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anyone know much about Preveza Marine? Service/value for money etc.....
planning to get hauled out there in about a years time (nothing like planning ahead). Stored in one of their cradles for about 6/8 months - or are their better places in the area??
I shall watch with interest as we are planning something similar. So far I have prices for Cleopatra and Lefkos but will need some input from those more knowledgable as you have requested. There seems to be a wide variety around preveza/Corfu etc.
Jim
Both Preveza Marine and Cleopatra are very popular. Cleopatra has the additional feature of in water berths. Both yards are well away from the town, but do have services on site. Lefkas is more expensive (in the Marina) but is in the town. There are other hauling out facilities in Lefkas and at Nidri.
Alternatives are Gouvia, Corfu which is expensive - same as Levkas as same owners. For just lay up then Corfu boatyard (where I store my boat) is competitive. Other possibility is the new marina at Messolonghi which is operational this year and similar price to Preveza.
In making your choice there are many factors, but chiefly access in the winter and facilities on site or close by are variable, so you have to look at each one and decide which meets your needs best.
been using the yard for the last 10 years.no complaints.nikos the yard foreman brother of george the manager is highly rated. and is acomodating for lift in and checking after major repairs. and he has a good team.
A well run ,fairly spacious yard compared to some,they attract a lot of cats as they have developed a special cradle. a lot of ca members use them as there is room for small discounts. and extra lift ins in a season are discounted.they have just extended the storage area at the rear of the yard.
they can get booked up early. mixed clients german scandinavians brits italians irish french and quite a few greeks ,just venturing into the sailing scene.
The Cruisng Association has given me permission to reproduce the following from their member's web site. It's under the heading 'N Ionian, Wintering'. There's similar stuff about the Inland Ionian, which includes Levkas. I'm afraid the links to all the yard web sites don't copy through. I'm asked to say that the discounts are on selected services, and can repay membership fees.
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* Gouvia marina for wintering ashore or afloat.
* Several yards and slips towards Corfu town are more economical places to winter ashore. Corfu offers a wide range of yacht repair services.
* Three yards face Preveza across the entrance to the gulf of Amvraikos. All are suitable for wintering ashore; Cleopatra, Preveza Marine and Aktio Marine. Those who use any one of these yards will usually claim the one they use is the best, so it's clear there's nothing to choose between them bar the CA discounts. Cleopatra has marina pontoons, through which a moderate current flows, creating moderate chaos at times. Good yacht repair services are available both locally and from nearby Levkas town. Check with the yards whether you can use outside services to work on your boat.
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We overwintered the boat there for the past two years. Difficult to imagine a better yard, certainly better than all the ones I have used in UK and Holland. Yard crew excellent, plenty of attention to hauling out, pressure washing and setting down correctly. Cradles good and included in berthing costs. All repair services either on site or nearby. Small chandlery. Small workshop for owners' use, with pedestal drill, grind wheel, vice and bench.
The domestic side is excellent. Plenty of showers and toilets, plus dishwashing and clothes washing facilities. Wifi available. Free bus to town every day. Girls in the office very efficient, speak English and German at least, maybe others.
And there's always the bus service four times a day Preveza - Athens. Useful in winter when there are no flights to Preveza direct. It takes 6 hours with only one stop but it's been reliable when we have used it. Agree with Vyv about Preveza Marine - very good yard.
anyone know much about Preveza Marine? Service/value for money etc.....
planning to get hauled out there in about a years time (nothing like planning ahead). Stored in one of their cradles for about 6/8 months - or are their better places in the area??
There are three yards on the Aktio shore across from Preveza.
Going from E to W.
Aktio marina - usually the cheapest, run by an extremely amiable Johnny and his brother. Lifting out is by hydraulic trailer. They're in the process of extending their standings by 440 boats and have a welder producing cradles on a continuous basis.
Nearly everyone speaks/understands English, they run a daily trip into Preveza 10:00 -12:30. Good showers, thoroughly recommended, Flica was there this summer.
Preveza marina - the quietest, use a travel-lift and dock, personally I don't think their cradles are as ample as Aktio, otherwise I have little 1st hand knowledge.
Cleopatra - the most highly and recently developed, which I suspect is haemorrhaging money - nothing like a friendly as Aktio and a habit of charging extra for all sorts of things. The marina is new as is the club-house, the x2 daily flood/ebb out of the Kolpas makes for some interesting collisions amongst the pontoons. By far the smartest and usually the most expensive.
They have two travel lifts - the wide one copes with up to 11m beam - however I've seen Johnny lift a catamaran of 9m beam with his hydraulic trailer.
