What's it like to refit in Turkey?

I have 30 years of sailing the Turkish waters; I left it after Erdogan was elected president.
My experience tells me it's not so safe for foreign citizens.
I know of harassment by the authorities for no reason to foreign citizens in airport transits, in government offices etc.
Most of the people are very nice and cooperative but there is always the exceptional one or two!!!

Politics aside.
They generally very good professionals and crafts man and they will do a very good and professional work.
There prices are very good compared to the neighboring EU countries (Greece, Italy, Croatia).
If you insist on going there I definitely will not go to Bodrum which is known to be expensive, I'll go to Kusadai.
My experience with the technical staff there was excellent.
for wife and kids there is a lot to do in an hour drive around the city (Ephesos, Guzelcameli National Park and more)
If you want to know more please don't hesitate to contact me anyway.

Currently the west coast of Turkey is considered safe. There are travel warnings east near Syria. However, the closest of those warnings to where you're talking about is close to 800 miles.

https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/turkey-travel-warning.html

Well, I may comment, but this would ofcourse will have some bias, because I am Turkish and have been boating in Turkey for a very long time. i will try to keep the bias to a minimum, as best as possible.

1stly some introduction of my background, so you decide on my credibility with that in mind. I have had several Italian, Turkish and Dutch built yachts, fm 40 feet to 100 feet; both motor and sail and had the chance even to have a majority ownership of one of the well known Dutch yards.

Lately, I also refitted my steel and alu Dutch built sail yacht before taking a trip to the Carib and back in Gocek Turkey. Quite and extensive refit indeed.

If you end up in a good organisation you will have better experience than Italy and you can have a decent craftmanship for most areas. Most importantly, people will try to find solutions to matters, which is a big plus when you are doing a refit.

Depending on your scope, you can either go to a yard or try to do the refit in the dry of a marina. Most yards are located around Istanbul and Bodrum. However, besides Kusadasi, you may very well consider Didim and Marmaris. Especially Marmaris has a lot of small establishments for repairs, which will be quite handy.

One issue you need to consider will be the material that you may need to move in. As Turkey is not in EU, moving parts and material fm abroad in transit may be costly. Suggest to have as much as possible presupplied on yr boat. However, as there is a very strong yacht building industry, you will not have a shortage of general material. Here I am refering to specific items that u would like to have, which may not be readily available.

In any case, depending on the scale of refit, although it may be a little more expensive, try to find a reliable contractor who would be responsible for the whole, if you are not going to contract a yard. It would be also prudent to have somebody with good technical knowledge to superwise and also interfere/decide for issues on a technical level present.

Lastly, I am not sure where you reside, but West of Turkey at the present is as good as anywhere. I have multi residences outside Turkey, in Europe and America and I do not feel anymore safe there; however agree with Menkes on not supporting the policies of the present government...

Dear Nilo
For sure you are biased, for two reasons you are not to be blamed for:
First, you're a Turkish citizen, second you speak Turkish on the Turkish streets.
This two make all the difference between you and a foreigner in Turkey.
and I am not talking politics !!!, just the day to day on the Turkish streets.

to you Danvilletim I can add the following:
Price of works, according to my experience, Gocek is the most expensive marina and yard on the west coast with Bodrum trailing behind it.
Kusadai was the cheapest I worked with and with a very good work quality.
I do whole heartedly agree with Nilo that you must have a reliable contractor,
I can recommend the "Blues company" that can give you the support from finding the place to do the works all the way to filling the forms and handing them to the authorities for the customs refunds.
Contact is Fidan Bulent (+905337429485)
All the best with your project.

I know of quite a few yachts who where refitted in Turkey, and a year or two later did it all back again in Malta or Italy.

Now some yards in Italy are very good (may be best in the World), especially if you are in some prime yachting locations as Genoa-Viareggio, or the Ancona-Fano locations.
The cost in Italy I am sure will be more to double to some, especially if you use one of the known Italian yards.

What I think though Turkey does excel though is surely wood, and for that in Italy to have the same standards you have to be in Genoa or Venice areas.

talking on a larger scale vessels(40m+)there are a good number of well established refit Yards especially in Tuzla area(Perini Yildiz,Turqoise,Ursa to name but a few).A bit eastern Yachtley is also well organized.
I think the point is more down to what you look at.Many owners are aiming only the cheapest and asking minimum 6-7 yards to quote and when you think each yard asks 2-3different subs then the decision gets harder

Quite frankly for a US owner and boat destined to go to the US I would wait and do the refit in the US. Between the language barrier and the lack of being able to constantly oversee it. Then when you mix in all of the flights to check progress and hassle, it just wouldn't be worth it to me on something under 100'. I'd rather go to somewhere in North Carolina (Jarrett Bay) or Virginia (Ocean yacht basin or Atlantic yacht basin)where you can get work done at a reasonable price and still get good craftsmanship.

Spot on if that is the case. I thought it was a refit choice question for someone having a boat residing in the Eastern-Central Med.

The subject is a little old, but I would like to make a small explanation. It is an amazing route for yacht tourism between Fethiye gulf and Datça. There is no need to speak about security in these areas. For maintenance, I can say that boat owners in Italy and Greece generally prefer Marmaris for maintenance.