Hauling for Less

You know how everything is less expensive in Mexico? Well, it’s not. Take hauling out your boat.

Most folks who cruised Mexico this winter figured it would be much less expensive to have their boats hauled out down there than when they came back up to the States. But that’s not proving to be true.

One of the reasons is the bad economy in the United States. Business at boatyards in the States is way down. Since the government isn’t going to bail out boatyards like they did the auto companies and banks, and since boatyards aren’t supported by taxpayers, they’ve had to become leaner and more competitive than ever. The yards and their workers are trying to be more efficient than ever, passing on the savings to their customers to increase business.

Jim Milski of the Lake City, Colorado, Schionning 49 Sea Level did a lot of comparison shopping in Mexico and California before he hauled his cat. When he compared the numbers, he decided the most economical choice was Driscoll Boatyard in San Diego, where he stopped after completing his bash. The price he got from Driscoll’s was a little less expensive than Napa Valley Marina, and less than any of the yards in Mexico — although not by a large amount.

Milski’s decision wasn’t based only on price. He felt more confident hauling at an American yard than a Mexican yard because he believed the former was much more likely to have insurance in case something went wrong — such as his cat being dropped. It didn’t hurt that he hauled at a yard where the workforce was extremely experienced and where the same people working on his boat also work on multimillion dollar yachts. Convenience was another factor. Jim and his wife Kent could also walk from their hauled-out boat to the Joe Cocker concert at Humphreys on the Bay!

Milski was a happy guy when his boat touched water again early this week, feeling that he’d gotten both an excellent deal and quality work. "It pays to comparison shop," he said with a smile.

That’s particularly true in these times, when it seems that boatyards up and down the coast have sharpened their pencils when it comes to quoting prices for haulouts and other work. If you were to haul your boat right now, there is a good chance it will cost you less than it did a year ago. So if you’re in Northern California, page through the latest Latitude and dial boatyard numbers for the best deals in years — then get haulin’.