Lowest Cost Place in Florida to do a Refit

[Sand crab]

New meter and power pole ka-ching. I'm a retired contractor, ask me how I know. Might also be local rules against this because power has been buried a long time.

[Thumbs Up]

I thought that you had to be out of the water. Going to be way easier to finish the inside at a dock than up in the air.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Thumbs Up

I thought that you had to be out of the water. Going to be way easier to finish the inside at a dock than up in the air.

Yes,. I can manage the project so this winter's part of the work can be only in water work.

So I'm very flexible and open to ideas.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by Sand crab

New meter and power pole ka-ching. I'm a retired contractor, ask me how I know. Might also be local rules against this because power has been buried a long time.

You never know unless you ask. Some places it’s insanely expensive, some subsidize the cost like cell phone companies used to do because they gain a new customer.

Last place I lived I had the power co out to tie in a pool that I had just put in, but my pole was old and looked like it was going to fall, they took it out and laid about 100 yards of underground cable and put the on ground transformer in for free.

[Mikado]

Originally Posted by Thumbs Up

Nice ad for the Rio Dulce but the crime rate there is not low by any means.

I’ve been at Catamaran Marina in Rio Dulce for a year and have not experienced a single even minor theft. I have workers on/off my boat daily.

I have many friends there that have the same experience.

There is a daily Cruisers Net call everyday and very rarely does someone have a negative issue to report.

Language is not a barrier and the locals are incredibly helpful and friendly.

My 15 years in Florida was the exact opposite experience.

Your opinion is inaccurate and uninformed.

[Limpet]

Guatemala crime rate:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crime_in_Guatemala


See charts at bottom for comparison:
https://www.macrotrends.net/countrie...ate-statistics
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[Thumbs Up]

Originally Posted by Mikado

I’ve been at Catamaran Marina in Rio Dulce for a year and have not experienced a single even minor theft. I have workers on/off my boat daily.

I have many friends there that have the same experience.

There is a daily Cruisers Net call everyday and very rarely does someone have a negative issue to report.

Language is not a barrier and the locals are incredibly helpful and friendly.

My 15 years in Florida was the exact opposite experience.

Your opinion is inaccurate and uninformed.

I love Rio Dulce. But I know a lot of gringos that have lived there 20 years and still don't know Spanish. If you get to know the locals better and actually read the local papers you will see that there actually are a lot of violent robberies and assassinations. I have friends who's kids switched schools after their teacher was shot and killed a few years ago. The collectivo (minivan), drivers regularly get assassinated (territory thing), Rio Dulce has it's share of late night bar fights ending up with bloody knife fights and ending in deaths, outboard motor and dinghy theft is rampant. If you start keeping track of the local news there it will be an eye opener for you. The police force there is as corrupt as they get. There are rapes and young women being murdered. Ask a local if they are afraid to walk over the bridge alone at night. Nearby Morales is home to the Mendoza family and nearby Puerto Barrios is very dangerous. A lot of cruisers there live in a "bubble" and don't notice. One of the biggest dangers is from getting hit by a truck on the crowded main street with no sidewalk (not a crime but should be) Pickpockets are a concern. I don't think I am uninformed about the place, but that you are in a bubble. There hasn't been much violence towards cruisers there lately but I have known quite a few people who have died there in one way or another. Language is a barrier even if you don't realize it. I recommend Rio Dulce but am not going to lie about it. There is another side to the place that you are not seeing.

[bikekite]

Better not go to the BVI's since their murder rate per 100K population is 2X that of Guatemala.

https://data.worldbank.org/indicator...alue_desc=true

In fact most of the Caribbean has a higher homicide rate than Guatemala.

Country level data can be misleading since it is all about where you are in the country. Take Washington DC for example, there are places that are safe and places that are not!

[Sand crab]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

You never know unless you ask. Some places it’s insanely expensive, some subsidize the cost like cell phone companies used to do because they gain a new customer.

Last place I lived I had the power co out to tie in a pool that I had just put in, but my pole was old and looked like it was going to fall, they took it out and laid about 100 yards of underground cable and put the on ground transformer in for free.

I have never heard of that, you were lucky. The power company tied into a pool, that's odd because their work usually stops at the meter. But anyway a new meter is at least $600 and that's just a fee then you have to pay an excavator to dig a trench. Here you pay someone to dig the trench from the transformer to the meter and put conduit in it. You leave the trench open so the power company can inspect it then they will pull the wire through. Any thing from the meter on is by an electrician and usually the entire job is contracted and scheduled by an electrician. Easy $5000 all in but could be way more.

[a64pilot]

I ran the wire to the meter box, but I’m not allowed to touch their box so they have to tie in. I used to be a licensed electrician so I could run wire and connect Mobile Homes in a park my Father owned back ages ago.
A home owner owns and is responsible for the wiring from the meter box on, of course for most people the meter is on the side of the house, mine wasn’t.
I had a separate box for the pool, most people tie the pool into the house box, I didn’t, but could have as the house had dual 200 amp boxes, but as the meter box was between the house and the pool, it made better sense to give the pool it’s own box. Pool was I guess at least 100’ away from the house.

But yes, no power company that I know of will touch the wiring past the meter box for liability if nothing else, but you had better not be caught touching their box either, cause it’s not yours to touch, even if you paid for it

Ga power were easy people to work with, they dropped off several old power transmission poles for me too, I used them for a pole barn.
I assume they have some difficulty getting rid of creosote poles maybe?

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by captnknopf

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

Stan,

We PMed. You said you might have something. I responded with specifics.

Your last response was it wouldn’t be a good fit during hurricane season.

I’m looking for a spot over the winter. During dry season. Not during hurricane season.

I didn’t see a response to my DM so I’m checking to see if you get this through a thread notification.

You had misunderstood when I needed the spot.

Thanks!