Cartagena Boatwork

 Cartagena provides an opportunity for the sailing cruising community to have minor to major work completed on their boats.  A variety of services are available and with some effort you can obtain almost any part if you have persistence and patience. While labor is cheap, approximately $25 a day, supplies are not.  Spanish is the language spoken here and it is very beneficial to know some Spanish.  It just makes it easier when trying to communicate.  Problems arise when misunderstandings take place.

We decided to have major work done.  The first step was to find a boatyard, which there are three to choose from:

 -- Manzanillo is the smallest, with a travel lift rated to 40 tons but it is small.  We wouldn’t trust it with a boat our size.

 -- Ferroalquimar is the popular choice for sailors, with a travel lift to 30 tons.  Pura, the assistant manager speaks English very well and they have small apartments available for rent.  If you have a catamaran, Ferro is your choice.  They have a crane that can pick up a catamaran and set it close by.  

 -- Todomar provides a 40 ton travel lift and a bigger yard.  They make powerboats so the yard is a busy place.  With our 23 ton boat, we decided our best option was Todomar.  The haulout slip has 7’ 4”  draft.  The daily rate is 17,500 pesos a day with three lay days.  For outside workers, there is a charge of 50,000 pesos a day plus  proof of having insurance. 

We left our boat on the hard for almost a year.  We hired Jorge Mario Herrera, Cartagena Boat Services, 311-579-1095 to look after our boat while we were gone.  Jorge speaks English very well.  He charged 25,000 pesos per month, which includes washing the boat.  We kept in touch with him via the internet and phone. We returned after 8 months, and hired Jorge to paint our entire boat.  He gave us a quote for this work by email and started the sanding of the hull before we arrived.  While work was being done, we rented an apartment at Ferroalquimar for 35,000 pesos a day. It’s only a half a mile away from Todomar, so it’s within walking distance. You can stay onboard with no charge, but for us, that was not an option.  We returned on December 10^, 2008 and until the work was completed, February 4, 2009, Aaron or I or the both of us, were at the yard everyday overseeing the job.  It’s important to stay on top of the work being done to make sure it is being completed to your specifications.  Jorge is very capable and knowledgeable, but questions do arise that need to be answered. However, the borrowing of tools is a must since the workers do not have any.  Make sure that when they do borrow tools, they treat them with respect, clean them afterwards and put them back where they should be each time.  This took some training, but eventually they do learn.    

 Jorge removed the rubrail and sanded and filled for a smoother look.  Underneath the rub rail is an indention about 1 inch wide so we decided to have that painted a different color than the hull.  All the stanchions were removed from the deck, holes filled in and sanded.

 The sides were primed with 3 coats of primer.  Afterwards, all the flaws were much easier to see, so days were spent sanding and filling in order to make the hull smooth.  We went with Jorge to the paint store and picked out our colors.  Pintuco Marine is located in Bosque.  Paint is expensive and gelcoat even more so.

 All the hardware was removed from the topdeck, masked, and 3 coats of primer applied.  Then, after sanding and filling, three coats of topcoat were applied.  It’s best to paint in the morning, when the wind is calm, however it picks up in the afternoon. This is such a challenge to do as it seems that problems arise in the morning and painting just doesn’t get done until the afternoon.      

 Creison, Jorge’s assistant, constructed out of fiberglass, a small dam about two inches high at the bow as to prevent mud from sliding down the sides when hauling anchor. If you need any fiberglass work done, Creison is your man.

 One of the first things we did was to have both anchors and chain regalavanized.  Daisy with Galvamar in Bosque, 674-1046 or cell#314-525-5350, picked up and delivered.  They charge 6000 pesos per kilo and the work is done in Baranquilla.  The turn around was approximately 2 to 3 weeks.  We also had her rechrome some hardware.

