Fort Lauderdale
A refit needs somebody at the yard whose only client is you
The Broward yards can build anything you can specify. What decides what your refit costs is whether the scope was written before the bids, whether the trades were sequenced, and whether anyone questioned the change orders as they arrived.
Fort Lauderdale can refit anything, which is exactly the risk
This is the best refit market in the country. The yards on the New River and in Dania Beach can take a boat apart and put her back together to a standard that very few places on earth can match. That capability is real and it is why boats come here from all over.
It also means nothing about your project is limited by what is possible. It is limited by what was scoped, what was quoted, and who is enforcing the schedule. A refit that goes badly here almost never goes badly because the work was poor. It goes badly because the scope grew, the trades were sequenced badly, and nobody was standing in the shed asking questions.
Vantage takes the owner's seat on that job. Captain Trace is not a subcontractor on the project and takes no percentage of any yard's invoice, so there is nothing pulling the number up.
What owner's representative work covers
Six parts, and the value is in doing every one of them rather than picking a favorite.
Scope before bids
The job written down properly first, so three yards are pricing the same work. Most bad refits start with a vague scope rather than a bad yard, and this is the cheapest hour on the whole project.
Competitive bids, read line by line
Hours, parts, lay days, haul and launch, disposal, and the omissions that turn into extras. Quotes are gathered from the yards that are genuinely right for that job.
Schedule and sequencing
Dates attached and chased, and trades sequenced so paint is not waiting on electrical and electrical is not waiting on a part nobody ordered. Sequencing is where yard time is actually lost.
Change orders questioned
Every change order challenged when it is raised rather than discovered on the final invoice. Scope creep is the single largest overrun on a refit and it is preventable.
Eyes in the shed
Regular visits with photographs and written progress notes, so you know the real state of the boat without flying in to look at her.
Sea trial and punch list
The boat tested under her own power, a written punch list of everything not right, and that list closed before final payment is released.
Refits that come through these yards
Every trade is performed by the yard and its specialists. Vantage writes the scope, reviews the bids, oversees, and closes out.
- Repower and main engine or generator replacement
- Full paint, awlgrip, and major fairing
- Electronics refits: helm, navigation, autopilot, and monitoring
- Electrical rework, battery and charging system upgrades
- Interior refit, joinery, flooring, and upholstery
- Running gear, shafts, struts, and stabilizer installation
- Air conditioning, refrigeration, and watermaker replacement
- Survey remediation on a boat you have just bought
Timing a refit in this market
Yard capacity in Broward is seasonal and predictable. The weeks around the fall boat show are the tightest in the calendar, high season haul-out slots book well ahead, and long lead items on a repower or an electronics refit can decide the schedule entirely if they are ordered late.
Getting the boat there matters too. New River transit means bridge scheduling, and a boat that goes up the river for a two week job and comes back in six has usually lost that time to sequencing and access rather than to any single trade.
The right time to bring somebody in is before the bids, not after the boat is already in the shed and the first change order has arrived.
Common questions
Not seeing yours? Contact us.
- Do you perform the refit work?
- No. The yards and their specialists perform every trade. Vantage writes the scope, sources and reviews the bids, oversees the work, and closes the punch list on your behalf.
- How is refit oversight billed?
- For the time it takes, quoted against the scope of the project before it starts. Never as a percentage of the yard's invoice, because the review is only worth having if there is no interest in the number going up.
- Can you oversee a refit at a yard I have already picked?
- Yes, and it is common. Choosing the yard is one part of the job. The scope, the bid review, the sequencing, and the punch list all still apply.
- Can you manage a refit on a boat you do not otherwise look after?
- Yes. Refit oversight is available as a standalone engagement. Owners already on a management retainer get a sharper scope, because there is a real maintenance record behind it.
More in Fort Lauderdale
Other Vantage pages covering the same stretch of coastline.
Bring us in before the bids go out
Send what the boat is and what you are planning. The scope is where a refit is won or lost, and it costs the least to get right.