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Hatching Plans for an Egg Harbor
by Eston Ellis
A Florida-to-Mexico delivery was followed by a complete renovation
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Lafayette, California boater Andy Hight found his dreamboat in less-than-ideal condition and in a faraway place -- far from where he wanted to use it. But that didn't stop him from buying it, adding the features he wanted and transporting it from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
Just getting Andy Hight's 60 foot Egg Harbor from Florida (where he bought it) to Cabo Isle Marina in Cabo San Lucas (where he planned to keep it) was a major project in itself. However, renovating this 1986 sportfisher was another major endeavor -- especially since he did half of the work in Mexico.
In the past, Hight had owned a 28 foot Bayliner, then a 39 foot Sea Ray; but his goal was to own a 50 to 60 foot sportfisher. "I saw an Egg Harbor 60 in a boating magazine, and I just fell in love with it," Hight explained.
When he had a chance to buy a repossessed 60 from a broker in Florida in 1992, he jumped at the opportunity. "It was a very good deal. It had a 40 foot tower with three-tier Rupp outriggers and was heavily equipped for fishing."
Still, he had to do some renovation to get the boat ready to cruise. "I had several major things fixed in Florida -- including having the bottom epoxied," Hight recalled.
"I added a davit and a new Boston Whaler 13 and a half foot dinghy, and a Trimble GPS. I changed the stuffing box to a PSS dripless unit, which I'd had on my 39 foot Sea Ray."
He also equipped the boat with a new entertainment system that included a CD stereo, a surround sound receiver, a television with a VCR and Laser Disc player, and speakers throughout the boat.
Hight chartered the boat for a year in Abacos, in the Bahamas, then prepared to transport the boat to the West Coast.
How Do You Move a 60 Foot Egg?
"I didn't want to run the boat all the way from the Bahamas to San Diego on its own bottom," Hight said. "When it comes to cost -- and wear and tear -- shipping the boat seemed to make a lot more sense."
Hight turned to a company called Dock Express to take his boat from the Bahamas to Acapulco in nine days, through the Panama Canal.
"They use a half-submerged ship to carry boats afloat," Hight explained. "They drive the boats in, secure them, then they block up the boats as they let the water out of the vessel -- and start cruising."
After his Egg Harbor 60 arrived in Acapulco, Hight cruised to San Diego, where he had more changes made at a local boat yard.
First, he did an overall cleanup of the exterior and added new canvas. Then, he took out all of the boat's existing electronics and redesigned the helm electronics box. He added a new Robertson 300DL autopilot, a Furuno 72 mile color radar and a Furuno FCV-5000 fish finder.
Next, Hight turned his attention to the tower, where he added a compass, a Datamarine remote depth gauge and an Icom VHF radio.
On the flybridge, he added an up-down anchor switch, which enabled him to anchor alone, without assistance from crew. He also installed a Standard Communications VHF and a Trimble NavGraphic chart plotter with electronic charts on CD and an integrated GPS receiver.
In the cockpit, Hight installed a third control station -- in addition to controls on the flybridge and tuna tower -- so that he can handle the boat himself when he's involved in serious sportfishing. Hight turned a freezer on the starboard side of the cockpit into a live bait well, removed an in-deck livewell and converted a small cabinet next to the tank into a fish freezer.
Down in the engine room, Hight added a 20 kw Northern Lights generator, an HO 600 gallon per day water-maker, a new water heater and a new battery charger. He moved the batteries from inboard to outboard, between the engines; and built new heavy-duty fiberglass battery boxes. "In doing all that, I was careful to leave plenty of room to get around and do maintenance," Hight said.
"The boat originally had a 180 gallon fuel tank that had been disconnected, and it was replaced with two 190 gallon tanks. I added additional tankage, for a total fuel capacity of 1,400 gallons."
Cruising to Mexico -- and Staying There
After making all those changes, Hight cruised to Cabo Isle Marina in Cabo San Lucas, where he planned to keep the boat permanently.
You might think he was finished with his renovation work by that time -- but you'd be wrong.
"I had decided that one of these days, I'd really like to freshen up the boat's overall appearance. I had seen articles on the new Egg Harbor (58.5) and how they're doing it without teak -- and I decided I really liked the slick, smooth lines," Hight said.
He decided to have all teak removed from the exterior trim, including the caprail and the cabin door. In addition, the boat would be painted with a high-gloss white Awlgrip coating, and all chrome-finish hardware would be replaced with stainless steel.
Hight discovered that a local Cabo San Lucas boat yard could handle his latest planned exterior renovation project -- although the job would be a bit more involved than if the work were done at stateside boat yards.
Since the boat yard does not have a paint booth, all work is done outside. That can mean weather-caused delays -- or other problems.
"They paint at 4-5 a.m., wet down the area so there's no dust, do final prep work, then paint the boat with fast-drying coatings," Hight said.
"One boat at the yard was a full-time charter vessel and had to be painted within a certain time restriction. The yard ended up having to paint it in a 40 mph wind to meet the deadline," Hight said.
"Time was not so important to me. However, I got the yard to agree to a penalty if the work had not been completed by February 28. For each week the yard exceeded the deadline, they would have to give me a 10 percent discount on the price of the job," Hight explained.
"Everything was completed on time."
Hight's project involved three weeks of hand-sanding, priming and sealing.
Paint had to be trucked into the country, and hardware and other small parts needed for the renovation had to be flown in. Despite the existence of NAFTA, Mexico has definite rules on what can and cannot be imported.
"The government's goal is to make sure that you are really adding something to your own boat, not importing something to sell," Hight said. "If you can buy a particular item in Mexico, you are required to do so instead of importing it.
"Keep in mind that parts for emergency repairs fall under a different rule than parts for entertainment systems, such as a stereo," Hight said.
For years, some boaters have gotten around shipping problems by having fellow boaters bring along parts from the U.S., if they are cruising to the same location, Hight said. While the system isn't exactly Federal Express -- and it isn't exactly approved by Mexican officials, either -- boaters have been known to carry everything from tiny electrical connectors to 7 foot freezers for fellow skippers having work done at Mexican boat yards.
The one piece of advice Hight has for others who are planning a major renovation project -- whether in Mexico or the U.S. -- is to beware of "mission creep."
"I expanded my renovation goals a lot, since I first bought the boat. I'm not sure I would go as deep into all those projects if I had it all to do over again -- but I wanted to bring the boat to like-new condition, and I'm very happy with the results," Hight said.
"I knew I wanted to paint it, but I did quite a bit more than I had originally planned."
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This article first appeared in the June 1, 1996 issue of Sea Magazine. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
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