Best maintenance spot in Pacific Northwest

[Lantau]

Originally Posted by Scorpius99eh

Jack's Boat Yard in Lund. It's somewhat funky but the family that runs it is incredible and can get just about anything done. They can get parts from Vancouver next day (if they don't have them or can't be found in Powell River).

I'd vouch for Jordan Hamilton (AC/DC Welding) any day. He's done great work in both steel and aluminum (I have a steel boat with aluminum superstructure - which he built).

There's also a superb machinist that can handle SS as well as steel, aluminum, etc.

Generally people live up here for the lifestyle, not to rip people off. They're good and they're reasonable.

Give Gerry a call at Jack's to fill in the details. And come up for the pig roast this Saturday (all welcome) to check the place out. Tell them Bill on Scorpius referred you.

Thanks everyone for these great replies. I hope this information is helpful to others, too.

I'm the second owner of my boat. The first owner had work done at Jack's, so that sounds like a real possibility. I should have mentioned that I plan to do this in March, so I expect that the trades may be more available than in summer -- unless the tradespeople have gone south for the winter. What I really need is a place with every kind of trade that I can schedule because I'll need a bit of everything done, from engine to electrical to welding, rigging and so forth. I definitely want to avoid a location that doesn't have easy access all basic parts and materials.

Thanks again.

[TrentePieds]

It looks like you may not be familiar with the Salish Sea: As far as the supply situation is concerned, you can consider the entire southern part of Georgia Straits one location. Trades people are available from Victoria in the south to Campbell River in the north, from Vancouver in the east to Nanaimo in the west and at all the smaller places in between.

Anything not available in the smaller locations can be brought into these locations from Vancouver, usually from one day to the next. Yacht chandleries of various size and competence exist in many, many locations but the major chandleries are, of course, in Vancouver. In additions to the "yacht chandleries", there are serious chandleries such as Western Marine Supply that cater to commercial vessels. Many trades people will have accounts there and be able to get "stuff" that the yacht chandleries do not normally carry. Industrial supply houses abound in the Greater Vancouver, and there really isn't anything you might want or need that you cannot get here.

If you are in a smaller location and need something shipped in from Vancouver, it can usually be done overnight. On each side of the Straits the trades people will usually travel to the job because the area around Vancouver is one extensive metropolis and the same may be said in many ways of the east coast of Vancouver Island.

So it really doesn't matter where you get the work done. The deciding factor in that regard is how you get along with the people who are to do the work.

Tp

[Lantau]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

It looks like you may not be familiar with the Salish Sea: As far as the supply situation is concerned, you can consider the entire southern part of Georgia Straits one location. Trades people are available from Victoria in the south to Campbell River in the north, from Vancouver in the east to Nanaimo in the west and at all the smaller places in between.

Anything not available in the smaller locations can be brought into these locations from Vancouver, usually from one day to the next. Yacht chandleries of various size and competence exist in many, many locations but the major chandleries are, of course, in Vancouver. In additions to the "yacht chandleries", there are serious chandleries such as Western Marine Supply that cater to commercial vessels. Many trades people will have accounts there and be able to get "stuff" that the yacht chandleries do not normally carry. Industrial supply houses abound in the Greater Vancouver, and there really isn't anything you might want or need that you cannot get here.

If you are in a smaller location and need something shipped in from Vancouver, it can usually be done overnight. On each side of the Straits the trades people will usually travel to the job because the area around Vancouver is one extensive metropolis and the same may be said in many ways of the east coast of Vancouver Island.

So it really doesn't matter where you get the work done. The deciding factor in that regard is how you get along with the people who are to do the work.

Tp

Thanks for the tips. Much appreciated.

I just spent five weeks sailing in exactly that area -- but not Vancouver itself, which seems to be where you are pointing. There's much truth to what you say, but also more than a little idealism in it (at least outside Vancouver). If one is in a city and has a car, and can actually travel to shops to place orders and/or pick them up, it's vastly easier. Without a car it's almost impossible to do anything in any reasonable amount of time. Many tradespeople most definitely will not travel as far as you suggest, and for those that will they charge for their travel time (as they should), which can drive up costs for a single job from negligible to very big indeed. Bear in mind that often they need to visit to assess the job and then go off to order parts, etc. before returning to do the job. Do that for a few jobs and the overall costs can become quite painful. As for parts, getting things shipped to some marinas is not easy at all. It was hard at some marinas just to get a notice sent to me telling me to go to a post office to fetch a parcel -- which was taken there by a parcel company that wouldn't go near the docks. As you say, chandleries can order in stuff -- but some will not order some things, particularly electronics brands they don't normally carry.

