Honduras Help - Boat Delivery

[Skunked Again]

A friend of mine has a 42' boat located in Honduras he is looking to have delivered to FLA. We should be all set with the delivery itself but I need help with the preparations to make this trip possible. The boat has been on dry dock for the past 5 years. The boat was passed down to the current owner and he does not have many details other then it is a "fiberglass over wood fishing boat with diesel power" He is going to send me photos so i will post those up as soon as possible. Although this may be a long shot, my question to you is.. Do any of you know a mechanic in Honduras that i could put the owner in touch with? Someone to take a look at this boat and see what type of condition it is in.. Someone who can see if this vessel is seaworthy enough to make the trip. Someone who can check out the engines and get them running again if need be. Any and all help is much appreciated.

I will post up further details as i receive them. I.E. engine type, boat make/type, etc.

Thanks,
Steve

[OUTCAST1]

A friend of mine has a 42' boat located in Honduras he is looking to have delivered to FLA. We should be all set with the delivery itself but I need help with the preparations to make this trip possible. The boat has been on dry dock for the past 5 years. The boat was passed down to the current owner and he does not have many details other then it is a "fiberglass over wood fishing boat with diesel power" He is going to send me photos so i will post those up as soon as possible. Although this may be a long shot, my question to you is.. Do any of you know a mechanic in Honduras that i could put the owner in touch with? Someone to take a look at this boat and see what type of condition it is in.. Someone who can see if this vessel is seaworthy enough to make the trip. Someone who can check out the engines and get them running again if need be. Any and all help is much appreciated.

I will post up further details as i receive them. I.E. engine type, boat make/type, etc.

Thanks,
Steve

I can't help with Honduran mechanic. Obviously you could fly someone down who was qualified to make the assessment, but it's not clear the boat is worth even the price of the trip. Interesting story. Your friend obviously didn't (I hope,) BUY the boat without inspecting it. Appears someone GAVE him an old wood boat (glass-over-wood) that has been essentially abandoned and/or neglected for five years in Honduras. If it hasn't been worthwhile to operate the boat for five years in Honduras, what are the chances that it's worthwhile to bring back to U.S.? Or safe for open seas? Good luck, please post developments.


(P.S. I retract my comments if your friend is smuggling drugs, Haitians, or Cubans.)

[Skunked Again]

Outcast... that is a pretty accurate assesment. It was his wife's late husbands boat so you are correct in saying he didn't "buy" it. I'm not sure if it was worthwhile to run for the past 5 years or not. There has not been anyone who as tried as they do not live down there so who knows. A mechanic/surveyor in the area could save a possible useless trip down there by simply taking a look. I will keep you up to date with future developments.

[Van Wildonher]

Where is it at?

I guess if it's been on dry dock for 5 years it probably won't start. More than likely needs the fuel tanks cleaned, new batteries, etc. Not to be a downer, but it may not even be worth it.

[Skunked Again]

Where is it at?

I guess if it's been on dry dock for 5 years it probably won't start. More than likely needs the fuel tanks cleaned, new batteries, etc. Not to be a downer, but it may not even be worth it.

VW.. it's at a yacht club in Honduras (I know, not much help!).. That's like someone telling me to go look for a boat at a yacht club in the northeast.. doesn't really narrow it down. As I receive more details i'll post up. You very well may be correct that it might not be worth taking the boat back to florida but the owner would like to get some facts and make that decision before he just pulls the plug. I'll try to get you a better laction ASAP. Thanks for the responses.

[Van Wildonher]

Well if it's at a "Yacht Club" maybe it won't be so bad. Let me know what you can find out.

[Skunked Again]

Well, by the looks of it she certainly needs a lot of work if she ever wants to get wet again. From the life ring on the side of the bridge it looks like the boat's name is the "Old Salt" from Roatan. I did a quick google search for surveyors in Honduras in order to find out exactly what this boat needs and whether it's worth it to get her back in service and came up with the following:

www.boatsurvey.com

http://www.alliedmarinesurveyors.com...eas_served.htm

I've passed both of these sites along to the owner, figured they may be worth a look. Does anyone have experience with either?

If the owner does decide to go along with fixing this boat up i'll keep this thread going. And again, if anyone knows anyone in Roatan, i'm all ears.

Thanks, Steve

[Big Fish Billy]

Before attempting to bring it back, please read a boat called "Flirting with Angels"...

[Van Wildonher]

By what I can tell (the pic is small) it looks like it needs a lot of fixing up before being worthy of a journey like that. I'd suggest that the owner actually comes down and decides. It may just be in their better interest to sell it if it has no sentimental value.

[kcummin]

Hello, my wife is from Honduras, and we have been to Roatan a few times. I think your best bet would be to get someone from La Ceiba (1.5 hour ferry ride) over to Roatan Island to look at the boat to determine the situation. The Roatan Yacht Club is near a rough part of town (French Harbor), although the club is insulated somewhat. La Ceiba has a major shipping yard, where they do heavy industrial work, and could probably give you the best realistic assessment.
Here is a link. They have a surveyor listed on their site (Services Link).

http://www.laceibashipyard.com/services.htm

Good Luck, and if you decide to make the trip, make sure you get the boat work done right. Honduras roughly translated means "DEEP WATER".

Honduras - literally "depths" in Spanish. Columbus is traditionally quoted as having written Gracias a Dios que hemos salido de esas Honduras (English: "Thank God we have come out of those depths") while along the northeastern coast of Honduras.