🌵✨ Logistic-ing South of the Border: A Not-So-Simple Tale of Boat Parts in Mexico ✨🌵

By Jordan — someone who’s been living, working, and navigating Mexican logistics in all forms since 2020

Greeted by the sunrise as we enter the bay we would be spending much more time in than planned

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Life aboard Houdini is a team effort — a beautiful, chaotic, always-evolving dance between people, weather, projects, and whatever the boat decides to surprise us with that day. And for those who have asked why we can’t simply order something from the States, I figured it was time to peel back the curtain on what “getting a part in Mexico” actually looks like.

Since 2020, I’ve been living in Mexico and operating different businesses across Baja, the mainland, and a whole lot of coastline in between. So while the scenery changes and the anchorages shift, one thing stays consistent: the logistics here run on an entirely different operating system.

Below is a real note I made the other morning while trying to figure out how to get a Jabsco Raw Water Rebuild Kit to our semi-remote anchorage in Jalisco. This is not dramatized. This is an actual sequence of events that unfolded before breakfast.

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🧩 The Quest for a Single Boat Part

This is the impeller to the Raw Water Pump…

We have plenty of new ones on board. As it turns out though, we needed to replace more than just the impeller.

A saga in seven rapid-fire acts

1. Discover the part doesn’t exist in our region
Mainland Pacific Mexico has exactly one real marine supply store.

It does not have our part.

It will not have it until next year.

It is also four hours away by bus.

2. Find the part easily online in the U.S.

Hallelujah. Add to cart. Problem solved!

Except shipping won’t arrive until late December, which is roughly 17 lifetimes in boat years.

3. Formulate a clever workaround involving a friend

A friend is flying to Mexico — perfect! We’ll just overnight it to their U.S. location and they’ll bring it down.

Except…

You cannot legally or logistically ship certain items between Mexican states without:

• Import taxes

• Special paperwork

• And navigating the mysterious labyrinth that is Mexican customs

So even if they bring it to Mexico, it still can’t make it to us.

4. Locate the part in Baja — hope rises again

A Baja marine shop actually has the parts!

Except they’re not allowed to ship out of Baja.

At all.

Ever.

Baja is basically its own shipping universe.

5. Recruit friends in Baja
Bless the cruising community — friends agree to go pick up the parts and gather whatever documents are needed to legally send them from one Mexican state to another.

Except…

6. Baja doesn’t actually have all the parts needed

They have some.

But not the ones that matter.

7. Surrender to the universe and find a local mechanic

He looks at the pump, shrugs, and confidently says he can fix it without parts.

Are we skeptical? A little.

Do we have absolute faith in Mexican mechanics? Yes…?

Do we hope very, very hard? Every second.

🌊 So…why can’t we just order it?

Because getting boat parts in Mexico is less like online shopping and more like solving a treasure map that wasn’t written in your language, is missing half the clues, and may or may not lead anywhere at all.

Part of the spare Jabsco Raw Water Pump that we are hoping to rebuild

It involves:

• Import restrictions

• Cross-border taxes

• State-to-state limitations

• Surprise paperwork

• Ever-changing laws

• And the fine art of knowing someone who knows someone

Even within Mexico itself, shipping is a patchwork of what’s allowed, what isn’t, and what depends entirely on who’s working the counter that day.

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🌴 And yet…we love it

Morning after a 26 hour passage…equal parts sleepy, over-caffeinated and excited to see a new anchorage

As wild as this sounds, there’s something undeniably special about living and cruising in Mexico. You end up building real community, relying on locals, leaning into creativity, and recognizing that flexibility is just part of the lifestyle.

Will our pump be repaired without parts?

Will the right pieces magically appear later?

Will we someday own a backup for literally everything on this boat?

Burger break on the beach with Houdini in the background

Unclear.

But here’s what we do know:

Life south of the border keeps us on our toes, makes us laugh, and gives us stories we’ll never forget.

And honestly?

We wouldn’t trade it.

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If you want more behind-the-scenes stories from our sail south, stay tuned — Houdini has plenty more lessons and adventures up her sleeve.