Holiday haulout La Paz Marinas and Mexican Insurance

[dampman]

Hi folks. I am the guy possibly buying a 1981 Rawson 30 in La Paz. I have heard that it will be impossible t get the boat hauled out right now because of the holidays but the surveryor (currently on a job in Cancun) told me to head down. I am about to buy a ticket but andnot sure if that isa good idea. Anyone have any ideas if I Marina's are open this weekend or next week?

What are the thoughts on insurance? I am planning on buying and then keeping the boat in Mexico (hauled in San Carlos during hurricane season). Any advice on insurance companies.

Thanks so much. I am far more ignorant about this process than I would prefer but I am persuing a life time dream that felt impossible until now. Thanks- eric

[Kanani]

Originally Posted by dampman

Hi folks. I am the guy possibly buying a 1981 Rawson 30 in La Paz. I have heard that it will be impossible t get the boat hauled out right now because of the holidays but the surveryor (currently on a job in Cancun) told me to head down. I am about to buy a ticket but andnot sure if that isa good idea. Anyone have any ideas if I Marina's are open this weekend or next week?

What are the thoughts on insurance? I am planning on buying and then keeping the boat in Mexico (hauled in San Carlos during hurricane season). Any advice on insurance companies.

Thanks so much. I am far more ignorant about this process than I would prefer but I am persuing a life time dream that felt impossible until now. Thanks- eric

I would say that it would be quite unlikely that you could get a haul-out during the Christmas Season or on such short notice.

It shouldn't be that hard to get the # of the yards in (around) LaPaz (I think there's only 2) but getting action on any promises made is a completely different story. They will tell you anything that they think you want to hear. I'm not saying that they will lie to you. I'm just saying that it is their culture to try not to disappoint you.....however, their record of success is fairly low.

Does this surveyor feel that he has some influence with the owner of a yard down there?? It seems like everybody is somebody's cousin or uncle. However, that influence seldom pans out, in my experience.

I hope that you are giving yourself a couple of weeks to get something done down there. The wheels turn pretty slow on the best days. The good news is....the town is nice, weather is good and the food and hotels are cheap.

Just remember.....everything takes time down there......NOTHING works at the speed that you may expect (even with low expectations)....La Paz is a very low-key, laid back place (even for Mexico). If you are working on a time table, you're not going to be a happy camper.

[Charlie]

I tried to buy a boat in Mexico. It is rather complicated but not impossible. First off is that you have to have cash. It is near impossible to finance a boat there. Second trying to find a good surveyor is very difficult too. I ended up finding one in San Carlos and can dig up his name if you want me to. He might be able to reccommend someone in La Paz. When I was in your shoes I bought two books that really helped me out 1) Inspecting the Aging Sailboat by Don Casey and 2) Surveying Fiberglass Sailboats by Henry Mustin. I'm sure that people who don't read this are going to say something but I'm not advocating that you do a survey yourself but that you pre-survey the boat to see if it is worth spending the money on a survey. That said it is probably worht your time to talk to a surveyor and ask him to do a walk thru on the boat and just give you an opinion on whether or not it is worth having a survey done. Tell the surveyor what you are looking for in the boat and what its purpose is and then ask him to look at the boat with those eyes. From there you should negotiate a price for the walk thru with the surveyor maybe have him look at a few boats that you want. Then on the surveyors reccommendation and after having the surveyor send you some emailed photos arrange to fly down and have the boat hauled at a convient time. That is -- convenient for you. Don't let the broker put a sense of urgency in you. It leads to bad decisions. Third -- Good luck. If you look long enough you'll find something. Fourth before you hire the surveyor use the books that I reccommended and look at the boat for yourself. The one I flew down and looked at wasn't so I saved myself spending the money on a survey. From there be prepared to walk away. And Fifth something I wish I had done -- but didn't -- if the boat is a bust enjoy yourself while you are there. I haven't been to La Paz in close to 20 years but it is a great town and a Mexican town (as opposed to Cabo).

[Pblais]

I would say that it would be quite unlikely that you could get a haul-out during the Christmas Season or on such short notice.

I just came back from Mazatlan two days ago. Any person born in Mexico is headed home for the rest of the year if they can at all do it. Mexico is seriouslty religious about Christmas and just as serious about family at this time of the year. Go to La Paz, kick back and enjoy the season. It's been a tad cool though.

[dampman]

Thanks again for all the good advice. The surveyor sounded confident he could get it done this weekend but I gave myself a week. I have worked in Mexico so I am aware of "non- linear" time. The surveyor is the gentleman who started Cape George Yachts so perhaps he does have some pull. What do most cruisers do for insurance?- Eric

[RaptorDance]

Hi Dampman!

Insurance is available. There are a number of companies that will write you a policy for being here all year. IMIS is the one we use and highly recommend them see IMIS Home Page

Also, buying a boat in Mexico is not all that difficult. Some paperwork hoops that the dealer would typically have handled for you via their "Paperman" (Ships agent).

While we haven't personally bought or sold a boat in Mexico, we've helped former owners sell theirs buy shooting a video to put up on the dealers website.

Regards,
Bill
Currently just North of Puerto Vallarta.

[senormechanico]

Originally Posted by dampman

Thanks again for all the good advice. The surveyor sounded confident he could get it done this weekend but I gave myself a week. I have worked in Mexico so I am aware of "non- linear" time. The surveyor is the gentleman who started Cape George Yachts so perhaps he does have some pull. What do most cruisers do for insurance?- Eric

Say 'Hi' to Cecil Lange for Steve and Janet from "Grey Max" for us.
We met him in Agua Verde back in the mid 90's (or was it Los Gatos or?).

Insurance wasn't necessary or common back when we were cruising.

Steve B.

[Randyonr3]

Before you buy the boat, take her out for a good sail.. A person I knew on the dock a few years back, put a bundel into this Rawson 30. We gave him hell because he spent over 70k in the boat worth 30k.. He grabed a couple guys and sailed it down to La Paz.
A month or so later I ran into the guys that had gone down with him. All of them were experenced, not only at sailing but were regulars racing with the Yacht Club.
They all said the Rawson 30 was the worst sailing boat they had ever been on and during the trip, the wind had come up, blowing in the low 20s and to keep the boat under control, they had TWO people at the tiller.. Seems the boat has a real problem with weather helm.
Anyway, the story was he sold the boat in La Paz and married a local gal and now lives in a little shack on the water, somewhere north of the city..........