Pano's taverna, down the road by the Venetian fort is extremely good and very reasonably priced (I'd avoid the bar in Cleopatra as pretentious/pricey) and a meeting point for all the liveaboards - however apart from that there are no other amenities on the Aktio side.
Pat O'Donaghue (not Irish) of Preveza Marine does most of the work in all three yards. Despite his inability to remove the wing from my keel, I can vouch for the quality, cost and friendliness of his service.
Preveza Marine - great, been there 2 years and agree with everything in Vyv Cox's post.
Airlines are Monarch, Thomas Cook and I think Thomson. Book via internet is easy on the way out. Coming home you may have to wait until 2 weeks before to get seats (because there are only charter flights) released by the airlines....but Janet in the travel agent in Vassiliki is truly excellent at getting you on these flights. (I'm sure others have their recommendations as well).
Now the tavernas...After 2 Med summers and endless Souvlaki / Tzatziki / Moussaka etc. etc. the new bar / taverna at Cleopatra is a breath of fresh air! Great menu with western style dishes as you would find in an average UK high street...doesn't sound like much, but after season in Greece it will!! Have sat there often watching all the regulars who have been in the area for years bypass it and walk up to the old one (very good Greek food incidentally). Definately give it a try.
We are heading for home in 2010 via French canals. Have had a great time in Med especially Greece and Corsica, but we have to sail from May - Sept i.e. including July and August. The heat in these months can be unbelievable - 35 deg plus in the cabin at night often. Take any advice you can get on cooling / bimin / shade etc and it still wontbe enough.
BTW new fridge on our boat (air cool) uses 3 amps (when running). We leave it 24/7. (old one was 6 amps). 120 watt solar panl runs it and everything else indefinately if we are careful with lights.
Must put in a good word for Aktio.
Steel cradles , friendly service, cheaper fees, several dogs and a sortof clubhouse. You can always amble along to the Cleopatra Chandelry for sophisticated items.
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BTW new fridge on our boat (air cool) uses 3 amps (when running). We leave it 24/7. (old one was 6 amps). 120 watt solar panl runs it and everything else indefinately if we are careful with lights.
May I ask who supplied/fitted/installed it? We're in Cleopatra (and have been since 2002) and are ooking at updating/upgrading our fridge. So far, Stiff Nipples has come recommended; Any others?
May I ask who supplied/fitted/installed it? We're in Cleopatra (and have been since 2002) and are ooking at updating/upgrading our fridge. So far, Stiff Nipples has come recommended; Any others?
If a built-in fridge and you're looking at changing the compressor/holding-plate only, you have to look at ASU-Isotherm and Waeco.
Agree with all the good comments about Preveza marine. One other thing is free car parking, in fact we left to sail further east two years ago and left our car for 6 months without charge, that is even after we told the yard we wouldn't be back that winter.
Great yard.
3 amps sounds pretty good for me - make/model etc would be much appreciated!
My Waeco 80 litre water-cooled fridge uses about 3 amps. For the first 10 seconds or so it uses a little more but then settles down to about 3 amps, including the consumption of the PAR-1 pump that drives the water, which is a surprisingly low figure. The compressor is a Danfoss 35C unit, which is common to very many refrigerators. As there are no other consumers in the unit it seems safe to say that any fridge that uses this unit will consume the same.
My new fridge is the Isotherm unit using the Danfoss 35 compressor and the middle size evaporator plate. All comes as 1 unit (with a few pipes to connect to the plate) and I fitted it myself without a problem... other than a few grazed knuckles.
I took the opportunity to insulate all the space around it with a mixture of polystyrene foam packaging acquired from the rubbish at Preveza Marine and spray builders foam. I know this can end up absorbing moisture, but when on the boat I just did what I could.
I had it shipped to Greece by Seateach (very highly recommended) and delivered to Preveza Marine in 24 hours (I paid extra). Most of the usual UK chandleries refused to deliver to me in Greece, so now I'm back in UK for the Winter, I don't use them anymore!
Mr Stiff Nipples will do it for you and get the fridge. I have head some glowing reports about him and an equal number of poor reports. We didn't use his services so I can't say.
However, if you can get a fridge delivered or take one with you to Greece, then fit it yourself it will be half price or less than sorting out when you are there.
Ok - thanks for that.
will be contacting SeaTeach to find a suitable Fridge for me and arrange shipping accordingly. may even get some solar panels from them too as i am told they are competitive in that market. also might even get that Windlass - just need to check last nights lottery ticket first!!
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