Project Management.....

[AppleNation]

Does anyone have a broad Project management methodology for yacht building?

Some sort of outline of all the tasks required and in what order?

Thanks.

[Frosty]

Lots of boats for sale, some companies have canceled orders.

Would be wise to search this out before going through the horrendous task of building your own, dont ask me how I know.

A lovely new shiny boat that some one else has paid a lot of.

Ille bet a boat like that would sail lovely.

[AppleNation]

thanks frosty... but i'd like to build and sell them myself also !

[Frosty]

Take a look around boat builders are in trouble, if Woolworths, MFI cant make it?

Im sure you will do what you want but I cant imagine a worse time to sell expensive toys that you can do without.

Its hard enough trying to sell a car.

I would find it very interesting to know why you think you can sell boats and at the same time ask how to build them. No offence.

[AppleNation]

Frosty,
No offence taken.

In my business life I've never found that there is a relationship between knowing how to build something and sell something. In fact i've found that the people who build something are the people you don't want to do the selling......

The important thing is I know how to sell, brand and market a product.

[AppleNation]

besides by the time I'm ready to sell something the recession will be long gone.

Woolworths and MFI were dogs and were dying a slow death already.

[whoosh]

Originally Posted by AppleNation

Frosty,
No offence taken.

In my business life I've never found that there is a relationship between knowing how to build something and sell something. In fact i've found that the people who build something are the people you don't want to do the selling......

The important thing is I know how to sell, brand and market a product.

you are so right there, as you are abt woolies UK
i had a fabulous boat, but marketing it was something alien to me, even travelled the word trying do so .Yacht market is very hard to break in to

[rasorinc]

I made up a complete cost breakdown sheet which listed everything and anything which went into a 24' to 36' cruiser. I had several lines empty so you could write in something special as an item. There is over 100 listed items but not listed in order of construction progress. It is used for both wood and metal boats. Quite easy to do--just start listing out all you can think of. Need lots of room for a heading of 12V/110 not counting light fixtures or appliances which have their own heading, I used a similar cost breakdown in comercial construction and now on boats. IT IS A MUST. Stan nOW i HAVE TO ADD A CATAGORY
Pirates, and add another catagory SOLUTIONS and that is easy http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=p4ebtj1jR7c&NR=1

[AppleNation]

Whoosh,

Selling anything is hard especially today. As Frosty rightly points out selling a boat is VERY hard.

Having a yacht is an aspiration. Selling aspirations, dreams and status is different to selling something functional.

[apex1]

Originally Posted by AppleNation

Does anyone have a broad Project management methodology for yacht building?

Some sort of outline of all the tasks required and in what order?

Thanks.

Hello AN.....

yes to the first question...................
as to the second.............
BUT..............
These tools feed my children and so are worth almost my life.
But the question here is not to have some nice "Excel" files or so, the painstaking point is another:

after some 42 years of experience as a established developer (that includes project management, architecture etc. in my case), i can say marketing is 99% of your success, as long as the product is worth talking about.

I. e. if you are able to produce a Mercedes S class car at say 30.000€ instead of the 85.000 Daimler needs, if the quality is absolutely the same as if it was from Daimler, how could you find a single customer?
Who is going to believe that your product is as fine as you claim?
Who trusts in your service capability, if there is any?
How do you pay the upfront cost for sales activity?
How do you outcompete the market position Daimler has in terms of reputation, by heresay, advertisement, neutral tests, customers experience?

Naturally there is a solution.....................
Go and tell Daimler! Provide the proof that you are able to do better, cheaper, faster and/or the like. They will buy it!
If not............. youre lost! That is a matter of fact, no phantasy.

Selling a boat means selling something worthless! NOBODY needs a yacht!
Not even the finest for almost free!
Except you are going to fill a market niche and prospective customers buy from a first sketch or proposal, your way ist hard.
There is a sort of run for economical, heavy built long range cruisers at present. But even they have to be sold! At least through designers and/or yards reputation.
Sorry for this sort of disenchanting reply, but I do not buy your claim that marketing is not a problem for you, cos you are obviously not in the market.

Take Frosty´s words for serious.................

Ask one (or all) of the NA s here if he/they would endeavour such challenge with say 1.000.000 bucks in the pocket?

Anyway all the best for your immense task.

Regards
Richard

[marshmat]

Ask one (or all) of the NA s here if he/they would endeavour such challenge with say 1.000.000 bucks in the pocket?

Not an NA, but I'd take the $1M, invest it at the best guaranteed rate I could get (wouldn't hope for any better than 3-5% in this economy), reinvest just enough to stay ahead of inflation, and use the remaining $15-30k a year or so to go sailing

Thing is, we're not in a market where anything is selling all that well. Granted, Apple, things will probably have picked up in the year or two it'll take you to get your business planning together and get started. But Richard's made some good points there. Reputation, history, and being well established count for a lot in the boat biz. Few people end up making a fortune off it.

[apex1]

Originally Posted by marshmat

Not an NA, but I'd take the $1M, invest it at the best guaranteed rate I could get (wouldn't hope for any better than 3-5% in this economy), reinvest just enough to stay ahead of inflation, and use the remaining $15-30k a year or so to go sailing

Thing is, we're not in a market where anything is selling all that well. Granted, Apple, things will probably have picked up in the year or two it'll take you to get your business planning together and get started. But Richard's made some good points there. Reputation, history, and being well established count for a lot in the boat biz. Few people end up making a fortune off it.

Marshmat..... this was a offer exclusively for NA´s! So go and fascinate one of them to step into your Project, share the harvest with him, go sailing for 6 month instead. Use the other 6 to find the bum who makes the boats!
Or so..............ähh..

Regards
Richard

[Frosty]

Ok,--- whats an NA?

[DGreenwood]

It's short for No Accou...I mean Naval Architect.

[alex folen]

Hello all, I was considering making the keel swivel. Would this be advantageous? It's a 30 foot coronado. I have a fin keel 5 feet in length. My friend suggested we just cut the bugger off and add a shaft and some bearings and min hydrolics, and the keel would swivel +/- 30 degrees. We may also add lateral fins with servos via computer program to link to hold vessel. My friend is an aeronoticl engineer and loves to sail. Input on the swivel keel would be great befor we saw-zaw.