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v · 0.4 · 1,247 ports · 8,412 trades
Cruiser guides

The ports, services and regions we cover.

Long-form guides written for cruisers. Real cost ranges, who does what work where, and the questions to ask before you put a deposit down.

Port guides

Marine Services at Nanny Cay, Tortola (BVI)
If your halyard parted off Norman Island and you need a new one before next week's charter handover, Nanny Cay is the answer. It's the most concentrated marine…
Marine Services at Vuda Point, Fiji
Vuda Point is the cyclone pit yard. While most South Pacific cruisers haul in New Zealand for the cyclone season, a meaningful minority stay in Fiji and pit at…
Marine Services in Almerimar, Spain
Almerimar is the dependable, no-drama winter base on Spain's Mediterranean coast. The marina is large, prices are some of the most reasonable in Spain, the cli…
Marine Services in Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the sailing capital of the US East Coast. The combination of a deep sailmaker pool (North, Quantum, UK, Doyle all local), multiple yards across Sp…
Marine Services in Ao Chalong, Phuket
Phuket has Southeast Asia's most concentrated marine industry. The combination of Boat Lagoon Marina (north of Chalong), Yacht Haven Marina (north end of the i…
Marine Services in Bodrum, Turkey
Bodrum is where cruising sailors come when they're tired of paying European rates for work they could have done in the off-season. The combination of skilled b…
Marine Services in Cape Town, South Africa
Cape Town has South Africa's deepest marine industry. The catamaran builders — Leopard, Royal Cape, Robertson & Caine — sit just outside the city, and the trad…
Marine Services in Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena is the cheapest serious refit destination in the Western Caribbean. Skilled labour costs a third of what it does in Antigua, the city itself is a wor…
Marine Services in Chaguaramas, Trinidad — The Boatyard Capital of the Caribbean
You've been quoted $12,000 for a refit in Florida. Your insurance company wants the work done before they'll renew your policy. And you're looking at your bank…
Marine Services in Darwin, Australia
Darwin is the cruiser's gateway from Australia to Southeast Asia. Each August, the Sail Indonesia rally departs from here, and the local marina infrastructure…
Marine Services in English Harbour, Antigua
You've crossed the Atlantic and you're sitting in Falmouth Harbour with a list — the genoa needs restitching, the autopilot's been twitchy since the Canaries,…
Marine Services in Ensenada, Mexico
Ensenada is the first stop south for cruisers entering Mexico from California. Cruiseport Village handles transient berths and customs entry; Baja Naval handle…
Marine Services in Finike, Turkey
Finike is the cruiser's quiet alternative on the Turkish coast — half the chaos of Marmaris, fewer queues, and a similar cost base. If you don't need 1,000 boa…
Marine Services in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is the headquarters of the global yacht refit industry. Lauderdale Marine Center, Bradford Marine, Roscioli, and a dozen smaller yards concentr…
Marine Services in Fremantle, Australia
Fremantle is the cruiser's main service stop on Australia's west coast. The combination of Royal Perth Yacht Club, Fremantle Sailing Club, and the commercial y…
Marine Services in Georgetown, Exumas (Bahamas)
Georgetown isn't a refit destination. It's an anchorage — Elizabeth Harbour, ringed by Great Exuma and Stocking Island — that empties out in May and fills with…
Marine Services in Gibraltar
Gibraltar is small, English-speaking, and strategically placed. For cruisers crossing the strait either direction, it's the obvious fuel and parts stop. The tr…
Marine Services in Grenada — Sailboat Repair, Haul-Out & Tradesmen
You're sitting in Prickly Bay watching the sunset, and your port-side shroud just started weeping rust at the swage. Or maybe your fridge died three days ago a…
Marine Services in Halifax, Nova Scotia
Halifax is Atlantic Canada's main yacht hub and the staging point for cruisers heading north to Newfoundland and Labrador or south back to New England. Royal N…
Marine Services in Horta, Azores
Horta on Faial Island is one of the great waypoints of ocean cruising. Boats coming north from the Caribbean and Bermuda stop here on the way to the UK or Cont…
