Take off new project
Recently acquired a 52ft steel ketch here in the Philippines and currently kicking off a pretty exciting refit / relaunch project.
The boat is in decent condition overall, but like every real cruising boat, she needs work, upgrades, troubleshooting, modifications and a lot of motivation to get her fully back on her feet and sailing again.
I’m a 38-year-old captain, professional sailor and sailing instructor, relatively new in the Philippines, and I’m looking for motivated people to join the adventure for a few weeks (or more) and help bring the boat back to life before starting coastal cruising around the Philippines.
The atmosphere onboard matters a lot to me. I’m mainly looking for people around my generation with a good mindset, open-minded, easygoing, positive energy and ideally people who enjoy building real friendships through shared projects and life onboard.
No need to be highly experienced. Beginners are welcome — teaching and transmitting skills is actually part of the project and something I genuinely enjoy. That said, having at least one person with a little maritime or technical background would definitely help.
At first, this is mainly a hands-on technical phase:
- electrical work
- organization
- cleaning
- troubleshooting
- maintenance
- small improvements
- sourcing equipment locally
- preparing the boat for navigation
Realistically, getting everything operational again may take anywhere from 2–3 weeks to a month. Hard to predict exactly, especially as I’m still discovering the local logistics and currently managing most of it alone with a few local contacts helping here and there.
The idea is simple:
exchange of time, motivation and help onboard in return for learning opportunities, sailing experience, technical knowledge and hopefully some great adventures afterward.
Regarding shared expenses / onboard budget / boat costs, I prefer discussing that directly together rather than imposing a fixed setup from the start.
If you’re looking for a real-life sailing project, good vibes, practical learning, and an adventure that starts in the shipyard before heading to sea, feel free to message me.
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