I found that I couldn't do much without a car, although I did spend some time in Nanaimo walking back and forth to the nearest chandlery. Rental cars in BC are not cheap, and outside the cities sometimes one has to travel very far to get one and there's little to no public transport to get back to the boat after dropping off the rental car. Walks can be very long indeed, which can be troublesome if the pack on one's back is heavy. I speak from experience.

My time in the area is a reason I asked for suggestions of locations where tradespeople and supplies are nearby. Maybe a Vancouver marina would be best. I am inclined to go to where the fishing boats go, but I did have trouble doing that once (ask about sail rigging or some electronics in those places and they'll politely decline to help).

I'll still have to do a huge amount of planning, and anyone with a boat knows that these plans will often go astray, but I think a key factor is finding the right location where one can most easily implement the plan.

[TrentePieds]

Obviously shoreside transportation is always a problem. But the options are many. Right from buying a clunker for the duration - if you are going to be around for awhile - to using Loomis to deliver - either express or overnight - small items from a supplier in, say, Richmond (Lulu Island) to Shelter Island Marina, also on Lulu Island. Or even from a rigger located in North Vancouver to SIM. The propeller adjuster is also located in NV, out of reach of public transport. But a competent mechanic lives in central Vancouver and will go to any of the marinas in Metropolitan Vancouver.

Shelter Island Marina on the Fraser River is where many DIY types do their thing, but public transportation is not plentiful just there. Race Rock in West Vancouver will also accept DIYs and from RRYS's front entrance, there's 30 minute bus service to downtown Vancouver and points beyond.

Without knowing precisely what it is you are going to be doing on your boat, it's difficult to offer more targeted comment about the logistics. Both RRYS and SIM should be able to set you up with an competent ally-welder.

Are you going to live aboard while you do the work, or have the work done? If you are not going to live aboard but are hoping to stay near the haul-out location for some time, then know that rental accommodation is both scarce and expensive. So it becomes a matter of evaluating whether you can gain on the swings what you will inevitably lose on the roundabouts!

Where is the boat now?

TP

[rbk]

Having just done a bunch of work in the area I found prices in BC to be considerably more even with the exchange. Anacortes has a big pool of skill as does Seattle and Port Townsend and as mentioned not being in their area can really drive the price up. Cost to re-rig in Washington Vs the island was 5k less in WA. Ferries, shipping, transportation to and from all add to the cost. Jacks as mentioned is a great yard but is near a full days travel from YVR (Van airport) and includes a cross Vancouver trip, two ferries and a good hour and a half drive. I found WA to be the better choose as you can fly direct into Seattle or take the interstate from YVR right to the peace arch and south from there in short order.

[Lantau]

Originally Posted by rbk

Having just done a bunch of work in the area I found prices in BC to be considerably more even with the exchange. Anacortes has a big pool of skill as does Seattle and Port Townsend and as mentioned not being in their area can really drive the price up. Cost to re-rig in Washington Vs the island was 5k less in WA. Ferries, shipping, transportation to and from all add to the cost. Jacks as mentioned is a great yard but is near a full days travel from YVR (Van airport) and includes a cross Vancouver trip, two ferries and a good hour and a half drive. I found WA to be the better choose as you can fly direct into Seattle or take the interstate from YVR right to the peace arch and south from there in short order.

Thanks RBK. Your price experience is the same as mine: prices in BC seemed very high -- not just boat stuff but also food and everything else. More than once I asked myself how people could afford to live there. (Anecdote: At a supermarket a women next to me commented on the high prices. I said to her that she was reading my mind!) Of course boat stuff usually comes with a premium. I slowly figured out that some of the chandlers will haggle on price -- after spending thousands without haggling -- and saved over $100 on a single water pump, as I recall. And, like you, I found the traveling around quite a problem. I didn't go to Jack's for some work precisely for the reason you mention. Anyone who wants to save money ought not even contemplate renting a car in one place in BC and dropping it off in another -- which you really need to do if you are heading to a boat to go cruising. The price can double easily to do that, and if an airport pickup is involved the price can go far higher. (But I was there in the high season. I've no idea what it'd be like off season. Maybe much cheaper.)