 We had our propeller repitched.  Louis of LJ Prop, located next to Todomar, fluent in English, and with the aid of computer technology, calculated the exact pitch for our boat.  Turnaround was a couple of days and the cost was approximately $150US.

 Bianney Torres, (stainless steel welder) 316-633-9418 Mega Yates in Bosque, came to Todomar and gave us a bid on what it would cost to custom make new stanchion bases to fit on the toerail, a new hardrail all around the boat, and to construct a folding swim platform on the aft.  The bid was very reasonable, and Bianney is a very responsible and reliable worker.  Whatever day he said he was going to have the work completed, it was.  His work is quality, but demand that he acquire 316 ss for the welds.  Cartagena does not sell any, but surely it can be ordered from somewhere else and shipped in.  We did not know this until the very last day, when he told us that the welds were not done in 316 ss. We now have to polish more often. 

 About three days before launch, the bottom was sanded, blisters repaired and painted.  We bought the bottom paint in Panama, much less expensive.  Three coats were applied with a tin additive added to the last coat. 

 The work continued once we were in a slip at Club Nautico.  Club Nautico now charges 10,000 pesos a day for an outside worker.  For the next month, we had on our boat at least 6 people, sometimes 8,  everyday.  It was crazy.

 Eder Montes, Mr Corian, had began our galley redo when we were here in December 2007 but was unable to finish due to time restraints and other projects. When we arrived at Club Nautico, Eder or one of his assistants, Alex and Angel, were on our boat for the next month finishing up the job.  It was a bigger project than first realized.  We had a new freezer box made, reinsulated both refrigerator and freezer, and  new countertops with backsplash.  Both heads received a new countertop as well.  We are very pleased with the finished product.  We had brought with us ¾” weatherstripping, which was used as a gasket sealer around the refrigerator and freezer lids. The hinges and handles were all flushed mounted.

 The Hermanos Malos, Antonio and Fabio, are an expert team on refrigeration. They do speak some English and charge a fair price.  They recharged our system, found a small leak and had it up and running in a few hours.  Our icemaker was recharged as well and works even better than before! 

For canvas repair, Jorge recommended Renzon Herrera, no relation.  He made a trip out to Todomar and repaired our dinghy cover for $15.00US.  After that, when we were at Club Nautico, both sail covers, and our sun cover needed repair.  Also, the staysail needed new stitching as well.  Renzon and his brothers, Victor and Benjamin, do reliable work.  We don’t know yet how well the thread will hold up.

For carpentry work, we use Nilson Markato, recommended by s/v Runner.  315-323-5868.  He is a magician, any problem can be solved and his carpentry skills are very good.  We had to have our cabin sole replaced in the aft cabin and in front of the engine room door, due to a mizzen leak while we were gone and leaks from the stanchions.  Nilson with local hardwoods, matched the teak and holly with a 3/8” wood epoxy to plywood.  Underneath, new supports were made, so that the finished product is actually sturdier than before. Seven coats of varnish were applied.  If, we ever go back, we will have Nilson due the entire cabin sole.  He also made new cabinets in the main salon matching the cane doors on the existing cabinets. And he added cabinets in the shop as well.  We highly recommend Nilson, and his assistant Esteban, looks like Eddie Murphy, the smile is perfect.

 Creison, 315-692-3957  home 677-6223, also works for 50,000 pesos a day.  He does all kinds of repairs, sanding and varnish, polishing and waxing boats, and is a very nice guy.   He smiles all the time, speaks very little English, but understands charades very well. He works very hard.  In fact, he was the hardest working man of them all.  He is very very strong; our generator was seized up and with a crowbar he got it to turn after working on it for 4 hours.  He just doesn’t quit.  He also managed to tighten our stuffing box, not an easy feat.  He works with Jorge in the yards, but at Club Nautico, we hired him for the day to help us in whatever project we had going.  He does very good fiberglass work; has the ability to make anything out of fiberglass.  We had new scuppers installed in each of our toerails, and he custom made the dam at the bow.

