Starting a Boat Business

[Butch .H]

Hi messabout I agree.Never start on the back foot

[alibi]

Go for it!! i started a boat repair shop in New Zealand at the beginning of this year so far so good, slow to start but beginning to pay off. Check out my website www.matcraft.co.nz

[Fanie]

Butch Fanie and myself are all in the market for some salvaged stuff - and i am sure there could be many more down your way - because you have more of a boating culture than Gauteng

BS Manie, how can you say that knowing this is where they are sinking our economy. You know we are barely staying afloat here

If you try an analyse the boat market in SA, I think you will find that the biggest market is trailerable boats, both in value as well as number of units

I think you have it spot on Alan. I'm sick of the shi... sorry, rubbish we have here. Half the nutcases have motor boats (geezzz I'm one of them ?) and is nothing more than a competition on who's got the most glitter in front of the 300 outboard, the rest is sailboats in expensive marinas.

Manie had a good description of it it there.

PE quoted me between 30k and 60k per year for the cube. Are they mad ? It is cheaper to put the boat in the US in a marina which I was told cost about $500 per year, fly out there twice yearly and go holiday and fly back and have some cash left. No philamons to steal your stuff either and it could actually be nice to holiday between civilised people for a change too.

Many people are not into power boats or ski boats for any other reason that they don't have anything else to choose from. I think there is a huge market for trailable sailing motorised cats similar to the one I'm at on the moment.

Supercats makes a nice cat, why they haven't made it trailable only they will know. If I was a skiboater I would much rather go for something like that than a skiboat you can trailer, good grief, skiboats suck.

Given that SA has like 3 of the worlds 10 most dangerous cities, I'm kind of in awe of you blokes for living your lives and

No big deal Eponodyne Only a couple of philamons having their usual fun

There must be a lot of people that would like to have boats, but no place to do their build, a place to do renovations on it, get a new paint job, or just store it for the season where it won't cost an arm and a leg and it doesn't get stripped. The so called boat scrap yard should rather just be a boat yard, so if you do, get a decently spaced place. Boat farm

Work up a business plan and then consult your banker, or several bankers

Bankers in SA are people who wants to make money out of you and they don't have to work for it. If they, and the university prof's , are so good at business and business plans, why don't they have their own huge and very successfull businesses ? No man, banks here are not friends with anyone. As a matter of fact, banks are a ripoff here, short of our phone and electricity co's only. The get rich quick has taken many by storm here

[Splash Gordon]

Fanie's dead right. A bloke in Durban (I don't want to mention names) left the Navy with nothing more than his pension, and started selling boats as well as refurbishing them. He's rather wealthy as a result. He just charged realistic rates for services. Down here we've seen YotGrot come and go, as well as Barnacle Bill in Durban. The reason they didn't succeed, I think, is because there was no value-added service. If you offered on-site glass-repair, welding, and a painting service, I think you'd do alright down here, just on that business alone. Langebaan's crying for service, as are Hout Bay and the rest. And if you came along with a realistic offer for the scrap that's lying round the harbours, you'd make a killing!
I rather like the idea of your project being like an architectural refurb. They seem to start by suggesting that the price for your project boat is x, but the resale price is y, which is far more than the x+labour which your customers would pay...
I constantly go through the angst you must be going thru'- I'm "in the trade" (Butch and Fanie know my people)- and I look at the price of things. I certainly couldn't afford to buy the stuff I sell! But if my stuff was available second-hand, it would be a different prospect for me altogether...
Let us know how things pan out for you!

[Butch .H]

Splash the Navy chap is a nutcase but yes not bad service.Barnacle Bill is back up and ripping every one off again

[mobjack68]

Start with boat repair and storage. You will find that you need to have materials inventory and materials storage. Once you start buying your materials, start selling materials as well.....the process is not hard, capital might be, but if you start with something you have knowledge of (boat repair) you can turn those monies back into the business....I have considered the same kind of thing for myself on many occasions, my problem is this. The first boat I buy has to be a liveaboard!!! Think of it as instant security guard!!
good luck