Although owning a yacht is a fantastic pleasure, these majestic ships also need a lot of care, which necessitates frequent trips to the yard for refit or maintenance.
A yacht refit is a significant undertaking that needs excellent management, budgeting and solid scheduling of the participating crew and contractors, whether performing a comprehensive overhaul or simply a few cosmetic and system modifications.
What is a yacht refit?
Boats, marine vessels or yachts can be repaired, fixed, renewed, mended, and renovated during a refit. One of the most significant tasks carried out inside a shipyard now involves refitting. Starting with the building itself and what is added to it, such as entertainment systems, hydraulic and electric systems, hardware, etc., it offers a variety of services for an ancient vessel of any size and type.
Yacht refit can range from very simple slight adjustments and new livery to even slicing the ship in half to enable nearly complete overhauls and interior space remodelling.
Likewise, refits can include Naval architecture, 3D rendering, design, interior fittings, decoration, modification of fly bridge, composite, steel, aluminum. Moreover, it encompasses maintenance to prepare rework on your yacht to be the best in your season.
Why delegate the yacht refit to professionals?
A yacht refit is a daunting task. It is something that can easily go over budget and schedule without efficient administration, cautious planning, and continual evaluation. The key to ensuring that the refurbishment is effective and cost-effective is having a strong management team.
Companies that manage yachts have the knowledge and experience to project manage a new build or manage small or significant refits on an already owned or just purchased vessel.
Yacht refit is a daunting task with project management needs
Naval architects, engineering officers, and master mariners with extensive knowledge in new yacht construction and refitting make up the expert yacht management team. They will collaborate closely with a senior project manager who will serve as your exclusive point of contact from the beginning to the end of the project. They will
The ultimate goal is to make the building or refitting of your new boat exciting, pleasurable, and stress-free while giving you complete control over every aspect.
Pros have a preferred relation with yacht builder that is useful during refits
In accordance with the manufacturer’s guidelines, the team will:
- oversee every stage of construction
- keep an eye on the technical and financial performance of the contractors
- plan all surveys
- handle all paperwork related to classification, flag, and technical regulations
- and eventually launch and deliver the boat that you need and want.
Experience in yacht refit project is very important
The team has a wealth of expertise dealing with the daily challenges associated with operating large yachts. Choose a project management team has the qualification to offer a full range of yacht management services, offered in a variety of packages in order to suit one owner’s demands.
What types of yacht refit can be done?
Examples of refits of yachts refit that can be done :
- Restoring: preserving an old wooden boat
- Modernizing: Using modern systems, technologies, and styling
- Customizing: Making changes to the yacht according to the owner’s desires and wants
- Modifying: Modifying the yacht to win a competition.
- Replacing or adding: Adding new equipment or replacing the old deck with a new one.
How to start a yacht refitting project?
Start by considering the main purpose of the work and what you hope to gain from the renovation. The main works will determine the main refit timeframe and the facilities required, but additional wish lists can typically be accommodated.
By distinguishing necessary work items from those that don’t take priority, you may clearly define the work’s scope and order of importance.
Prioritize anything that interferes with a vessel’s ability to operate safely. Additionally, anything that compromises the integrity of the vessel, such as exterior paint coatings, tank coatings, water leaks, etc., should not be put off since if they are they will wind up being very expensive to fix and will ultimately reduce the asset’s overall worth.
Any significant project that will affect the critical route needs to be prioritized in addition to any required tasks. For instance, they can be full paint, teak decking, interior renovation, or additions. This will constitute the procedure’ initial step in the quotation. The second stage consists of optional tasks that can be completed in the allotted time.
Understand the owner’s requirements in terms of cost, time, and quality. If quality is a given, then putting deadlines first might jeopardize the budget and timetable.
Know the Resources of your shipyard before refitting your yacht
Each shipyard has its own specialities, and they are not all made equal. If the shipyard is taken away from its core capabilities, we cannot expect a wonderful outcome. It can be beneficial to choose the shipyards you use with care.
