Hull Timbers and Keel
The most expensive thing to find late. Everything else is negotiable by comparison.
Refit · Haul-Out
Put the Boat Ashore
and Look
Nothing about a wooden hull is decided from the dock. Refit scope starts with a haul-out, an independent surveyor and an honest look below the waterline.
Discuss a RefitThe Haul-Out
What the Surveyor Actually Checks
A haul-out inspection covers what no in-water survey can reach, then pairs it with a sea trial and a document audit.
Below the Waterline
- Keel
- Planking
- Fastenings
- Caulking
Everything Else
- Engine
- Rigging
- Electrics
- Safety equipment
The surveyor should be independent — appointed by you, reporting to you, with no stake in whether the work goes ahead.
Scope Drivers
Five Things That Set the Bill
Fastenings and Caulking
Cheap to renew on schedule, ruinous to leave until water is coming in.
Engine Hours
Read against service records, not the gauge. Hours nobody logged are hours nobody maintained.
Survey and Refit History
A documented past narrows the scope. An undocumented one widens it.
The Paperwork
Class records where applicable, refit invoices, and what any charter contract obliges you to maintain.
The Best Place
to Refit a Phinisi
The yards that build these hulls, the shipwrights who repair them and the crews who sail them are all in the same country — and mostly within reach of Labuan Bajo.
- The yards that build phinisi are here
- Shipwrights who know these hulls intimately
- Materials and repairs are straightforward to source
- A well-kept hull holds strong charter demand in Komodo
We Do Not Quote a Refit From a Photograph
Any number given before the hull is ashore is a guess, and guesses on wooden boats are expensive. Send us the survey — or let us arrange one — and the scope will write itself.
Start With a Survey
Tell us the vessel and where she lies. We will arrange the haul-out and an independent surveyor.