A refit goes wrong less often because of one bad repair than because nobody held the whole job together. Someone has to decide the scope, put the trades in a workable order, chase parts, and keep the owner informed about cost and time. This guide explains how that coordination works and how to set it up, whether you run the job yourself, hire a project manager or leave it to a yard.
Start with a written scope
List every item you want done and every item a survey or inspection says the boat needs, and keep the two lists separate. A marine survey findings table is a good backbone. Rank each job as safety-critical, needed for the passage, or desirable. When the budget or the time runs short, that ranking tells you what to drop first, and what must not be dropped at all.
Sequence the work around the haul-out
Trades work in each other's way if the order is wrong. As a general pattern for a boat on the hard: structural and shipwright work first, then anything that creates dust or grinding, then painting and coatings, then rigging and deck hardware, then the below-waterline finish and antifouling, with the lift back into the water last. Mechanical and electrical work often continues afloat. The haul-out guide covers what to settle with the yard, and the chainplate guide shows how one job can force another: opening a deck for chainplates before it is painted saves doing the paint twice.
Quotes, variations and records
- Get itemised written quotes that name the work, the materials and the exclusions. A single lump sum with no breakdown is hard to compare and hard to adjust.
- Know the pricing basis. Fixed price, hourly rate with an estimate, or cost plus a percentage on materials each shift the risk differently. Ask which one applies and what triggers a change.
- Agree how variations work. Opening up a boat finds things. Agree in advance that extra work is quoted and approved in writing before it starts.
- Hold a contingency. Most refits find additional work. Decide in advance how much extra you can afford, and what you would drop to pay for it.
- Keep a file. Quotes, invoices, product data sheets, photos before and after, and written condition reports. Insurers and buyers ask for them later.
Parts and lead times
In Far North Queensland the schedule is often set by freight, not labour. Special-order winch parts, standing rigging fittings and some engine components can take weeks to arrive, as the winch and rigging guides explain. Order after the inspection, not after the boat is in the water, and ask suppliers for a realistic delivery date to Cairns rather than to the nearest capital city.
Weather and season
Paint and coatings depend on humidity and temperature, and the wet season shortens the useful working days. The guides on topsides painting and osmosis treatment describe the windows. If a cyclone warning is issued while the boat is out of the water, the plan for securing it should already exist: see the cyclone lay-up guide.
Who coordinates
There are three common arrangements. The owner coordinates directly, which costs the least money and the most time. A professional project manager or the yard coordinates the trades for a fee, which suits owners who are away or short of time. Or the yard runs the whole job under one contract. Whichever you choose, ask who is responsible for the schedule, who approves variations, how progress is reported and how the fee is calculated, and get the answers in writing.
For crew and delivery arrangements around a refit, see hiring a delivery skipper or crew. For timber and composite repairs, see working with a shipwright.