Shipping sailboat to Ensenada - what to expect?

[mvweebles]

Supposedly, you should be able to replace gear under your TIP. I hear it's fairly straightforward in La Paz. Not my experience in Tijuana/Ensenada.

You might want to reach out to Michelle Aguilar via WhatsApp. Tell her Peter at Weebles referred you. She may be able to assist as she does agent work for incoming yachts. I don't know what her fees are and I don't know her well.

+52 646 121 8494

For electronics, you can try Javier Chinas. He's pretty good, has been through training with Navico, and he'd be slightly above average in the US. But San Diego is a major yachting center and really has some outstanding technicians....for a price. Just depends on how complex your installation is. Javier is a good kid with strong English skills. A little difficult to get a hold of, and he sometimes charges a gringo markup so I really prefer to go through Guillermo as he's been nothing but straight with me. Javier's father - Orlando - is an excellent mechanic and general boat work, especially with electrical installations. Very straight shooter.

Javier is also best reached via WhatsApp +52 646 188 1855

Good luck.

[Caz]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

Supposedly, you should be able to replace gear under your TIP. I hear it's fairly straightforward in La Paz. Not my experience in Tijuana/Ensenada.

You might want to reach out to Michelle Aguilar via WhatsApp. Tell her Peter at Weebles referred you. She may be able to assist as she does agent work for incoming yachts. I don't know what her fees are and I don't know her well.

+52 646 121 8494

For electronics, you can try Javier Chinas. He's pretty good, has been through training with Navico, and he'd be slightly above average in the US. But San Diego is a major yachting center and really has some outstanding technicians....for a price. Just depends on how complex your installation is. Javier is a good kid with strong English skills. A little difficult to get a hold of, and he sometimes charges a gringo markup so I really prefer to go through Guillermo as he's been nothing but straight with me. Javier's father - Orlando - is an excellent mechanic and general boat work, especially with electrical installations. Very straight shooter.

Javier is also best reached via WhatsApp +52 646 188 1855

Good luck.

Peter,

Thanks for the great advice!

Bill

[Cynara]

Where is the boat coming from. Not sure why you are including VAT

[Greg4cocokai]

Google Torneo Alvarado. They are a few blocks up from Cruiseport. I had to re-bed all my deck hardware after removing the teak. Needed lots of bolts. If they don’t have it they can get it! It’s a small place but they carry lots. A couple employees speak English

[Caz]

Originally Posted by Cynara

Where is the boat coming from. Not sure why you are including VAT

Sorry, I guess that I should have said "IVA." That said, my boat is a U.K. built boat and I'm used to having to let the shipyard know that parts are being shipped to the U.S. and therefore are not subject to V.A.T. My boat is coming from Florida.

-- Cheers, Bill

[mvweebles]

IVA in Mexico. VAT in Europe. Same thing.

I believe the rules are that you are allowed up to $350 USD per person without paying tax. Over that, you are supposed to declare. If over $3000 USD (might be $3500), you are required to use an agent.

When you get your TIP, you will list the major components including serial numbers. Supposedly, if you replace/repair one of those items, you can do so without incuring IVA. HOWEVER......the paperwork is almost impossible to do, especially if your Spanish skills are not great, and especially if you try to do it at the border.

Here's worst case scenario on the sail: You drive through the 'nothing to declare' lane and get stopped for cursory inspection. They find the sail and ask you about it. If it looks brand new, they will send you to secondary inspection. At this point, you're in trouble - by going through the 'nothing to declare' lane with something you should have declared, you are effectively smuggling. This is a pretty serious crime in any country. You will be asked to park in a lot of very dusty cars and trucks with blue tags on their windshields - these are confiscated. If you're lucky, they will send you back to the US. If you're not lucky, well, you may make it back to the US, but your vehicle may not, and your sail is probably gone forever. Suddenly the 8% California sales tax looks pretty good.

Take the rattiest, dirtiest sailbag you can find and bring it home in that. Have the sailmaker write you a receipt for $826.39 (whatever) for cleaning and repairs. Go through the declaration line and see if they want tax on that (they shouldn't, but probably will). So you pay $150 more than you should have, wasted a few hours, but risk is very low.

Talk to Michelle, the link I gave you above. Good luck -

[Caz]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

IVA in Mexico. VAT in Europe. Same thing.

I believe the rules are that you are allowed up to $350 USD per person without paying tax. Over that, you are supposed to declare. If over $3000 USD (might be $3500), you are required to use an agent.

When you get your TIP, you will list the major components including serial numbers. Supposedly, if you replace/repair one of those items, you can do so without incuring IVA. HOWEVER......the paperwork is almost impossible to do, especially if your Spanish skills are not great, and especially if you try to do it at the border.