Marine Services in Kalamata, Greece
Kalamata is the cruiser-friendliest winter base in Greece. The marina has solid infrastructure, the town is a working Peloponnese city with everything you need…
Marine Services in Lagos, Portugal
Lagos is the cruiser's favorite stop on the European Atlantic. Mild winters, an active cruiser community, full marina infrastructure, and pricing that comes in…
Marine Services in La Paz, Mexico
La Paz is the cruiser capital of the Sea of Cortez. The combination of three or four marinas, a working haul-out yard (Atalanta), a stable expat cruiser commun…
Marine Services in Las Palmas, Canary Islands
Las Palmas is where 200-plus boats stage every November for the ARC and another hundred-plus do the crossing independently. The marina, the trades, and the ent…
Marine Services in Le Marin, Martinique — French Caribbean Boatyards
Your autopilot ram starts leaking hydraulic fluid somewhere between Dominica and Martinique. By the time you round Diamond Rock, the cockpit floor has a slick…
Marine Services in Marmaris, Turkey
Marmaris Yacht Marin is the biggest yacht refit operation in the Eastern Mediterranean. Over a thousand boats hardstand at the peak of winter, half of them cru…
Marine Services in Marsh Harbour, Abacos
Marsh Harbour took the worst of Hurricane Dorian in 2019, and the rebuild has been long. Five years on, the working marine infrastructure is back — Abaco Yacht…
Marine Services in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is New England's polished refit hub — America's Cup heritage built up a trade base that rivals Annapolis for sailing yacht work and exceeds it for comp…
Marine Services in Noumea, New Caledonia
Noumea is the French alternative to Australian east coast services for cruisers in the Southwest Pacific. Solid trade pool, decent parts logistics via France a…
Marine Services in Nuku'alofa, Tonga
Tonga isn't a service hub. It's a cruising destination — humpback whales in Vava'u, traditional Polynesian culture, anchorages that haven't seen a charter flee…
Marine Services in Olbia, Sardinia
Olbia is the cruiser's gateway to the Costa Smeralda — and that proximity is both its strength and its tax. The superyacht presence has built up an exceptional…
Marine Services in Opua, New Zealand — South Pacific's Service Hub
You're 800 miles from Fiji, 1,200 miles from Tonga, and 3,000 miles from anywhere else that speaks English and stocks Yanmar parts. Your engine is making a noi…
Marine Services in Palermo, Sicily
Palermo is the largest port in Sicily and a useful service stop for cruisers transiting between the Western Med and the Ionian — or staging for the longer cros…
Marine Services in Papeete, Tahiti
Papeete is the South Pacific's marine hub. French Polynesia's administrative ties to France mean parts shipping from Europe is reliable, the chandleries hold r…
Marine Services in Preveza, Greece
Preveza sits at the mouth of the Ambracian Gulf, a natural protected anchorage that's become one of the biggest cruiser refit destinations in the Eastern Medit…
Marine Services in Puerto Lucia, Ecuador
Puerto Lucia at La Libertad is Ecuador's only serious yacht marina and the staging point for Galapagos-bound cruisers. The locked basin offers secure berthing,…
Marine Services in Puerto Montt, Chile
Puerto Montt is the northern gateway to the Chilean channels — the legendary cruising ground that stretches south through Patagonia to Cape Horn. The town sits…
Marine Services in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico
Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay form one of the largest cruiser hubs on Mexico's Pacific coast. Paradise Village Marina in Nuevo Vallarta is the headline oper…
Marine Services in Richards Bay, South Africa
Richards Bay is the cruiser's entry to South Africa from the Indian Ocean. Boats crossing from Madagascar, Mauritius, or Rodrigues make their landfall here — i…
Marine Services in Rodney Bay, St. Lucia — Quick Repairs & Haul-Out
You're beating up from Bequia. The trades are blowing 25 knots, the swell is on the nose, and you've been pounding into it for 18 hours. Your autopilot is tire…
Marine Services in Salvador, Brazil
Salvador is Brazil's main cruiser stop on the South Atlantic. Boats crossing from Cape Town or coming up from Argentina make their landfall here, and the marin…
