JIM PRITCHARD ASSOCIATES
YACHT SURVEYORS | YACHT CONSULTANTS | NAVAL ARCHITECTS
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project Management
With hands-on and managerial experience gained over many years, building, repairing and re-fitting a wide variety of yachts and boats, Jim Pritchard is extremely well placed to provide valuable project management to yacht construction, repair and re-fit projects. His project management is targeted to obtain the best achievable results in terms of the definition and outcome of the required finished product, cost, completion programme and quality.
Construction
Jim Pritchard has managed the successful completion of bespoke building projects of a wide variety of vessels, ranging from a 32 metre modern timber super yacht to a fleet of three 18.5 metre harbour tugs equipped for oil spill response duties. He also frequently monitors the progress and quality of production built yachts on behalf of the Owners.
Jim Pritchard has managed construction projects in Europe, commuting as far afield as Istanbul. In this case, and as with larger vessels, it is often very helpful for the Owner to have appointed his skipper from the start of the project, and who will be based full time at the construction yard, working as part of the project management team.
By providing project management from the inception of the project, Jim Pritchard will ensure the construction drawings and detailed building specifications are properly define and provide for the Owner’s requirements. He will provide guidance with regard to the building contract to ensure that the Owner will have adequate financial protection, control of quality during the construction, rights of intervention, and that he will be provided with adequate acceptance trials and terms. He will also ensure that any additions to the contract are fairly priced and do not compromise the final outcome. There are 5 major elements to project management of bespoke construction projects.
i) In conjunction with the Naval Architect or Yacht Designer, to provide advice to ensure that the specification of the yacht meets the Owner's broad and detailed requirements.
ii) To advise regarding the construction contract, in order to provide for the Owner's interests. This will define the completion programme, the work, fixed costs, charging rates for additional work, rights of Owner’s representative intervention, stage payments, and acceptance.
iii) If the design does not originate from a specific yard, a selection will be made of suitable building yards to tender for the construction. Evaluation of the tenders and recommendation made for awarding the contract.
iv) Overseeing of the work. By making inspections at all critical stages during the construction, Jim Pritchard will provide for a satisfactory outcome in relation to quality, cost and completion programme. Where there is a skipper appointed to the yacht, Jim Pritchard will work in close conjunction.
v) Acceptance. Jim Pritchard will make a final inspection of the completed work, and where appropriate, will carry out equipment tests and sea trials before recommending the Owner to accept the work and make his final payment.
During the construction, Jim Pritchard will provide regular reports confirming progress, giving adequate notice for decisions that are required, and confirming payment stages achieved.On completion of the project, Jim Pritchard will attend sea trials that are pre-defined to adequately prove the performance of the vessel and reliability of all installations. He will also conduct acceptance procedures of inspection and testing.
Repair
Major damage may be sustained by a yacht and require wide ranging repairs in order to return her to her pre-incident condition. There are 5 major elements to project management of major repairs.
i) Damage survey, to discover and define the full extent and range of damage resulting from the incident. Quite often damage can be more widespread than first imagined. For instance a heavy grounding might also cause stress fractures in a mast, or a collision could cause widespread saturation of the balsa core in a hull topside laminate.
ii) Specification and definition for the repairs that are to be undertaken. This is often drawn up in conjunction with a preferred repair yard, who will nominate their preferred methods and materials for carrying out the repairs.
iii) Placing of a contract with a repair yard. This will define the completion programme, the work, fixed costs, charging rates for emergent work, rights of Owner’s representative intervention, stage payments, and acceptance.
iv) Overseeing of the work. By making inspections at critical stages during the repairs, Jim Pritchard will provide for a satisfactory outcome in relation to quality, cost and completion programme.
v) Acceptance. Jim Pritchard will make a final inspection of the completed work, and where appropriate, carry out equipment tests and sea trials before recommending the Owner to accept the work and make his final payment.
If insurance underwriters are involved, then Jim Pritchard will represent the Owner's interests in terms of the range and quality of the repairs, areas of betterment, and liability under the terms of the insurance policy. Jim Pritchard will also produce a repair report, which should be kept with the vessel’s papers. This could be a very useful document when selling the vessel at a later date and may help to avoid problems concerning a future survey.
Refit
A re-fit may be carried out on a vessel, either to upgrade and replace equipment that is near the end of its reliable operating life, or to re-design and install the accommodation and replace equipment in a yacht that has become dated.
Jim Pritchard has managed major re-fits. At one end of the range, a 190 ton steel Bennetti built in 1967, which had major structural work carried out in Malta, before a complete fit-out to modern super yacht standard in Cowes. And at the other end of the range, a 45 ft strip planked ocean cruising yacht that he had built 20 years previously for the same Owner.
Surprisingly, a re-fit is often the most challenging and difficult areas of operation in project management. It is usually considerably more straightforward to plan and build a new yacht than to take an existing yacht and re-work its accommodation and equipment, within the constraints of existing spaces and machinery. Nevertheless the process is fairly similar to the manage
There are 5 major elements of project management of re-fit projects.
vi) Survey of the vessel, to discover and define the full extent and range of condition of the structure and equipment. This will provide the proper starting point to establish what may be retained, what requires improvement, and what requires replacement.
vii) Specification, drawings and definition of the re-fit work that is to be undertaken, including any re-design that is required by the Owner.
viii) Quotations and placing of a contract with a re-fit yard. This will define the completion programme, the work, fixed costs, charging rates for emergent work, rights of Owner’s representative intervention, stage payments, and acceptance.
ix) Overseeing of the work. By making inspections at critical stages during the re-fit, Jim Pritchard will provide for a satisfactory outcome in relation to quality, cost and completion programme. Where there is a skipper with the yacht, Jim Pritchard will work in close conjunction.
x) Acceptance. Jim Pritchard will make a final inspection of the completed work, and where appropriate, carry out equipment tests and sea trials before recommending the Owner to accept the work and make his final payment.
Jim Pritchard will also produce a repair report, which should be kept with the vessel’s papers. This could be a very useful document when selling the vessel at a later date, and may help to avoid problems concerning a future survey.