Here's worst case scenario on the sail: You drive through the 'nothing to declare' lane and get stopped for cursory inspection. They find the sail and ask you about it. If it looks brand new, they will send you to secondary inspection. At this point, you're in trouble - by going through the 'nothing to declare' lane with something you should have declared, you are effectively smuggling. This is a pretty serious crime in any country. You will be asked to park in a lot of very dusty cars and trucks with blue tags on their windshields - these are confiscated. If you're lucky, they will send you back to the US. If you're not lucky, well, you may make it back to the US, but your vehicle may not, and your sail is probably gone forever. Suddenly the 8% California sales tax looks pretty good.

Take the rattiest, dirtiest sailbag you can find and bring it home in that. Have the sailmaker write you a receipt for $826.39 (whatever) for cleaning and repairs. Go through the declaration line and see if they want tax on that (they shouldn't, but probably will). So you pay $150 more than you should have, wasted a few hours, but risk is very low.

Talk to Michelle, the link I gave you above. Good luck -

I tend to ask myself, what's the worst that can happen? If I'm not ok with that, then I find a more acceptable alternative. Having my car confiscated, or being charged with smuggling is not something that I want to risk. I will plan accordingly. Peter, as always, great info!

-- Cheers, Bill

[mvweebles]

Bill, I speak from experience because I just went through this getting a new dinghy across to replace my old one. The issue for me is I don't really know anyone in San Diego so time was always of the essence. In hindsight I should have registered the dinghy in California - hell, I'd already paid taxes so it wouldn't be much. But by the time I figured it out, it was late Friday afternoon and I had no place to go since I couldn't get into Mexico. So I went to a copy shop and printed out all my official docs in color, and a sales receipt with adjusted value based on a used dinghy and outboard. I declared it and ended up paying 19% IVA on a smaller value. I'm not a fan of "adjusting" valuations, but heck, this should have been $0. Even the customs guys agreed that if I wasn't in a hurry, I would be able to pay $0, but that could take weeks of more to get all the paperwork approved. I also rationalized by saying to myself that I've crossed with a lot of stuff that I never declared so it all works out - I paid on something I shouldn't have had to pay tax on, I've avoided tax on stuff I should have paid.

The irony is I am working to get my dinghy added to my TIP even though I don't need to. I've paid the tax on it. But I want all my paperwork in order with serial numbers.

Personally in your circumstances, I'd ask the sail loft for an adjusted receipt that shows a repaired sail (versus a new one) at a much lower value then declare it. As long as you declare, worst that can happen is they turn you around and send you back to the US. Sail bags are pretty big. Not sure I'd attempt to go through without declaring.

On a final note, you will read all sorts of stuff from all sorts of border crossings on Mexico. All I can say is my experience is recent and at the two Tijuana border crossings. Those guys apparently don't read the same internet sites.

[Caz]

Originally Posted by mvweebles

Bill, I speak from experience because I just went through this getting a new dinghy across to replace my old one. The issue for me is I don't really know anyone in San Diego so time was always of the essence. In hindsight I should have registered the dinghy in California - hell, I'd already paid taxes so it wouldn't be much. But by the time I figured it out, it was late Friday afternoon and I had no place to go since I couldn't get into Mexico. So I went to a copy shop and printed out all my official docs in color, and a sales receipt with adjusted value based on a used dinghy and outboard. I declared it and ended up paying 19% IVA on a smaller value. I'm not a fan of "adjusting" valuations, but heck, this should have been $0. Even the customs guys agreed that if I wasn't in a hurry, I would be able to pay $0, but that could take weeks of more to get all the paperwork approved. I also rationalized by saying to myself that I've crossed with a lot of stuff that I never declared so it all works out - I paid on something I shouldn't have had to pay tax on, I've avoided tax on stuff I should have paid.

The irony is I am working to get my dinghy added to my TIP even though I don't need to. I've paid the tax on it. But I want all my paperwork in order with serial numbers.

Personally in your circumstances, I'd ask the sail loft for an adjusted receipt that shows a repaired sail (versus a new one) at a much lower value then declare it. As long as you declare, worst that can happen is they turn you around and send you back to the US. Sail bags are pretty big. Not sure I'd attempt to go through without declaring.

On a final note, you will read all sorts of stuff from all sorts of border crossings on Mexico. All I can say is my experience is recent and at the two Tijuana border crossings. Those guys apparently don't read the same internet sites.

Peter, thanks for the advice.

[Caz]

Hello All,
I just found out that we are dog sitting for my daughter. Does anyone have the ins and outs of bringing an 18 mo/old 60 lbs dog down to Ensenada by car?

