12 feet Galvanized steel boat?

[RSALVAREZ]

Hi, i need find a way to get money building small boats, my desired boat is the EC142 from east cape marine in Aluminium, but for this i have to grow, this is the idea: alll the aluminium boat will resist 20 or more years, i want a boat for 3 years and cheap, in material and fabrication, i imagine a small gauge(12 to 16) steel plate ,welded or presure formed for the weekend fishermans in rivers or protected waters
in 12 or 14 feet bass boat or v hull
please tell me for any reference with this material , thanks

[ted655]

If I understand right, you want to start a business making these boats for sale to others?
You can't compete with the mass produced boats already that size. On top of the equipment & labor (I assume you want to have a salary and operating/replacement money), you can't buy the materials cheap enough.
THEN... there is the used rental boats that are sold to the public every spring @ low cost.
become the builder/repairer of the local commercial boats in your area maybe.
Good luck,

[ted655]

If I understand right, you want to start a business making these boats for sale to others?
You can't compete with the mass produced boats already that size. On top of the equipment & labor (I assume you want to have a salary and operating/replacement money), you can't buy the materials cheap enough.
THEN... there is the used rental boats that are sold to the public every spring @ low cost.
become the builder/repairer of the local commercial boats in your area maybe.
Good luck,

[marshmat]

I see a few problems here, rsalvarez.

One is that, by building boats on the cheap and with a short design lifespan, you are exposing yourself to serious legal trouble when they start to fall apart and kill people. This is not a problem for the mass-produced aluminum guys, because their boats (a) last forever, and (b) when they do begin to deteriorate, it is quite obvious that they are solely the owner's responsibility. Three years out of the factory, boat breaks up, angry survivor hires an NA to help his lawyer out, and you WILL get sued.

The other is that you can't actually do it much cheaper, if at all. You would be competing against aluminum boats that can be had for $2500 new, and against perfectly seaworthy used aluminum boats that go for $600 on eBay. There is a good reason why there are only a handful of mass-production builders in this field- you need enormous production volumes for the balance sheet to work out at year's end.

[PAR]

The weight issue alone will make you reconsider you idea of a sheet steel boat. 12 gauge sheet is just shy of a 1/8" thick and likely would sink at the first passing powerboat wake, if made to similar dimensions as the aluminum Jons and shallow V's. 16 gauge is also going to be quite heavy, though not nearly as bad as 12.

A liability disclaimer will protect you from legal harassment, but it would have to have bullet proof wording.

Building boats is not a way to get rich, hell you'd be lucky to feed your self, let alone your family and investors. Production manufactures spend many tens of thousands of dollars on tooling, before the first new model gets popped out of the molds. This requires a sizable investment, serious leadership and well planned marketing, aside the local difficulties acquiring skilled labor, fabrication equipment, manufacturing facilities and local/regional code requirements, not to mention licensing.