Where does the money go?

[tugboat]

Originally Posted by cthippo

Truly, it's about the journey, not the destination.

exactly...its a labour of love...

[Pierre R]

The average first time boat builder thinks the project will go something like this as far as cost and time.

Hull and tanks 35%
Interior 25%
Propulsion/steering 20%
Finishing and paint 10%
Plumbing 5%
Electrical 5%

Total 100%

For the professional it might go something like this

Hull and tanks 15%
Interior 15%
Electrical and related appliances 30%
Finish and painting 20%
Propulsion and steering 15%
Plumbing 5%
Owner cost induced overuns 20%
Stupid ass owner cost overuns difficult to recover (owner on site)5%

Total 125% of original estimate

The reality for the average first time boat builder

Hull and tanks 35%
Interior 50%
Electrical and related systems 100%
Propulsion and steering 30%
Plumbing 20%
Finishing and paint 65%
Stupid ass mistakes and changing your mind 200%

Total 500%

Disclaimer:Your results may vary.

[Stumble]

To be honest this is exacally the reason I so heavily try to dissuade most people from building their own boat. ertainly there are those who really like the process of building, or find that they have such unique demands that a custom job is the only option. But in this case I look at a budget of 35K, plus 5K hours of labor and keep thinking at $10/hour working this is a $85,000 boat. Not that 85K is a huge amount for a boat, but that would easily put you into a reasonably appointed, finished hull, with working systems, and only the typical maintenance list of things to do.

Compare that to a long build time, uncertain results, minimal resale value, and possibly escalating costs if something goes wrong.


I know this is a builders forum, but I think most people drastically underestimate the time, expense, and skill necessary to build a boat like this from scratch. As well as overestimate the savings that come from doing it yourself.

[cthippo]

I very much see where you're coming from, Stumble.

There are two mitigating factors on buying and modifying an existing boat.

The first of course is availability. As Boston has discovered, finding the right one is a long a tedious process. I have an SOR and an idea of the shape I want, but haven't seen anything yet that is "just right". The closest I've seen is on commercial fishing boats and so that's the used market I'm looking at.

The other issue is cost. With building I can buy parts when I have money and work on it over time. Buying requires the cost up front and I'm not willing to go into debt (i.e. a loan) for this. I would rather spend the next 3-5 years building a boat than saving money to buy one.

The other factor is the labor cost. My labor may have a theoretical value of $50,000, but that doesn't translate in the real world. I don't have a way to convert that $50,000 into real money I can spend on a boat.

All that said, if the right opportunity came up, I would strongly consider buying an existing boat and modifying it. There are of course issues around trying to make a boat into something it was never intended to be vs designing for that purpose, but as you point out these issues are balanced by other concerns.

The other question of course is if I did buy a complete used boat, how much would I have to spend converting it to what i need it to be? All factors under consideration.

Of course, if the perfect boat landed in my lap tomorrow, I would still want to build one sooner or later

If I had $85,000 I'd be tempted to get this little gem:
http://www.commercial-boats-for-sale...oat_37978.aspx

[mydauphin]

All the above is true. After having had dozens of boats, including some I built, I decide to build the big one. I bought a hull, fuel tank, engines, etc... Still underestimated cost by 200% at least and got 10% more to go. In the five years, the economy, my economy, my business, got sick for six months, and personal life went to hell. But I am still building and actually living on boat. Next time I will buy a boat. Remember on a long build your life changes also, the shorter the build time the better. Oh, remember most of the time your paying rent in your build location.

[cthippo]

That is one advantage I have over many others.

Mom has 4.2 acres and likes boats. Plenty of room to put up a shelter and build rent free. I'd really like to do one like knotty has.

EDIT: Do you have pics or a thread on this project, Dauphin?

[FAST FRED]

Glass over marine plywood probably. It's a long ways off, but laminate flooring is commonly available surplus (i.e. contractor bought too much for the project) and I could see maybe putting that down in the cabins,

Teak in parkay can be found , glued down for a marine look , and the usual better wet service life and no skid ability of bare teak.

Although I agree a used boat would save years , and be far far cheaper.

FF

[lumberjack_jeff]

I think building boats is one of the most fulfilling activities one can do. But don't rationalize it as a money printing activity.

My advice: saw up one of those trees into lumber. With red cedar, maybe the sawyer will work for shares (you'll still have plenty of lumber for your purposes). While it's drying, build something smaller - say, a Devlin Dipper 19.
http://store.devlinboat.com/dipper19.aspx

You can build it in a year, It'll give you most of the experience you'll need before tackling the bigger boat, (if for no other reason than you'll have the receipts to show how much epoxy and stainless screws actually cost) and if done well, can be resold profitably.

For the Dipper 19, I'd budget $15,000 and 800 hours.

Originally Posted by cthippo

Why thank you, Richard. I think that's the nicest thing I've yet heard you say!

I know you haven´t heard much, that is the reason why you still ask silly questions!
Others here build their boats following my advice, but they are willing to listen and to learn.