For my boat I'll need to have a bit of everything done, so location will matter greatly if I'm to get much done in the time I have (about three weeks).

[Lantau]

Originally Posted by TrentePieds

Obviously shoreside transportation is always a problem. But the options are many. Right from buying a clunker for the duration - if you are going to be around for awhile - to using Loomis to deliver - either express or overnight - small items from a supplier in, say, Richmond (Lulu Island) to Shelter Island Marina, also on Lulu Island. Or even from a rigger located in North Vancouver to SIM. The propeller adjuster is also located in NV, out of reach of public transport. But a competent mechanic lives in central Vancouver and will go to any of the marinas in Metropolitan Vancouver.

Shelter Island Marina on the Fraser River is where many DIY types do their thing, but public transportation is not plentiful just there. Race Rock in West Vancouver will also accept DIYs and from RRYS's front entrance, there's 30 minute bus service to downtown Vancouver and points beyond.

Without knowing precisely what it is you are going to be doing on your boat, it's difficult to offer more targeted comment about the logistics. Both RRYS and SIM should be able to set you up with an competent ally-welder.

Are you going to live aboard while you do the work, or have the work done? If you are not going to live aboard but are hoping to stay near the haul-out location for some time, then know that rental accommodation is both scarce and expensive. So it becomes a matter of evaluating whether you can gain on the swings what you will inevitably lose on the roundabouts!

Where is the boat now?

TP

Thanks for the tips!

I'll definitely be staying on the boat if for no other reason than to get more done when I'm awake. I also want to watch all of the work -- if I don't do work on my boat myself, good seamanship demands that I fully understand what work has been done on it. Offshore that knowledge can be priceless when things go wrong.

[rbk]

And those higher BC prices you always have to add the 12% sales tax to everything.

[Lantau]

Among my long list of projects is to have an Aquadrive installed (if there's room; not sure I have enough distance between gearbox and shaft seal to do it). Can anyone recommend an Aquadrive installer in BC or Washington state?

Thanks again!

[Lojanica]

Originally Posted by Lantau

For my boat I'll need to have a bit of everything done, so location will matter greatly if I'm to get much done in the time I have (about three weeks).

I'm picking up what you're laying down. Again Port Townsend......

[Lantau]

Originally Posted by Lojanica

I'm picking up what you're laying down. Again Port Townsend......

Thanks indeed. I just started digging around to learn more about Port Townsend, and the lists of trades and services in the area started to make my mouth water. It seems to be a place that'd be fun just to hang around if you like boats ...

[Roy M]

Once your mouth starts watering, then it's time to discover the oyster beds, prawns, crabs, salmon, rock cod, and other solid foods that need to washed down by copious amounts of local beer and ales and wines. Oh,My!

[jkindredpdx]

Originally Posted by pdxsailordiver

I have been happy with the port of Astoria boat yard.

+1 especially if you want to do your own work...

[Lantau]

Originally Posted by jkindredpdx

+1 especially if you want to do your own work...

Thanks. I definitely like to do as much work myself as I can, but time won't permit me to do even all of that. I'll need to be near tradespeople who can help, which means a place with several mechanics, several electricians/electronics techs, several aluminum welders, etc. -- because of course most of them will be busy with other jobs. Naturally, I'll try to prioritize jobs because it's inevitable that I won't be able to get everything I want done. I'll have about three weeks, which is not long at all for this sort of thing.

I'm still waiting for someone from a yard to reply and say "we can do it!" I guess they don't have time for this forum.

[jkindredpdx]

Originally Posted by Lantau

Thanks. I definitely like to do as much work myself as I can, but time won't permit me to do even all of that. I'll need to be near tradespeople who can help, which means a place with several mechanics, several electricians/electronics techs, several aluminum welders, etc. -- because of course most of them will be busy with other jobs. Naturally, I'll try to prioritize jobs because it's inevitable that I won't be able to get everything I want done. I'll have about three weeks, which is not long at all for this sort of thing.

I'm still waiting for someone from a yard to reply and say "we can do it!" I guess they don't have time for this forum.

If you want to consider Astoria, there's thriving commercial activity, cruisers, and recreational fishermen in the area... fortunately the west harbor yard manager is also insistent about environmental compliance. Issue for you of course might be getting there.