{"id":161653,"date":"2026-01-15T06:42:36","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T06:42:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/?p=161653"},"modified":"2026-01-15T06:43:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T06:43:09","slug":"how-a-the-right-delivery-skipper-protects-your-yacht-and-how-to-choose-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/yachts-and-gear\/how-a-the-right-delivery-skipper-protects-your-yacht-and-how-to-choose-one-161653","title":{"rendered":"How a the right delivery skipper protects your yacht (and how to choose one)"},"content":"A well-found GRP hull can, as environmentalists are right to highlight, have a long life. But taking the decision to refit a yacht that\u2019s decades old can involve complex work. Despite this, plenty of owners are choosing to take this route, especially bluewater cruising sailors who value safety and strength over pure performance.\r\n

A perfect fit<\/h2>\r\nThe first GRP yachts were built in the 1960s, when the vagaries of building in the material were still not fully understood. Fortunately, most manufacturers erred on the side of caution and simply used lots of it, making for some incredibly strong hulls. As time went on, more of a balance was struck, but builds remained sturdy. Many of these designs are still around today due to their fundamental build quality.\r\n\r\nYacht designer Chuck Paine drew designs in the 1980s and \u201890s that retain a dedicated following today. The Victoria 34, Bowman 40\/42 and Morris 40 all stand out as exemplary bluewater designs built to a high standard. Many of those on the market are either kept to a high standard or have been seriously invested in over the years. He explains that many of the yachts he designed remain solid for good reason.\r\n\r\n\u201cBasically, they were really well built. The layup was heavy, single skin, polyester resin \u2013 quite low tech but also very strong. When I designed these heavy-set cruising yachts, I don\u2019t think there was ever a conversation about longevity, or anything about how long the hull would ultimately last \u2013 that wasn\u2019t the aim, but it\u2019s an outcome.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_159128\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" The team at Fox\u2019s on the East Coast working on the bottom finish of a Farr that had a major refit. Photo: Fox\u2019s Marina & Boatyard[\/caption]\r\n\r\n\u201cThere were other fundamentals to the construction that made for something bound to last longer as well. We used bronze keel bolts for example, which I have seen on older hulls, even today, in very good condition.\u201d\r\nWhen it comes to buying an older design for refit, even one of his own, Paine is careful to stress the importance of a realistic approach.\r\n\r\n\u201cIt\u2019s wrong to think that you\u2019re likely to get a bargain, but you might get something that suits your needs, with qualities not so easily found in a modern design. You do need to be prepared to do work that requires quite a high level of skill to do properly.\r\n\r\n\u201cChainplates are a classic example. I urged everyone I dealt with to see the plywood component as support for the glassing-in; the strength came from the glass not the plywood.\r\n\r\n\u201cTo re-do the chainplates you need to grind it all away. Which begs the question, who is going to do that kind of work? It\u2019s skilled and pretty involved.\u201d\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_159130\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" New teak decks on a Bowman 42. Photo: Fox\u2019s Marina & Boatyard[\/caption]\r\n

Better the boat you know<\/h2>\r\nBehan and Jamie Gifford (authors and sailing YouTube channel Sailing Totem) had owned their Stevens 47 for an entire circumnavigation before deciding to embark on a two-and-a-half-year refit. \u201cTotem had been the place our children had grown up and our mechanism to visit 47 countries. Naturally, we were very attached to her,\u201d Behan explains.\r\n\r\nThe reality of a refit on a yacht built in 1982 was something the couple understood better than most. Jamie had been working on yachts since he was a child, and they\u2019d learned a lot about the yacht from living aboard for so long. Only welding and painting were outsourced.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe refitted in Mexico, about an hour from the US border. A circumnavigation had worn out a lot of the yacht and that made some items \u2018musts\u2019. Then there were other changes we were going to make that were a product of so much time spent on board; things that we\u2019d thought about a lot, such as a much better swim ladder set up that was entirely custom,\u201d explains Jamie.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_159136\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" SY Totem\u2019s refit was deep and based on learnings gained from a full circumnavigation. The refit was a two and a half year exercise in Mexico. Photo: SY Totem[\/caption]\r\n\r\nThe major jobs that needed doing proved themselves to be undertakings directly associated with the yacht\u2019s age. \u201cAt 40 years old some of the jobs went beyond what has been designed to be accessed and maintained. We had to replace the chainplates, which are well hidden behind the interior wood, and had some structure to reinforce below the shower which involved ripping out the shower tray itself \u2013 both things that are built into the yacht.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe result, Behan explains, felt like a new yacht. \u201cLike any renovation or refit project, we finished with still 4% to do, but it was transformational. The interior we made much lighter, we added a desk workstation so we can work remotely, and we are still thrilled with what we managed to achieve.\u201d\r\n\r\nAs their YouTube channel has grown, Jamie and Behan have advised others embarking on bluewater cruising and trying to decide what yacht to buy. \u201cBecause they have come to us in the first place, unsurprisingly, many are keen to buy an older, well found, bluewater yacht that needs work.\r\n\r\n\u201cI think while we have no regrets, we are clearer than ever about just how involved, and likely costly, that route into bluewater cruising is. A prop shaft does wear out, chainplates on older yachts do need changing eventually; these are the kind of jobs you encounter on a yacht built 40 years ago, however well it is built in the first place. It\u2019s important to be transparent about that.\u201d\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_159134\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"630\"]\"\" The finished result \u2013 a fresh, modernised interior and upgraded bluewater sailing yacht for the Giffords on Totem.[\/caption]\r\n

