holy crap. ive been used and abused... i was about ready to put a hit out on my lying, scumbag, thief, of a customs broker.. he helped me rack up 4500 bucks in port fees, paid a bribe of 4k, told me that was to get my permanent title and registration, so i finally get the customs release paperwork, and see a copy of the letter he gave customs to get me a 6 month temp visa for fishing tournaments... wtf im so pissed i cant even see straight, ive also been to cartagena 4 times to deal with this scumbag... at about a grand a trip... not that i didnt party down while at the beach...

my buddy brought down a 65ft sport fish got a temp visa no sweat, took a couple of days and a few hundred bucks... he has a yacht, and i have a 32 manta 33 which customs calls a launcha... which they tell me i can buy in colombia as launchas are made here...

their pos launchas are a plywood boat with an almost flat bottom they slather some fiberglass and resin on them so they wont rot to pieces the first year..

ive been out in one of the pos things... you get beaten to death in 17" of chop.. it is the worst riding boat i have ever been on bar none

well since these d bags think one launch is the same as another. i bought a rotted out turd of a launcha for 300 bucks w/o power, and am fabbing an alum plate with its hull number to rivet over my manta hull number... the amount i save in taxes and registration fees about makes up for the screwing i got at port...

my 40ft shipping container with all my tools equipment, a blower motor for my anglia and a pair of 200hp evinrude arrived friday. i had to pay 20k to ship it, normal shipping for a 40ft container to colombia is about 3500 bucks from miami.. the other coin is for bribes bulcrap as most of my used equpment is contraband and for some reason prohibited, they tell me i can buy it all here, what a load of dung, almost ever tool or piece of equipment i see for sale here in some off the wall shinesse company i have never heard of and it looks like junk form the build quality, where all my stuff is snap on, matco, rockwell delta etc... due to the fact most illegal cargo enters colombia through this port, my colobain partner is hiring a pair of crooked cops to get my stuff here with out having to pay bribes all along the way as the customs cops line the roadways pulling over trucks trying to find some bribe worthy cargo...what a racket... rm

Hazards of living in a drug infested, illegal and corrupt country I guess.....

You could always try moving to Florida.

And that would be different? LOL

Well he would have anything he wanted boat wise without paying bribes! LOL

The fees marine mechanics charge amount to the same thing

That's why I do as much as I can myself!! If not I could not afford my boat!

There are ups to where you live...

There are downs to where you live...

Same is true in the states. Pick your ups and your downs.

i know lol sounds like he is describing myami,,,

on the brighter side i can live from jan to april free with what i save in property taxes alone from what i paid on my place in florida, actually i forgot about the outrageous flood insurance rates i was paying for living in a flood zone, with that added in i can live jan to may free. lol... and did i mention the hot chicas? i aint never coming back to florida... i can live, drive, party like i want with very little government intervention.. the usa is one huge police state any more...

just a bump in the road on getting my island hotel built i guess, just pizzed off at the moment... in the end it will all be worth it...rm

i paid 100 bucks labor to have new syncros installed in my little delta jeep. lol labor is dirt cheap down here.

im sure the marinas in cartagena will be pricey but i will do most of my own maint, my boat has egg beaters and a i can have a power head rebuilt at montys for 2100 plus shipping...