Frequently Asked Questions

How can I stay involved and up-to-date with my project?

We establish your communication preferences before starting our work. During the client interview, we discuss your needs, including the frequency, level of detail, and options for reporting, including live cloud-based updates. This approach ensures you receive the information you need, exactly when you need it.

Why is project management necessary for my shipyard project?

Project management provides the essential control, oversight, and advocacy required to protect your investment. It ensures that the project remains within budget, adheres to the schedule, and satisfies quality standards, thereby enabling owners and crews to focus on other business priorities rather than managing daily shipyard operations issues.

What will you do for me?

We act as your independent advocate throughout the shipyard project. Our role is to coordinate all stakeholders — including shipyards, subcontractors, surveyors, and crew — to ensure your project is delivered on time, within budget, and to the highest standard. We take the burden of managing technical details, negotiations, and oversight off your shoulders so you can focus on enjoying your yacht, not chasing updates.

Why should I trust you?

With over three decades of specialized experience in the yachting industry and more than 1,400 completed projects, we offer validated expertise, sound business judgment, transparent cost management, and unwavering commitment to a strict code of professional ethics. Most notably, we remain independent and impartial—forgoing circumstances that could give rise to potential conflicts of interest. Our sole focus is safeguarding your investment and ensuring your best interests are always represented.

How are your project management services priced?

We offer several fee structures — from fixed monthly retainers for ongoing management to project-based fees or daily rates for specific yard periods. The right pricing model depends on the complexity and duration of your project. Once we understand your project scope and level of required involvement, we’ll propose a structure that fits your budget and maximizes value.

Do you offer flexible fee structures depending on project size?

Absolutely. For large-scale refits or new builds, a percentage of project cost or a hybrid retainer model often works best. For smaller yard periods or inspections, a daily or weekly rate is usually more appropriate. Our goal is to align fees with the level of support you truly need.

What exactly do you offer that my captain or shipyard can’t already do?

We complement the skills of your captain and the shipyard, rather than replace them. Your captain focuses on safe vessel operation, and the shipyard focuses on executing technical work. Our role is to act as your independent advocate — ensuring budgets, schedules, and quality are tightly managed, contractors are held accountable, and your interests are always represented first.

How will you add value to my project beyond what’s already included in the yard’s service?

Shipyards are excellent at performing the work you contract them for — but they don’t manage your overall project risk, cost exposure, or time lost if things go wrong. We provide independent oversight, aligning the yard, contractors, and suppliers, verifying quality at every step, and ensuring projects stay on plan. Our value lies in managing risk, preventing overruns, and downtime.

How do I know it’s worth it?

Effective project management mitigates the primary sources of frustration in yacht projects, including escalating costs, schedule slippage, substandard quality, and delays in resource delivery. Through risk reduction and enhanced oversight, we often save clients far more than they spend on our services. In other words, our work doesn’t add cost — it protects your investment and delivers peace of mind.

Explain how you will reduce costs, delays, or risks.

We reduce costs by preventing scope creep, validating estimates, and negotiating fair pricing. We reduce delays by coordinating subcontractors, enforcing milestones, and solving bottlenecks before they impact delivery. We manage project risk by identifying potential problems in the planning stage, developing effective risk responses, and responding promptly when risks arise — ensuring your project stays on time, on budget, and meets standards.

Do you manage the entire refit/new build, or only specific phases?

Yes. We are flexible. Some clients require full end-to-end management — from scope definition through final delivery — while others engage us for specific phases, such as contract negotiation, onsite yard supervision, or quality inspections. We tailor our involvement to meet the specific needs of you and your project.

Do you also provide ongoing yacht management once the project is complete?

Yes. In addition to overseeing refit and yard periods, we can provide ongoing management services, including preventive maintenance programs, vessel inspections for absentee owners, and contractor oversight for scheduled shipyard work.

If a project starts to go off track, how do you intervene and turn it around?

We identify the root cause—cost overruns, delays, contractor issues, or technical problems—and implement a recovery plan. We reassess scope, schedule, and budget to establish a realistic baseline, re-align contractors with clear deliverables and milestones, increase onsite supervision, improve communication, and prioritize critical path items to regain lost time. Our goal is to restore confidence and control for the owner. Many clients call us when projects go off course, and we have a proven record of turning challenges into success.