A very frequent mistake is to assume that anyone working in the refit industry can guarantee the resources required to complete the job. A second possible mistake is to neglect to confirm this crucial detail. Once they obtain the firm contract, many of these setups — effectively the retrofit brokers — quickly look for subcontractors to carry out the work on their behalf and frequently offer extremely low prices. They frequently provide simple amenities, and sometimes not even these.
Keep On Budget: The Hardest Task of a Yacht Refit
You must constantly compare the amount of work completed to the percentage of money spent if you want to stay within your budget. However, it takes actual experience to realize that 80% of the budget has already been spent and only 50% of the work has been completed. Project management software is good at calculating how much money has been spent thus far versus the budget.
From the beginning of the job, the captain and shipyard project manager often meet. They confirm and agree on how much has been accomplished. The sooner you notice the slippage, the earlier you can remediate the steps. Quantifiable standards are necessary to assess the degree of completion, and they are crucial for projects involving paint and cosmetics.
Find a yard that will fix prices for work items so that they take on the financial risk and there are no hidden fees.
Get the Insurance and Firefighters Ready in Case Your Refit Goes Wrong
Insurance for shipyards is essential. To accommodate lateness, financial overruns, or any damage incurred in the shipyard, the contract’s specifics must be unquestionably clear. Check your policy to see if it covers situations involving “hot work,” such as welding, as some do not.
Similarly, due to the nature of the work, fires can break out at shipyards. Thus, check that the shipyard has top-notch firefighting capabilities. Conduct staff fire drills on a regular basis. Also, insist on crew and 24/7 watch schedule vigilance throughout the yacht refurbishment.
Read also : YACHT INSURANCE: THE DEFINITIVE OWNER’S GUIDE
Organize the Crew For Your Refit
During the shipbuilding period, strategically organize your workers. Different crew departments are subject to varying workloads during shipyard seasons. The interior team has more downtime because they are primarily in charge of preventing damage to the yacht throughout the refurbishment and performing stock takes, etc.
The engineers, on the other hand, are typically busiest during this time of year. During a shipyard period, stewardesses, deckhands, and chefs, frequently have free time to attend professional training programs. Typically, the project manager for your shipyard will know about it. They can tell you how many crew members you will need to help do the job with the team onboard.
Expect Delay in almost every refitting projects
The truth is that there are a ton of excuses why you might not be ready on the scheduled day. When planning, take this into account and provide backup plans. Add at least 10% to account for unforeseen circumstances.
We work in real life. You can only apply so many coats of varnish each day or each week. If it is an international shipment, you may also have to consider the delay of parts. Further, you have to take care of the holdup of international shipments in customs, or the fabrication of a part when one cannot be found.
Read also : Buying a Yacht : The Frequently Asked Question
How much does a yacht refit cost?
The price of refitting a boat varies greatly, depending upon what renovations you need. A comprehensive retrofit for a superyacht (one that is longer than 120 feet) can go from $300,000 to $1 million. The price of retrofitting a 60-foot personal yacht ranges from $60,000 to $250,000.
To only renew the rigging of a 50 feet boat, the yacht refit may cost only about $20,000. If you want to change the look by replacing the wood, paint or restrain it, the cost will go up to $300,000.
When picking the best refit provider, there are a lot of other aspects to take into account in addition to the services the yard provides.
For instance, determining a yard’s reputation and financial standing are crucial. After all, how can you be certain that they will be able to fulfil – and surpass – your expectations if they aren’t highly recommended by other customers?
In order to establish a long-term relationship with the vessel, investigate whether a yard offers competitive pricing. It makes sense to wonder if potential clients are dependable partners if it doesn’t want to enter into a mutually beneficial business partnership with them.
Clients should prefer a shipyard that aims to build a long-term connection with the vessel and provides ongoing value beyond a single yard period.
At Windward Travels, we provide all refit works for sailing or motor vessels – short- or long-term contracts. Get in touch for recurrent or preventive maintenance such as careening, revisions and class visits. Contact the team for daily repairs such as a normal repair or fixing a technical problem. Whether it is mechanical breakdowns, piping, hull damage, air conditioning, home automation, call us during emergencies at any time of the year.
Read also : CAN OWNING A YACHT (REALLY) BE PROFITABLE?
