A sad blog re the Hakan Yatcilik Boatyard, Fethiye

This is a sad blog to write.

We have previously alluded to problems we were having with the Hakan Yatcilik Boatyard where we are unfortunate enough to have hauled out. So far. it's been 32 days on the hard and very little to show for it. Initially we were pleased at how they appeared to get on with things because the rudder came off almost immediately. The top rudder tube was deemed to have wear so it was sent to Istanbul to have a new bronze fitting manufactured. That duly came back and was re-fitted into the boat. Only problem there is that the filler material packed around the exterior of the tube where it passes through the timber appears to be incompatible with the International Primocon underwater primer paint because the paint is still sticky more than 2 weeks after being applied! Normally that particular primer dries within a couple of hours. The obvious question that then comes to mind is the suitability or otherwise of the filler for underwater use.

But that's where things stopped - the rudder itself is still lying on the ground under an old carpet. Apart from that the bottom has been sanded, although not at all well, but of course not yet antifouled. Then the saga of the white paint on the topsides. We bought the best marine single pot gloss paint money can buy - International Toplac. The yard's painter has managed to make a complete balls up of that as he used a wool roller which gave a stippled effect and in addition has missed small areas which stand out like the proverbial! So, it all has to be sanded back and a fresh coat applied. They said that they couldn't handle the Toplac and that they would use a Turkish equivalent. We said no - we wanted Toplac used, and even spoke to the paint supplier at the Kalyon Chandlery in town. He was bemused as was International themselves as they had never had this problem before. Anyway, they went ahead in the heat of the afternoon when we were not there and applied the Turkish paint. The result is unacceptable and we told Levent that. His reaction was that our boat is a complete problem and he no longer wanted anything to do with it. He has alternatively told us to do everything ourselves and to get the boat out of his yard! Just how we'd do that we can't begin to imagine. But of course we are right now in a complete limbo. Levent is a volatile character and just impossible to deal with. We are at our wits end. Another example of Levent's childish and unpredictable behavior is that while we were away from the boat for a while yesterday, someone (almost certainly Levent) attacked the wooden ladder that the yard had made for us and smashed the top rung so that it could be removed from the chain and thrown on the ground. Just an act of childish bravado and designed to intimidate. But very concerning given the mental state (probably psychopathic) of anyone capable of such an act. 

We feel quite overwhelmed by all this nonsense and have even entertained thoughts of abandoning our poor old girl and vamoosing to Colombia to stem the continuing outflow of money. With the state of the yacht market generally and in particular for classic wooden yachts, that's not as silly as it sounds. We've had her on the market for USD95,000, but who knows what she's "worth"? It may be as little as USD20,000, in which case an immediate move to Medellin (or somewhere intermediate) is looking better and better. The yard can pick up the pieces and it couldn't happen to nicer people!! But of course there's a strong part of us that rebels against that kind of action and leaving the old girl who has looked after us so well through thick and thin in the past. There would be some tears shed. And on deck she hasn't looked as good for some time due to all our recent work.

Anyway, we felt a bit buoyed yesterday when we went to a local private hospital to make inquiries re Jean's neck and back problems. There we met 2 people - one an American woman who lives at Gocek 20 minutes drive north, and her medical assistant. She had been bitten quite badly by a dog during the course of a dog fight 2 days before. She and Jean started talking about our problems and she is involved with boating in Gocek so offered to organize someone she knows who comes to Fethiye regularly to perhaps talk to us and come to the yard to view the various issues and sort Levent out. She was a ray of hope and so we are going to talk again and seek their help.

In the meantime Jean has made contact with a practitioner who was recommended by the hospital and who hopefully can help with her neck and back ailments. There's now an appointment organised for later this afternoon.

So, that's it for now; Claire (an associate of Levent's) is away but gets back tomorrow so hopefully she may be able to act as a go-between to smooth the volatility. In the meantime we are pursuing our own avenues as well.

Maybe we will have to threaten Gallipoli - although this time WE are going to win!!

Cheers and lotsaluv from us in Fethiye, Turkey

Jim and Jean

P.S. There are some more photos on the blogsite - www.tiaretaporo3.blogspot.com