Guest Post by Paul Grünig
Production Director at Astilleros de Mallorca
Every successful refit begins long before the first tool is lifted. Preparation is not just a stage of the process; it is the foundation that determines whether a refit will run smoothly, stay on budget, and ultimately meet everyone’s expectations.
During the recent Mediterranean Superyacht Forum Webinar, I shared some of the key elements that I have learned through years of managing complex refit projects at Astilleros de Mallorca. What follows is not an exhaustive manual—each project brings its own challenges—but rather a set of principles that consistently define success.
What We Tackled Regarding Refit Project Preparation:
- Preparation Is a Shared Responsibility.
- The Owner’s Side: Building the Right Team.
- Specification: The Blueprint of the Project.
- The Tendering and Contracting Process.
- Aligning Resources and Reality through Deadlines.
- Communication and Reporting.
- Quality, Standards, and Change Orders.
- Lessons from Experience: Contracts and Collaboration.
1. Preparation Is a Shared Responsibility.
When it comes to refit, preparation must happen on both sides. Owners, captains, managers, and shipyards all have a role to play. Too often, the groundwork begins too late, or one party assumes the other is taking the lead.
True preparation starts early—ideally months before the yacht arrives in the yard—by aligning expectations, defining roles, and establishing communication lines. From my perspective, the most common reason for frustration in refit projects is not the technical work itself, but poor coordination at the start.
A successful project begins with a simple but crucial question: Who is responsible for what?
2. The Owner’s Side: Building the Right Team.
From the owner’s perspective, preparation means assembling a well-defined team and setting clear objectives.
Every project should start by defining who will represent the owner legally and technically. This is not a trivial matter. The owner’s representative—the person with power of attorney—must be clearly identified, as this individual will be responsible for approving decisions and signing off on key milestones. Without this clarity, confusion quickly arises between the captain, the chief engineer, and the management company.
The captain and crew remain essential; they know the vessel better than anyone. But their role in a refit must be defined early—are they decision-makers, technical advisors, or supervisors? Likewise, the management company or family office should have their level of involvement clearly established to avoid overlapping responsibilities.
In addition to defining roles, the owner’s team should engage technical experts, designers, naval architects, and surveyors from the start. These professionals provide the depth of knowledge needed to develop realistic specifications and to anticipate challenges before the project reaches the shipyard gates.
“The more clarity we achieve at the start, the fewer surprises we face during execution.”
3. Specification: The Blueprint of the Project.
If there is one single document that defines the success of a refit, it is the technical specification.
A well-prepared specification is the bridge between design intent and contractual reality. It translates the owner’s vision into measurable, achievable deliverables. Poorly written or incomplete specifications lead to “grey areas,” misinterpretations, and costly change orders later in the process.
Before writing the technical specification, however, the design specification must be finalised. This phase defines the desired outcome—how the yacht will look, feel, and function once the work is completed. Only once the design is clear should the technical specification begin, supported by engineering validation and feasibility studies.
Deadlines must be set early and communicated to all parties—the owner’s team, shipyard, and subcontractors alike. A lack of defined timelines during the design and engineering phase is one of the main causes of delays.
4. The Tendering and Contracting Process.
Once the specification is defined, the tendering process can begin. This is where transparency becomes essential. Comparable quotations can only be achieved if the information provided to each shipyard is uniform and complete.
From a shipyard perspective, we rely on the quality of the specification to deliver accurate budgets and schedules. Without it, we are estimating based on assumptions—and assumptions always carry risk.
The contract is the next cornerstone of preparation. It protects both parties by setting expectations and clarifying the rules of engagement. Key clauses should include:
- The applicable law and dispute resolution mechanism.
- The scope of work, linked directly to the specification.
- The payment schedule and financial terms.
- Change order procedures, defining how modifications will be handled.
- Insurance requirements, including waivers of subrogation.
“A contract is not just a legal document—it is a management tool. It defines how we communicate, make decisions, and solve problems.”