Marine Services in San Diego, California
San Diego is the US West Coast's deepest marine services hub. Shelter Island concentrates the yard infrastructure: Driscoll, Knight & Carver, Shelter Island Bo…
Marine Services in Shelter Bay, Panama — Canal Prep & Pacific Crossing
You're staring at the Pacific Ocean from a marina that feels like the edge of the world. Behind you is the Caribbean, the Bahamas, the US East Coast — everythi…
Marine Services in Split, Croatia
Split is the most useful service stop on the Adriatic. The harbour itself is a working port with ferries running constantly, ACI Marina just east of the old to…
Marine Services in St. Maarten — Chandlery Capital of the Caribbean
You're three weeks out of the Chesapeake. You've snapped a turnbuckle toggle, your fridge compressor is making a noise like a dying cat, and you're down to you…
Marine Services in Tauranga, New Zealand
Tauranga is the Bay of Plenty's main port and a credible alternative to Whangarei for cruisers wanting to refit in New Zealand without the trek north. The trad…
Marine Services in Ushuaia, Argentina
Ushuaia is the end of the world for yachts. The only practical staging port for Antarctica, the natural waypoint for Cape Horn roundings, and the entry point t…
Marine Services in Valencia, Spain
Valencia carries a meaningful piece of America's Cup infrastructure — the 2007 and 2010 events built up a deep marine trade base that's still here. For cruiser…
Marine Services in Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the cruiser's southern gateway to Pacific Northwest cruising. The Inner Harbour serves transient docking, Royal Victoria Yacht Club handles club vi…
Marine Services in Whangarei, New Zealand
Whangarei is the deepest cruiser refit base in the Southern Hemisphere. The trade pool concentrated around the Town Basin Marina, Norsand Boatyard, and Riversi…

Service guides

Autopilot & Navigation Electronics for Sailboats
The autopilot is the single most-loved piece of cruising gear after the boat itself. When it works, life is good. When it fails mid-passage, the crew remembers…
Battery Systems & Lithium Installation
The lithium revolution has reached cruising boats. LiFePO4 (lithium iron phosphate) batteries deliver significantly more usable capacity per kg and per dollar…
Bottom Painting & Antifouling for Sailboats — Hard vs. Ablative Guide
You haul the boat and the yard manager walks over with a scraper. He taps the hull and a chunk of green slime the size of a dinner plate falls off. Underneath,…
Canvas & Dodger Makers for Sailboats
Canvas work is the unsung hero of cruising comfort. A well-built dodger keeps spray out of the cockpit and weather off the crew; a properly fitted bimini makes…
Canvas & Upholstery for Sailboats — Biminis, Dodgers & Sail Covers
Your bimini is sagging. The UV strip on the mainsail cover has turned to dust. The dodger window is cloudy and cracked where a winch handle caught it in a squa…
Chandleries & Parts Suppliers for Cruisers
The reality of cruising is that you'll spend a non-trivial portion of your time sourcing parts — fan belts, impellers, hose, sealant, hardware, electronics, pa…
Diver & Bottom Cleaning Services
The diver is the most-used contractor in any cruiser's regular service rotation. Bottom cleans, zinc swaps, line clearing, the occasional emergency patch — the…
Fiberglass & Gelcoat Repair for Sailboats
Fiberglass hulls are durable but not invincible. After a few seasons of cruising every boat collects: dock dings, anchor strike marks, the occasional bumping w…
Fuel Tank Cleaning & Polishing
Diesel fuel ages badly. Water condensation, biological growth (diesel bug), and tank sediment all conspire to clog filters at the worst possible moments — typi…
Haul-Out & Travelift Services
Haul-out is the single most planning-intensive part of cruiser life. Yard reservations, travelift specs, weather windows, and project timelines all have to ali…
Liferaft Inspection & Repack
The liferaft is the most expensive piece of safety gear most cruisers own, and the only one you genuinely hope to never use. Service intervals and repack costs…
Marine Electrical Services Near Me — Find a Cruiser-Trusted Electrician
It's always the fridge that dies first. Or the autopilot. Or that mysterious short that drains your house bank overnight and leaves you staring at a voltmeter…
