great optimism. On this industry; There have been years of crisis. But if you know how to live with the right mindset, even a period of crisis can be exploited as an excellent opportunity for growth. This is the thought of Fulvio Montaldo who in the most difficult years has been able to maintain high quality standards without ever reducing the staff, nor taking advantage of the integration fund.

Today, the shipyards continues to invest in technological innovation, especially with regard to the study and knowledge of on-board electronic systems, a real market in the increasingly demanding market and which is experiencing a continuous and faster evolution than any other sector . In addition to regular maintenance, such as replacement of parts and calibration, you need to have expertise in the study of system architecture, their positioning on board in the sedicorrette. For this reason, Sestri Shipyards also make use of partnership with the major players in the market.

Competition is both national and international, in this area it is very strong. Consider, for example, that by targeting a clientele with very large boats, there are risks of unpredictability: for these carriers it is much simpler to go some ten miles further, in Turkey, Croatia or Tunisia, to keep or maintain Even just a little more favorable conditions. With smaller boats this phenomenon is, of course, much more limited. All this means having to offer always great quality at the highest technological level and able to make a difference compared to competition, a quality and passion that is at the heart of the Shipyards of Sestri.

Review of Ability Hydrology:

NEWS

THE BOAT NEEDS MAINTENANCE OR YOU LOSE IT

June 8, 20170

These are the lapidary words of Fulvio Montaldo, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Shipyards of Sestri. It sounds obvious, but a boat can have almost infinite life – or, several lives – if it is subjected to a series of care and constant maintenance, meticulous and well executed

This is a widespread philosophy in the nautical environment, but a real dogma to Sestri Naval Shipyards, also because shipowners are not always sensitive to this, as a result of deceptive savings.

In fact, in recent years, the nautical culture is returning, with fewer “improvised” navigators and a more imperious return of old-fashioned yachtmen, are shipowners or commanders. This also means more attention not only to ordinary maintenance, but also to all those jobs that – in fact – can give life to a boat again.

Let’s go for order.

The most normal preventive maintenance, but often underestimated, concerns the antiosmos treatment. The hulls are composed of layers of glass wool covered with resin: long water immersion, penetrates small amounts of water inside the resin by wetting the glass fiber that forms the classic bubbles (osmosis), of which it is practically It is impossible to get rid of, except for antifouling treatment. And being a delicate and complex work, especially during the stage of stripping and preparation, it must be done by experienced professionals and with top quality products. And the thing most shipowners underestimate is that it should be done every 12 months!

There are more complex jobs, however, considered maintenance in order to have a safe boat, such as: upgrading on board systems, as well as renewing environments. The most common cases concern, modify or customize a boat just after buying, modifying the boat (even with elongation), the blanket or the interior.

Various cases where boats have suffered serious injury, accidents, fires or even surrenders. In these cases, the restoration operations are obviously more complex: but what matters is that, if entrusted to the right hands, any boat with any damage, can look or receive a second life again.

In Sestri Shipyards specialization remains on wood, steel and aluminum, but in recent years new trends have also led to specialization on carbon and kevlar.

Over the years, the Sestri Shipyards are also changing the trends of refitting types: up to a few years ago, most refitting operations involved hulls ranging from 15 to 30 meters; Today it rises from 30 to 45 meters, up to 60 meters. And this is another sign of great skill and advanced ability by Fulvio Montaldo’s Sestri team.

To learn more about antifouling:

http://www.giornaledellavela.com/news/2016/03/16/tutto-quello-che-avreste-voluto-sapere-sulle-antivegetative/

Hydrotoxic voids work: (Photo)

Tag: yachting