5. Aligning Resources and Reality through Deadlines.
Preparation on the shipyard side mirrors the owner’s process. Once the project is confirmed, the yard must align its internal teams, subcontractors, and resources to the project’s scope and schedule.
This includes:
- Defining the internal team: project manager, production manager, contract administrator, and on-site coordinators.
- Resource planning: assigning workforce and materials, evaluating subcontractor capacity, and verifying equipment availability.
- Procurement strategy: identifying long-lead items and potential supply-chain risks.
- Legal and financial readiness: ensuring insurance coverage, subcontractor agreements, and terms are aligned before the first day of work.
Timelines are the backbone of this stage. Every process—engineering, procurement, production—should be integrated into a single master schedule. At Astilleros de Mallorca, we place significant emphasis on defining deadlines and ensuring each department takes ownership of its deliverables.
“Missing a deadline at the beginning often means losing weeks at the end. Preparation is the best insurance against that.”
6. Communication and Reporting.
Even the best plan fails without proper communication. Establishing clear reporting structures from the beginning avoids misunderstandings later.
Weekly or bi-weekly progress meetings, written reports, and condition surveys should be agreed upon in advance. It’s important to define what will be reported, how often, and in what format—as well as who will receive the information.
Frequent communication builds trust. It also ensures that when challenges arise—as they inevitably do—the discussion remains factual, not emotional.
7. Quality, Standards, and Change Orders.
Refit projects involve hundreds of decisions and micro-adjustments. To maintain quality and consistency, standards must be agreed upon before the work begins—covering paint, interiors, coatings, and materials.
Change orders are another critical area. Any modification must be documented in writing, including its impact on cost, schedule, and specification. Failing to formalize a change transforms it from a professional adjustment into a “commercial gesture”—and those gestures quickly accumulate into frustration and lost margin.
Quality in refit is not only about craftsmanship—it’s about management quality. The most common failures occur not in the technical work, but in how the process is organised and controlled.
8. Lessons from Experience: Contracts and Collaboration.
Over the years, I’ve seen projects succeed and others struggle, often due to the same factors: unclear contracts, shifting expectations, or lack of early collaboration.
A well-prepared ICOMIA or tailored contract, detailed specification, and defined reporting procedure are not bureaucratic burdens—they are the structure that keeps a complex project aligned. When in doubt, the best questions to ask are always:
“What does the contract say?”
“Do we have it written down?”
If the answer is no, that’s where problems begin.
Preparation also means anticipating legal and financial implications. For instance, ensuring the applicable law fits the project’s location can save considerable cost later. Working under English law while being based in Spain can double the complexity and expense of any dispute.
9. The Industry Perspective: When Everyone Wins.
Ultimately, refit preparation is not only about efficiency—it’s about building trust and professionalism within our industry.
When owners and shipyards collaborate transparently, both sides win. But when either side focuses solely on protecting its own interests, the entire industry loses. A refit should never be a battle of positions; it should be a shared process aimed at delivering the best outcome for the vessel and its future operation.
“If the owner wins and the yard loses, the industry loses. If the yard wins and the owner loses, the industry still loses. Success only comes when both work together.”
This mindset will define the next generation of refit projects: early involvement, shared accountability, and genuine partnership between all stakeholders.
10. Conclusion
Preparation is the silent factor that determines the success of every refit. It requires time, patience, and collaboration—but it always pays off.
By defining roles, aligning expectations, setting clear specifications, and establishing strong contracts, we turn complex projects into controlled processes. The result is not just a successful refit—it’s a stronger, more reliable industry for everyone involved.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Paul Grünig is Production Director at Astilleros de Mallorca, one of the Mediterranean’s leading shipyards specialising in superyacht refit and repair. With more than a decade of experience managing complex projects, he focuses on efficiency, transparency, and client satisfaction through early-stage collaboration and structured project preparation.