Marine Exhaust & Cooling Systems
The cooling and exhaust system is what keeps a marine diesel alive. Failures are usually preventable but consistently inconvenient — overheating in a tight anc…
Marine Plumbing & Heads
The plumbing is where cruising boats develop their unique smells. Marine sanitation hoses, raw-water toilets, holding tanks, and seacocks all need ongoing atte…
Marine Refrigeration & HVAC Repair — Find a Cruiser-Trusted Technician
The fridge died on a Tuesday. Of course it did. We'd just stocked up on chicken, cheese, and the good yogurt that costs $8 a tub in the Grenada IGA. The compre…
Marine Surveyors for Cruising Sailboats
A marine surveyor is the independent expert who tells you what's actually wrong with a boat. Pre-purchase surveys are the most common reason cruisers hire surv…
Marine Woodworking & Joinery
The interior of a cruising sailboat tends to evolve over the years — the galley layout that worked at first charter no longer suits a couple with two kids and…
Osmosis Treatment & Barrier Coats
Osmosis is the slow disease of fiberglass hulls. Water permeates through the gelcoat over years, reacts with the underlying laminate, and creates blisters. On…
Propeller & Shaft Work for Sailboats
The propeller, shaft, and the bearings that support them form a system that's easy to ignore — until vibration starts or the cutlass bearing finally lets go. M…
Running Rigging & Splicing for Sailboats
Running rigging is everything that moves on a sailboat: halyards, sheets, control lines, reefing lines, traveller and outhaul lines. It's also the part of the…
Sailboat Diesel Engine Repair Near Me — Find a Cruiser-Trusted Mechanic
It's 0300. You're motoring into an anchorage because the wind died and the current's running three knots the wrong way. Then that sound happens — the one every…
Sail Repair & Sailmaking for Cruisers
Sails are expensive and slow-moving wear items. Cruisers tend to put off repair and replacement decisions until something fails — usually inconveniently. Knowi…
Stainless Steel Fabrication & Welding for Sailboats
Cruising boats accumulate stainless modifications over the years — bow rollers for a second anchor, davits for the dinghy, an arch for solar panels and the win…
Standing Rigging Replacement — Find a Sailboat Rigger Near You
You're 800 miles from land, running downwind in 20 knots, and you hear it. A ping. Then a creak that wasn't there yesterday. You look up at the shrouds and the…
Steering & Rudder Repair for Sailboats
Steering systems are one of those things you never think about until they fail. When they do — broken cable, seized bearing, damaged rudder — the boat becomes…
Teak Deck Restoration & Repair
Teak decks are the visible signature of a serious cruising boat — and one of the most expensive systems to maintain. The good news: most teak decks can be reca…
VHF & Communication Systems
Cruiser communications has changed dramatically. Starlink in particular has displaced SSB and Iridium as the primary offshore communication tool for many cruis…
Watermaker & Desalination Service
A reliable watermaker transforms cruising. Anchorages that would otherwise require port calls every 10 days become open-ended. Long passages are no longer rati…
Windlass & Ground Tackle Service
The anchor system is what stands between your boat and the rocks. Cruisers spend more nights at anchor than anywhere else, which means the windlass, chain, and…
Windvane Self-Steering Systems
Mechanical windvane self-steering is the cruising-yacht solution to long-passage autopilot reliability. Where an electronic autopilot uses electricity and comp…
Yacht Transport & Delivery Services
Sometimes you need to be in a place you can't sail to — at least not without months of upwind work or transiting somewhere you'd rather avoid. Shipping a boat…

Regional guides

Alaska pacific northwest repair
Alaska & Pacific Northwest Marine Repair
The Pacific Northwest and Alaska form one of the world's great cruising grounds — the Inside Passage from Puget Sound through British Columbia to Southeast Ala…
Atlantic crossing prep services
Atlantic Crossing Prep & Services Guide
The Atlantic crossing is the gateway to ocean cruising for most. The trade-wind route from the Canaries to the Caribbean is one of the most-sailed ocean passag…
Australia new zealand haulout
Australia & New Zealand Haul-Out Guide