 For mechanical repairs:

 Elvis, worked on our generator.  He speaks a little English, does good work, and is an honest man.  He usually charges 120,000 pesos a day, but that is subject to change with the severity of the problem.  He has over 20 years of experience.  He changed the water pump, flushed the system, cleaned the manifold and heat exchanger.  We actually cleaned the heat exchanger; with muriatic acid.  Works great.  He rebuilt two water pumps for us, cheaper than Turbinas y Mangueras.

For electrical problems associated with generators, we had good luck with Emigdio Gonzales, 313-587-2064.  He speaks English pretty well and found our problem within an hours time.  Our system had to be “flashed” due to the reconnecting and connecting when cleaning the connections, sort of like a reset.  He checked our brushes and other sensors and found all in good condition.

 We used Turbinas y Mangueras to rebuild our water pump on our main engine with a quick turnaround of 2-3 hours time.  We also had our watermaker low pressure water pump rebuilt as well.

 For alternator problems, MultiElectricos opposite of Home Mart, rebuilt one of our alternators with a quick turnaround time.

 Sven, Laboratorio Electronico Aleman, monitors VHF CH 72, 656-2111, cell#316-312-7570 fixed our SSB.  Also, he confirmed that our Raymarine radar was struck by lightning and it would cost too much to fix it, so we donated the dome and display to Sven for parts.  He’s not an electrician, but a technician.

 For computer repairs, I called Felix Malo, brother to the Hermanos Malos, 311-410-5647.  He fixes hardware and software problems, and speaks very little English.

My Compaq screen was going bad, had turned a teal green color.  In an afternoon, Felix soddered every connection between the screen and the lower unit.  It works great so far.

 If needing freight forwarded to you, we used Javier Hoyos, 315-731-9614.  He charges $60 for the first 20 pounds, then $3.50 for every pound after.  He takes care of customs and delivers the packages to you.  He speaks very good English.  He uses a freight forwarder in Miami for bigger packages. 

Things That We Have Learned

There are a few things that we would do differently next time around. 

 We would haul out at Ferroalquimar. All boatyards are dirty and dusty.  The onsite apartments are really convenient, and we had a one burner hot plate, that enabled us to cook our own food.  Air conditioning and a small refrigerator are in each room.  The boatyards are a good 20-25 minute ride from Cartagena, and taxis are hard to get going into town. Taxis should cost 11000 pesos each way, more at night. There is a bus available, but we never did take a ride. We heard that is is very cheap 1500 pesos, but takes awhile.  We rode the motorcycles mostly, 3000 pesos, rode them only when traffic was less, after morning rush hour and before the evening rush hour. There is a restaurant across the street in between Todomar and Ferro called the Los Cauchos (since it is situated in between two enormous rubber trees)  and the convenience store directly across from Todomar serves up breakfast and lunch only.  The Vicmar store next to the convenience store also sells batteries and will deliver.  If you need fuel and gas, Hugo will deliver by truck.  Very convenient and cheaper than buying fuel at the fuel dock next to Club de Pesco (Texaco).  We fueled up before we were hauled back into the water.

The contract would be written up differently.  It should state exactly what needs to be done, and in what time frame and the consequences if the time frame is not met.

   Delays can be very costly, each day in the boatyard and apartment costs money.  We didn’t have a time or consequences for delays, so in effect, the job took longer than need be.  This is a problem when working with Colombians.  They purposely drag the job on for as long as possible.  And it does not get the job done any faster losing your cool.  You have to find a way to work with them.

2009 Update

Upon our return to Cartagena in December 2009, we have learned that Jorge no longer works at the boatyards doing haulout painting and etc.

Initial haulout 12-11-08

Painting in progress 1-15-09

Work is done 2-4-09

Galley work begins 12-28-08

Galley Corian complete 3-12-09

Floor removed in aft 3-1-09

New floor installed 3-7-09