[jackrabbit59]

The stainless steel guy in Ensenada is Alejandro Ulloa. Company is Proyectos y Estructuras del Pacifico it is in Google maps. The guy is an artist. I had all my handrails on 50 ft sailboat replaced with all stainless. It is beautiful. He makes all kinds of custom biminis and solar panel supports. He can make anything. Just be prepared for Mexican time. It has nothing to do with US time. Manana means sometime in the future not tomorrow. It will take time but the work is outstanding.
For fiberglass it is Leonardo. He is at +52 646 185 5165. He can make anything from fiberglass or wood. Just have to be patient.
I have totally updated my boat here is Ensenada. You have to go by Mexican rules. 1. Never get mad. 2. If you get mad, never yell. 3. Be patient beyond belief. If you are in a hurry Mexico is not the place for you. 4. Never drink the water from the marina. 5. Cruiseport is terrible to have work done. It will drive you crazy with all their rules for letting workers in the gate. Plus the freaking sealions scream 24/7. 6. Coral marina has its problems but overall a nice place to live. The workers come and go without problem.

[Caz]

Originally Posted by jackrabbit59

The stainless steel guy in Ensenada is Alejandro Ulloa. Company is Proyectos y Estructuras del Pacifico it is in Google maps. The guy is an artist. I had all my handrails on 50 ft sailboat replaced with all stainless. It is beautiful. He makes all kinds of custom biminis and solar panel supports. He can make anything. Just be prepared for Mexican time. It has nothing to do with US time. Manana means sometime in the future not tomorrow. It will take time but the work is outstanding.
For fiberglass it is Leonardo. He is at +52 646 185 5165. He can make anything from fiberglass or wood. Just have to be patient.
I have totally updated my boat here is Ensenada. You have to go by Mexican rules. 1. Never get mad. 2. If you get mad, never yell. 3. Be patient beyond belief. If you are in a hurry Mexico is not the place for you. 4. Never drink the water from the marina. 5. Cruiseport is terrible to have work done. It will drive you crazy with all their rules for letting workers in the gate. Plus the freaking sealions scream 24/7. 6. Coral marina has its problems but overall a nice place to live. The workers come and go without problem.

This is great advice and local knowledge.

Thanks so much!

[Marathon1150]

We shipped our boat from Tahiti to Ensenada via DYT in January of this year.

I couldn't be in Ensenada when our boat was unloaded but had a local captain take care of moving the boat from the DYT transport ship to Marina Coral - he did an excellent job and I can provide his contact info if you like. He could be helpful accompanying you to offload your boat. Paperwork was handled by a local agent - but not the agent provided by DYT - they were not very helpful and were very expensive for what they actually did. The person that we used was in addition to the DYT agent and was super efficient, very effective and modestly priced.

We provided a list of consumables on board, which included several bottles of wine and spirits. Along with non-perishable food (i.e. canned or vacuum packed - but DYT insisted on this prior to loading the boat in Papeete). I can also provide a list of other documents that were required - it wasn't a big list and there were no issues. There were no wrinkles unloading the boat or moving it into Marina Coral. The latter is an excellent location.

If you are planning on sailing south soon, note that the marina in Cabo San Lucas should be avoided. It is a zoo and very unpleasant for a whole variety of reasons. San Jose del Cabo is great but tends to be full - we were able to get a spot for a few days by showing up in the office and looking very needy. We remain grateful that a slip was found because we could then leave Cabo san Lucas. La Paz marinas are also full - our boat is now in Marina Costa Baja which is great but tends to be full, particularly for larger boats such as yours.

We returned to Canada last Saturday. It was 38C the day before and will be hotter this week. From previous experience over 9 years in La Paz, June through to mid-October can be uncomfortably hot.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions or would like the contact details for the captain and/or the agent that we used.

[Caz]

ddd

Originally Posted by Marathon1150

We shipped our d from Tahiti to Ensenada via DYT in January of this year.

We returned to Canada last Saturday. It was 38C the day before and will be hotter this week. From previous experience over 9 years in La Paz, June through to mid-October can be uncomfortably hot.

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions or would like the contact details for the captain and/or the agent that we used.

Great local knowledge details. Thanks so much to you and everyone that has provide their insights!

[Caz]

Hello everyone. I though that a quick update would be appropriate to close the loop on all of the great feedback. We made it to Ensenada, yesterday. We chose to cross at Tecate. I tried to declare the goods/merchandise that I was bringing across, but no one seemed very interested. I crossed, parked the car and walked back to the border to get my FMM tourist card, which I paid $35 for 6 months. My boat is delayed due to congestion in the port for cargo unloading from Sunday until Thursday or Friday of next week. ughh... We visited Cruiseport Village and was able to walk to our slip. That is all good. Now, we are going to find an AirBNB until "our ship comes in". Thanks to all that have helped me!