Execution is everything<\/h2>\r\nDeciding how to manage the project is the next stage. Do you have the time and knowledge to manage multiple contractors or do you need a full-service yard? Delivering a great refit is a multi-dimensional exercise, usually involving a broad range of trades including riggers, marine electricians and plumbers, as well as joiners, welders, and upholsterers. Treating colour-faded gelcoat, for example, is a specialist skill that requires an experienced eye.\r\n\r\nWhile yards able to take on this kind of work were once numerous, the number has fallen. Establishing what a yard will tackle themselves and what will be outsourced can be an important question to bring up early on.\r\n\r\nWill Taylor-Jones has run the refit operation at Fox\u2019s Marina & Boatyard on the East Coast for over 12 years. \u201cThe reality is that the \u2018all under one roof\u2019 model is a dying one. A yard which can deliver a comprehensive refit in house has to have several big projects in process all the time to make things work as a business.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe\u2019re very fortunate at Fox\u2019s to have almost everything here and a reputation for delivering for clients even on complex projects on older yachts,\u201d he explains.\r\n\r\nWhen it comes to what to include in a refit on an older yacht, Taylor-Jones says that each is such a personal project it\u2019s important to talk at length before going straight into things.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ll certainly make a point of highlighting the important \u2018musts\u2019 in the initial conversation. It can be very tempting for an owner to focus almost straight away on cosmetics on an older yacht as it\u2019s what is noticed first. A lot of budget can go that way if you let it!\r\n\r\n\u201cSome very important things, such as rigging, are often not that costly to replace and you are then good for 10 or 12 years, with the reassurance that brings.\u201d\r\n\r\n
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Imagine you\u2019ve just bought your dream yacht, but it\u2019s floating thousands of miles away. Getting it delivered to its new berth often involves arranging taxes, registration and insurance, and possibly refitting. Hiring a delivery skipper can help you with all of these things, not just sailing it. I was recently a delivery skipper for a new owner who needed a VAT-free bargain yacht in Finland sailed over to the Republic of Ireland, once a Jersey flag registration was obtained. There are well-trodden delivery paths, for example a thriving trade takes new or refitted Hallberg-Rassys from Ellos in Sweden to all points south, and Lagoon Catamarans out from their base in Bordeaux, France. A newly-acquired yacht might not need anything retrofitted, but a delivery skipper will require some necessities for an ocean passage. The capacity of a yacht\u2019s watermaker or solar power arrays will need to be assessed for ocean deliveries. A time-sensitive voyage may well tip the power equation heavily in favour of engine use, so delivery skippers will route in favour of refuelling stops and budget for both refilling tanks and adding fuel cans lashed on deck. Who to use? There are pros and cons to choosing an individual skipper or a yacht delivery company.\u00a0 PYD (Professional Yacht Deliveries), one of the UK\u2019s largest firms, has dozens of skippers on its books. Operations director Peter Kloezeman says that for a transatlantic crossing they\u2019d allocate an experienced skipper who \u201cwill usually have completed the crossing several times.\u201d Falmouth-based firm Halcyon Yacht Delivery is another major UK operator. Managing director Peter Green acknowledges that one-man-band delivery outfits can be cheaper options, but cautions, \u201cIf the [freelancer] has to cancel the job you could be left in the lurch.\u201d He recalls one yacht that was stuck in Spain when its booked skipper failed to show up. \u201cThe big advantage of choosing an individual skipper is you know who will be delivering your boat,\u201d says Mark Treacher, who leads his own delivery outfit. \u201cYou can check out their feedback,\u201d he adds. \u201cAs well as their experience in the waters you need your boat moved in.\u201d Article continues below… Treacher asserts that working with an individual can help develop a connection between a vessel\u2019s owner and a delivery skipper. An owner, he says, \u201ccan feel more assured that [their] boat will be in safe hands if [they] know exactly who is delivering the boat.\u201d I asked Treacher what would happen on a delivery should the skipper become incapacitated for whatever reason? \u201cMost skippers I know have a network of skipper\u2019s friends they can call upon,\u201d he explains. \u201cAs delivery skippers are generally freelance it would be possible to find [one] you could trust to complete the job. \u201cIt\u2019s often the case that a delivery skipper not attached to a company will develop a very small team of crew who work together very often\u2026 it\u2019s common that the first mate is both qualified and experienced to complete the delivery,\u201d he says, adding that is how …Continue reading »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4634,"featured_media":161664,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[159],"tags":[1105,1633],"review_manufacturer":[],"acf":[],"introduction":null,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161653"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4634"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=161653"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":161665,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/161653\/revisions\/161665"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/161664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=161653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=161653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=161653"},{"taxonomy":"review_manufacturer","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.yachtingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review_manufacturer?post=161653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}