Build Times & Man Hours

If we toss out money considerations as a limiting factor - i.e., lots of money means buying someone else's labor - and just include our own labor, what is a good indicator of the number of man-hours (or person-hours if you want to be PC) it will take to complete a boat?

Is displacement a reasonable measuring stick?

In another forum, they're suggesting something on the order of 1000 man-hours/ton for inexperienced folks and/or a fairly high level of finish. Dropping down to 600-750 man-hours/ton for more experienced folks and a bit more paint than varnish.

And to be clear, this is from a set of plans to a fully finished ready to go cruising boat.

I know, it varies with size and level of finish and seventeen dozen other factors, but as a 'rule of thumb' what do y'all think?

Best,

Leo

 

well,,1000 man hrs = 10 men working for 100 hrs,,,thats 4 days

 

Bzzzz.... Wrong answer.

Besides, it'd be tough sledding to get 10 people in a 30' or 35' hull without them stumbling all over each other.

Leo

 

does one man hr = one man working one hr?

 

One time very underestimated by homebuilders is what I call logistic time.
ie : the time you have spend to have the right part delivered to your workshop at the right time and right price.

You have actually done NOTHING yet with that part, but you have already spend a bunch of time.

 

An impossible question, Leo. Don't know is there is a correct answer or not but do know that the above is not a good one in a general sense. A lightweight boat will take a lot more hours per ton than a heavy one. It is mostly home builders that want to know the answer to this unanswerable question and they are just the ones that it does not exist for. The basic structure will usually take about half the time and finishing (interior details, trim, paint, rigging) will take the rest.

 

I have built boats and would say that what you have presented is probably not far off the mark.

I would also include the time for procuring materials in that time frame. I think you can do everything in that time frame.

Most people badly underestimate the time and money involved in a boat project.

 

does one man hr = one man working one hr?

Not in any boat yard I have seen.
Many yards will have far more billed hours than the workers could do if working 24/7.

A big part of homebuilding is the many many hours simply figuring out how you want the job to come out.

A yard doesn't give a damn if anything is easy to access/repair only that the bill is paid before the boat leaves.An owner will have a different concern.

FF

 

yea Im with ya there ,,Im a power lineman now ,,if you hit a pole ,,the best advice I can give you is to take the tags off your car and run,,,.the power companys tend to bill all they can on accidents,,,,you figure 3 trucks at 150 per hr,six men at 100 per hr each ,,,not to mention , transformers,1000dollars ,,poles 500 dollars wire 200 dollars and clean up ,,plus fines for inconviniancing costomers ,,longliner

 

Numbers that I have used in the past which seem to be fairly accurate are:

An inexperienced boatbuilder will build at a rate of 1 to 2 pounds per hour.

An intermediate or average boatbuilder in a custom or semi-custom situation will build at 3 to 4 pounds per hour.

A professional boatbuilder and those in a production situation will build at 5 to 6 pounds per hour.

I hope that helps.

Eric

 

Research/Down time time

As you build various systems on boat not only do you waste a lot of time trying to get part but also figurine which size, or brand you may want. Something as simple as Anchor,chain, windlass, Rudder,steering gear. Can take a month to decide. Obviously you are working multi-threaded, multi-task but sometimes you have to make decisions that take time.

Also weather can be a big issue. For example the heat has been so bad lately I havent gone work on my boat in a week.. So figure a lot of downtime because of bad planning... It is going to happen.

 

I last built a 19' mahogany inboard from plans and took about 900 Hrs to complete with a least as many additional hours planing and procuring materials. This was not my first boat. I have been involved in Boat building for about 50 years, but do not build on a regular basis.
Other builders have built this same boat in about the same time.
Hope this helps
Jango