A Komodo liveaboard refit is a structural and systems programme, not a redecoration. The sequence is survey first, structure second, machinery third, systems fourth, interior last — and certification runs alongside all of it. Reverse that order and you will rebuild the same cabin twice. Refit and conversion contracts are issued by PT Komodo Galangan Nusantara and quoted in USD.
Survey before scope
We will not quote a refit from photographs. Every programme begins with a hull and machinery condition survey: frames and floors opened at sample points, planking or plating thickness measured, fastenings checked, bilge and keelson inspected for rot or wastage, shaft and stern gear run out, engine hours verified against the machinery rather than the logbook. On a timber phinisi the critical zones are the garboard, the frame heels, and the area under the engine beds, because that is where fresh water sits and where paint hides the worst of it.
The survey produces two lists: what must be done for the vessel to be safe and certifiable, and what you would like to be done for it to be commercially competitive. Owners routinely arrive with a wish list of the second kind and leave with a budget dominated by the first. That is uncomfortable and it is the correct order.
Structural work
Typical structural scopes on Komodo boats: frame and floor renewal, keelson repair, replanking or plate renewal in wasted areas, deck recore, bulwark and rail rebuild, and hull extension. Hull extension deserves a warning. Adding length aft to gain a dive platform or extra cabins changes trim, longitudinal strength and the stern flow into the propellers. It is a calculated job, not a carpentry job, and we have seen extensions that cost their owners more in permanent handling problems than the extra berths ever earned.
Engine repower and running gear
Repowering is common because most secondhand Komodo boats are underpowered for the currents they now work. The decision is not simply a bigger engine. Repower changes weight distribution, gearbox ratio, shaft diameter, propeller geometry, fuel consumption and therefore range, engine bed loading, and exhaust and cooling routing. We size the propulsion package against the actual itinerary — how often the boat must punch a four to six knot stream to keep a dive schedule — not against a catalogue horsepower figure.
Related running-gear work: shaft and cutless bearing renewal, stern tube seal replacement, rudder and steering gear overhaul, and bow thruster installation or upsizing for Labuan Bajo berthing. Thruster work is best done during a haul-out that is already scheduled, because the tunnel cut is a hull job.
Stabiliser retrofit
Guest reviews in this market are dominated by two things: food and roll. Retrofitting stabilisation to an existing hull is constrained by where you can find structure and volume. Options in practice are gyroscopic units, which need a strong mounting foundation and significant electrical capacity but do not require hull penetrations, and fin systems, which are more effective underway but demand hull penetrations, hydraulics and careful placement relative to the turn of the bilge. Passive systems such as flopper-stoppers or paravane rigs remain a modest-cost option for boats that mainly need at-anchor comfort. Which one is right depends on whether your roll problem is at anchor overnight or underway between sites.
Dive deck, tender handling and guest flow
A dive liveaboard lives or dies on the deck choreography. We look at tank rack position and drainage, kit-up bench height and spacing, camera table location relative to spray, rinse tank volume and drainage, ladder geometry against the swim step in a running current, and the path a diver in full kit walks from bench to entry point. Tender handling matters just as much: davit or crane capacity, launch and recovery in a two-knot stream, and where the tender sits so it does not block the dive entry. Adding a tender garage is a structural change and is treated as such.
Conversions
Converting an ex-fishing vessel or a general cargo hull into a legal passenger liveaboard is the hardest thing on this page. The hull is often sound and inexpensive to acquire; everything else is a rebuild. You are adding accommodation, escape routes, fire zones, sanitation, fresh water production, guest electrics and stability margins to a platform that was never certified to carry passengers. Budget for the certification path from day one, and expect the paperwork to define the layout rather than the other way round. Some conversions are excellent value. Others should have been a purchase of an already-certified boat, and we will say so.
Certification runs in parallel
Class or statutory survey, passenger capacity, safety equipment schedules, and crew certification all interact with the refit scope. Install two extra berths and you may cross a passenger threshold that changes your equipment and crewing requirement. Move a bulkhead and you may alter an escape route. We keep the compliance chain visible throughout — see the Komodo National Park compliance guide — because a beautiful refit that cannot be certified is a total loss.
What a refit costs and how long it takes
Indicative ranges, sequencing and the reasons Labuan Bajo, Bali and the Sulawesi yards price the same scope differently are set out on the cost and timeline guide. Yard slot availability, which is the real constraint in the dry season, is covered on the Labuan Bajo yard page. If you are refitting a boat you have not yet bought, read the pre-purchase survey page first.
Starting a refit
Send us the vessel: length, year, hull material, engine and hours, current certification, and what you want it to do next season. Email sales@komodoluxury.com or WhatsApp +62 811-3823-875. We will tell you what has to be surveyed before any number means anything.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a Komodo liveaboard refit take?
A systems and interior refit typically runs a few weeks to a couple of months in yard. Structural work involving frame renewal, repower or hull extension commonly runs several months, and conversions from a non-passenger hull run longer again. The binding constraint in the dry season is usually the haul-out slot, not the work itself.
Can you convert an old phinisi into a modern liveaboard?
Often yes, if the frames, floors and keelson are sound. The structure decides the answer, so a physical hull survey has to come first. Where a hull is too far gone we will tell you that buying an already-certified boat is the better commercial decision.
Should I retrofit gyroscopic or fin stabilisers?
It depends on where the roll hurts. Gyroscopic units avoid hull penetrations and work well at anchor but need a strong foundation and substantial electrical capacity. Fin systems are generally more effective underway but require penetrations, hydraulics and careful placement. Passive rigs remain a modest-cost option for at-anchor comfort only.
Does a refit affect my passenger certification?
It can. Adding berths, moving bulkheads or changing escape routes all interact with passenger capacity, safety equipment schedules and crewing requirements. We keep the certification path in scope from the start rather than treating it as paperwork at the end.
Do you quote refits without seeing the boat?
No. We give indicative ranges publicly, but a refit quotation follows a hull and machinery survey. Quoting from photographs produces numbers that change the moment the paint comes off.
Talk to the build desk
Send the vessel details or the operating profile you want to run and we will tell you what has to be established before a number means anything. Quotations in USD. Construction, repair, refit and vessel-sale contracts are issued by PT Komodo Galangan Nusantara.