For South Pacific cruisers, the cyclone season (November–April) means either pitting in Fiji or sailing to Australia or New Zealand. Most choose NZ/AU because…
Baltic sea yacht services
Baltic Sea Yacht Services Guide
Baltic cruising has a short season (May–September) but a deep cruising-yacht culture. Scandinavia's sailing heritage means trade depth is real, and prices refl…
Caribbean
Caribbean Marine Services Guide — Boatyards, Repair & Tradesmen by Island
The Caribbean isn't one place. It's a dozen countries, three languages, two currencies, and a maze of import duties that can turn a $50 part into a $200 headac…
Central america boat repair
Central America Boat Repair Guide
Central America is one of the more remote stretches of cruising — long passages between sheltered ports, limited services, and a small cruiser population. The…
East coast usa boatyards
East Coast USA Boatyards Guide
The US East Coast has the highest concentration of yacht refit infrastructure in the world. From Fort Lauderdale's superyacht ecosystem to the sailmaking depth…
Eastern caribbean
Eastern Caribbean Marine Services Guide
The Eastern Caribbean is the spine of Atlantic cruising — Trinidad anchoring the south end, the French islands in the middle, and Antigua and the Virgins to th…
Great lakes boatyards
Great Lakes Boatyards Guide
The Great Lakes form one of North America's most underrated cruising grounds — vast inland freshwater seas with a serious sailing yacht culture. Service infras…
Gulf coast usa
Gulf Coast USA Marine Services Guide
The US Gulf Coast offers a less-saturated marine services environment than the East Coast — fewer cruiser-tourist boats, more working commercial fleets driving…
Indian ocean cruising guide
Indian Ocean Cruising & Services Guide
The Indian Ocean crossing is one of cruising's longer transits — from Australia or Southeast Asia westbound to South Africa, taking 4–6 months for most boats.…
Mediterranean
Mediterranean Boatyards & Repair — Cruiser's Guide by Country
The Mediterranean isn't one sea. It's a dozen countries, three currencies, two alphabets, and a maze of VAT rules that can turn a simple parts order into a cus…
North atlantic crossing services
North Atlantic Crossing Services Guide
The North Atlantic crossing is one of cruising's defining passages — typically eastbound in May–July from the US East Coast or Caribbean to Europe via Bermuda…
Northern europe summer cruising
Northern Europe Summer Cruising Services
High-latitude cruising — the UK, Ireland, Netherlands, Scandinavia, Norway, and Iceland — is short-season but services-rich. The yacht industry runs deep acros…
Pacific puddle jump services
Pacific Puddle Jump Services Guide
The Puddle Jump from Mexico to the Marquesas is one of cruising's signature passages — 18–30 days non-stop across the largest ocean on Earth. Preparation is ev…
Patagonia chile services
Patagonia & Chile Cruising Services
The Chilean channels stretch from Puerto Montt to Cape Horn — over a thousand miles of high-latitude cruising through fjords, glaciers, and some of the wildest…
Red sea passage services
Red Sea Passage & Services Guide
The Red Sea is the shortcut from the Indian Ocean to the Mediterranean — but it's a passage with significant logistical and security complications. Many cruise…
South atlantic crossing services
South Atlantic Crossing & Services Guide
The South Atlantic crossing — Cape Town to Brazil — is one of cruising's classic trade-wind passages. Reliable winds, manageable seas, and two of the remotest…
Southeast asia boatyards
Southeast Asia Boatyards Guide
Southeast Asia has become a major destination for cruiser refit work, driven by Phuket's marine industry depth and price competitiveness. The region offers a c…
South pacific cruising services
South Pacific Cruising Services Guide
The South Pacific is the apex of long-distance cruising — French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Samoa. The services infrastr…
West coast mexico
West Coast Mexico Marine Services Guide
Pacific Mexico offers cruisers a remarkable value proposition: skilled trades at half California prices, an active and friendly cruiser community, and the spec…
Western caribbean
Western Caribbean Marine Services Guide
The Western Caribbean is a different cruising experience from the Eastern — fewer cruiser-saturated islands, more passages between coasts, and a more varied lo…