Getting Work Done Overseas (And Home Perhaps)

Getting to dream locations like this in St Croix

It isn’t easy and in fact it can be downright difficult to almost impossible at times to get work done, especially in a foreign country.  I’m sure, like me, you have read stories of boat owners giving up on getting work done in a particular locations.  Alternatively, the work has been shoddy, promises made but not kept, etc.  Herewith some lessons I learnt, sometimes the hard way.  This sort of project is not for the feint hearted and if you intend to do something similar then I recommend following the three ‘P’s’ as someone kindly passed on to me in BVI - Use Patience, Politeness, and Perseverance - Always.

Obtaining Quotes.  By all means try to follow this most basic of rules.  In BVI it was impossible because (when I was there in May/Jun08)  there were large charter fleets which get priority for work, for obvious reasons, as do local boat owners and, of course, super yachts.  There was a great demand for available tradesmen.  I found just getting work done was a major achievement so I forgot all about trying to get quotes.  Of course, I became more adept at judging who to use and who not to (more on this later).   In Trinidad you could get quotes for work to be done and make the appropriate selection – note that there aren’t any charter fleets there to compete against and the industry is geared towards the cruising sailor.  Even in the USA it has been difficult to get a straight quote.

Cheap Labour.  It might exist but I never found it unless you took on a local worker, after hours.  Some of them are quite good, some are less than good.  How do you know the difference – ask around and get firm opinions from fellow cruisers who you know personally that have had satisfactory work done for them.  Get several opinions if you can, it might save you a lot of time, money and heartache later on – a good investment early on.  I often found the more expensive tradesman was cheaper in the long run – a $70 per hour guy who takes one hour to do what you want rather than two hours by the $50 per hour guy.  I also found some tradies were happy to explain to you what they were doing and so you were receiving ‘free’ tuition at the same time – this was invaluable.  You are often charged high rates for time worked but much of the work might be undertaken by semi-skilled labour contracted out.  Labour is not cheap in the Caribbean, anywhere that I went.  The hourly rate for labour in the BVI was around $50-70 (with some notable exceptions) and it was very similar in Trinidad. 

Can lead to unfortunate incidents like this
(That's not us stuck on a coral reef in St Croix!)

Supervision.  I prefer to be present when work is undertaken as workers are often unsupervised.  There are prolific stories of workers simply not doing anything when found by the owners yet, at the same time, owners are being charged for their time.  I had the rudder replaced by a local contractor in BVI and the guy didn’t appear to fully know what he was doing; his philosophy seemed “hit the quadrant hard enough with a hammer and it should fix the problem”.  The casting was broken, had to be welded (twice) and I eventually complained to his boss to come and supervise the work.  I also had to suggest that they place shims around the top of the rudder shaft as the new stainless shaft was slightly smaller than the previous shaft that held the rudder quadrant.  I shouldn’t have had to do that.

Keep Your Yard Informed.  Boatyards generally want their customers to go away happy and prepared to recommend them to other boat owners.  Many marinas have their ‘favourites’ (contractors) that they recommend to you for work to be carried out – they will be those based at the yard or have satisfied some other criteria that allows them to be contracted while still being based elsewhere.   Yards don’t want to employ/recommend contractors that are not giving good service.  This was very entrenched at Power Boats in Trinidad and part of the culture.  It was also very helpful when I was at Nanny Cay Marina in BVI – on one occasion when I was not happy I raised a concern with the yard manager there and he was very supportive and helpful ie he ‘discussed’ the work being done by the contractor to sort out my problems.  Nanny Cay had just employed a full time manager when I was there to look after their customers’ interests. They have a similar system in place at Power Boats.  I wished I had known how important this was when I first started work on my boat.

Check the Paperwork.  Workers will often exaggerate their time on the job and you will pay for it, because they’ve skived off to have a smoke, have a chat with their mates, etc.  On other occasions, they will be scrupulously honest and get you to sign their time sheets.  Check the arrangements first with your contractor.

Getting Work Done When You Are Not There.  I have found it extremely difficult to get work done successfully in our absence.  Generally, things happen when you are there and probably need to be since one often has to make decisions on the spot which aren’t apparent initially eg when there are several options to be considered – difficult to do via email really.  If you are planning to have work done, include time to stay up on the hard or on the dock (at least a week or two) before launching so that you can be there to supervise any work.

Good Contractors.  In BVI my top contractor/technician was a Canadian, also an active sailor at the Bitter End Yacht Club.  Even though his boss charged top dollar, he provided top quality work, talked to me about what he was doing, did more than I asked for and willingly passed on to me other information to help me learn about my engine, plus plus.  My BVI Yacht Sales broker and his fellow staff members were also very good and extremely helpful whenever I bothered them for advice, which was often and wide ranging.  In Trinidad, the expert riggers (local and expat) from Trinidad Rigging were very helpful and professional.  The canvas man, from The Upholstery Shop in Power Boat’s compound in Trinidad, was very cooperative and did excellent work.  In Guadeloupe, when I had to get the generator fuses fixed, an electrician (Waypoint) even went as far as to lend me his personal car so that my son and I could purchase a few bits and pieces on the other side of town. This was exciting for us – driving around a large city on the ‘wrong’ side of the road.  He also explained things as he worked on the generator.  The two marinas - Power Boats in Trinidad and Nanny Cay Marina in BVI - have been great and very helpful.  You just have to find the good people and avoid the not-so-good, a challenge but don’t be afraid to trust your instincts.

Deliveries & Orders.  I would have to advise against picking up bits & pieces along the way as you cruise unless you really have to – let me explain.  Initially, our main constraint was weather (it was the start of the hurricane season and we needed to keep moving on to Trinidad) and our order for a windvane self steering device came (from the UK) in 2 boxes, separately.  We picked up one box and fitted the contents in St Martin – duty free and waited for the next delivery, the all important auxiliary rudder.  We had to move on before the second box arrived so stopped in Antigua then in Guadeloupe; finally the rudder arrived and we could be on our way.  Not before paying duty and being hijacked by a local taxi driver – a most unpleasant experience, which fortunately, the marina staff helped me sort out.  In another instance in BVI we ordered some spare parts.  As they hadn’t arrived before the date we were due to leave, a fixed date we had originally passed onto the contractor, we let the business know we were leaving.  Some four months later, he was still demanding payment for an item we never received, even going so far as to importune the yacht broker staff for the money.  So, keep records of everything – what & when you order, especially who you speak to and what was said!  And remember those 3 P’s…..

And you find yourself in places like this trying to find someone to fix them.
(Jacksonville, Florida)