Lowest Cost Place in Florida to do a Refit

[Captain Bill]

Don't discount the boatyards in St. Mary's GA. We had friends that refitted a cat there a couple of years ago. I believe they were lifted out by a crane at the yard. It's literally just across the river from Fl and might save you some insurance money as well. Jax airport is only about 25 minutes away.

[conchaway]

Using the terms "lowest cost" and "in Florida" is an oxymoron.

[Ded reckoner]

You don't indicate where in Florida you are now, but, for the Gulf Coast side about a third the way up the state, you could look into Charlotte Harbor Boat Storage at https://charlotteharborboatstorage.com/

[atlroofman]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I’m looking for the best deal on a place in Florida to do a refit. Lots of interior work to do on my catamaran. The more money you waste on the storage, the less you have for the project, so looking for creative ideas.

Could be:
*on the hard
*in water
*private land, Marina or anywhere
*hauled out by travelift or crane or boat ramp

The only requirements are:

*power
*parking spot
*maybe access to a hose/spigot.

I need this spot from fall to spring 2020-2021. Could continue longer if it seems a good fit and I’m able to run air conditioning from the power.

Boat is 50’ x 25’ with 3ft draft when boards and rudders are up.

Any ideas?

On the hard way up a Florida river. Somewhere it is low cost because it is so far to the ocean. Also a must (close to home depot).
You will save a fortune on the HD alternitive to the marine grade materials.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by conchaway

Using the terms "lowest cost" and "in Florida" is an oxymoron.

Not really though. Asking for the coolest city in the Middle East is a similar question. Concerned with minimizing cost and being able to work on the boat through the winter.

[Bawlmer]

Originally Posted by Dooglas

Tallahassee International Airport is well served by both American and Delta Airlines.

I lived in Tallahassee for almost 20 years and commuted to DC for 10 of them. Yes, Tallahassee is served by Delta (I was a platinum) and American. But you will pay through the nose to fly and the only real service is Delta where you can only go to Atlanta. Carabelle is a solid 1.5 hours away via 2 lane roads. Flying out of Tally is very expensive. The upside is that Carrabelle is probably the cheapest place to haul in FL and Franklin County is an absolutely magical place. You get to decide.

[Mikado]

Originally Posted by Chotu

I’m looking for the best deal on a place in Florida to do a refit. Lots of interior work to do on my catamaran. The more money you waste on the storage, the less you have for the project, so looking for creative ideas.

Could be:
*on the hard
*in water
*private land, Marina or anywhere
*hauled out by travelift or crane or boat ramp

The only requirements are:

*power
*parking spot
*maybe access to a hose/spigot.

I need this spot from fall to spring 2020-2021. Could continue longer if it seems a good fit and I’m able to run air conditioning from the power.

Boat is 50’ x 25’ with 3ft draft when boards and rudders are up.

Any ideas?

Do yourself a huge favor and forget a major refit in Florida.

Sail your cat on a beautiful, easy, week trip to the Rio Dulce river in Guatemala.

They have about 12 first class marinas, four of which are full service. The local labor force is many times better quality then any of my experiences over 15 years trying to refit my sailboat in Florida.

Slip fees at a beautiful marina are about $4.00/Ft. Skilled labor such as fiberglass, cabinet making/finish carpentry is approx $25.00/Day. Teak is about 10% the US price.

I wish someone had given me this advice 15 years ago. I would have saved many thousands $$ and massive frustration.

Good Luck,

Jeff

[captnknopf]

Hi
I have some ideas. can you pm me?
Stan

[a64pilot]

Airline logic is interesting, my Brother used to fly a lot from Atl. To Albany Ga. Delta’s regional airline, the airline would stop in Albany then continue to Tallahassee. A ticket to Tallahassee was much less expensive than to Albany, so he would buy a ticket to Tallahassee, not check baggage and just get off in Albany.

God knows why he would fly it with all the nonsense of the Atl. Airport I could drive it faster than fly Commercial.

[captnknopf]

PM me about ideas

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Mikado

Do yourself a huge favor and forget a major refit in Florida.

Sail your cat on a beautiful, easy, week trip to the Rio Dulce river in Guatemala.

They have about 12 first class marinas, four of which are full service. The local labor force is many times better quality then any of my experiences over 15 years trying to refit my sailboat in Florida.

Slip fees at a beautiful marina are about $4.00/Ft. Skilled labor such as fiberglass, cabinet making/finish carpentry is approx $25.00/Day. Teak is about 10% the US price.

I wish someone had given me this advice 15 years ago. I would have saved many thousands $$ and massive frustration.

Good Luck,

Jeff

While this sounds great, just a few problems:

1) No rig so no sailing yet

2) Much MUCH worse commute to nyc, Florida for work.

3) I’m already paying $4.50/ft in Florida for a slip. Definitely not a beautiful marina at all, but i need to keep the storage fees way down to afford the build out.

Although the help you are talking about sounds like a good exchange rate. Definitely don’t have that here.

[windrush]

Contact Belle Hatchee Marina in LaBelle Fl., it meets all of your requirements, esp cost!

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by windrush

Contact Belle Hatchee Marina in LaBelle Fl., it meets all of your requirements, esp cost!

I haven’t found this one to be a good deal. They have a rates sheet that reads like a menu in a Japanese restaurant.

Add on pricing for everything. Each air conditioner, a vehicle, each person, what tasks you are performing. It’s all tallied up on the sheet and is not inexpensive, unfortunately.

Checking into the others, but also seeing what more ideas come up. I can’t be paying normal Marina rates and finishing this boat. That’s far too much. Need something a little out of the ordinary.

The boat was never built to be put into a marina. I can’t afford slip rates on this thing unless it’s done. Even then, for financial health, avoiding standard marina rates is a good idea.

Trying to do a little thinking outside the box.

[wingless]

The best way to limit costs is to minimize the time the boat is on the hard in the yard.

Haul the boat and perform all the below waterline work, then splash the boat.

All the projects that may be performed while the boat is floating should be done while the boat is in the water to limit costs.

A marina slip, or a waterfront homeowner dock rental, or an anchor area will all be significantly lower cost than a marina work yard.

[Sand crab]

But he has to finish off the interior of a 50' cat. You are going to need to be in a yard for that.