Buying a ship building business in Australia

Dear All.

This is my first post in boatdesign.net

Me and my mate are very interested in buying a small ship building business. (I am not a rich man but me and my friend think it would be better if we start from the established business rather than starting from nothing.)

However, we are a bit confused with the certification issues. I am a mechanical engineer without marine experience and my mate is an economist. The business that we are looking to invest has an accreditation of ship builder. I think the accreditation is under the owner's name.
In this case I heard the accreditation would not be transferable. that means me and my mate would not be able to build or design any vessel, would it?

If anyone knows about this issue or has experience please advise us.

Thank you!

P.S any kind of business advises are welcome

 

Please explain --oh welcome -- why would you want to start a business that most others are struggling with and going bankrupt.

They were also experienced in their trade and had suppliers yet still could not make it . Did I mention they had experience too.

Why do you think you can come along without the skills and be successful.

 

Considering Frostie's advice one of you being an economist is probably a pretty valid qualification............... Yards that are involved with repair & service work still seem to be ok, certainly the cream is gone but for commercial vessels they have less choice. Really depends on the work in hand & upcoming & assets etc etc that your looking at buying. For some work like to class survey the credentials of welders etc can be checked for QA purposes but lots of small yards doing "private" vessels employ young workers for "bread & butter" antifoul/polishing/etc. Again design work can be subbed to those with experience & qualifications for survey submissions.
Regards from Jeff.

 

To go into business in todays financial climate you would both need to know exactly what you are doing and what you intend to do --to the letter.

To start off asking questions shows this is not the case.

While your enthusiasm can be admired, your economist friend I would have thought would should have been aware of this.

Try to borrow money on this idea (you dont have to take it) i'lle bet you get refused.

Most people go in to business that know a job back to front upside down with a blind fold and can start from day one.

Without that I dont understand what you think you can do.

 

Thanks guys for the real honest opinion. me and my mate visited the business for few days and they were gettin pretty much phone calls from clients (2~3 phone calls a day) who want to have a new vessel.
Also we think this financial situation swept many other small potential competitors around Australia.
however, i must admit that we don't have any experience and we know this might drag us down.

 

how big are the ships they build? how many employees? do they work from certified plans, or do they also design, get plans certified, and than build? If so are they any licenced Naval Architects on staff that will stay? Or do they mostly do service and repairs on other people's ships?

why this buisness? why shipbuilding?

Seems the owner/seller should be able to asnwer that question, but I would also want to know why the owner is selling. Even if he wants to retire, if it is making money he can be an absentee owner unless he is too intergral to the buisness. If that is the case you could loose a lot of money and be bankrupt before you learn enough to make a profit.

Any buisness is way more than money-in/money out. You have to know the buisness, your customers, your suppliers, your employees, etc. Seems pretty hazardous path to take.

Only way I would advise you to move in this kind of operation is to have the owner stay on for a year (or more) teaching you everything you need to know about running the buisness, until the licence can be transfered to you. Or no deal.

 

Once you've got a few more posts up you can Private Message me with the business if you like, it may be something that is unfamiliar to me but if within my Knowledge/area that could help............. of course I could sell you a boat building business + factory.............. great opportunity! but to be honest I currently just have it ticking with little stuff to keep it "active" with the intention of profit, but get my real week to week income from government employment in the industry due to current economic climate. Regards from Jeff.

 

The owner is not a qualified Naval Architect but he call himself a Naval architect. He designs vessels for his clients.
As i mentioned the business is pretty small so the structure is also very small. (5<employees<10)
However, They design and build vessels size of 4m up to 20m. Their turnover is pretty stable for last few years, the owner is retiring. And he will stay until we are ready to do it ourselves.

I know doing business like this is very risk and especially at this time might be more riskier but whenever i read thread here i always wanted to design my own vessels and with my name on it.

However, I will re-consider the plan with my mate and we might need better plan than what we have now.

thanks

 

Sorry Jeff I'd love to ask you questions but I don't know how to send a private message.

if it's not bothers you, please give me an email:
555airport@gmail.com

 

Lets see if I understand this properly. You want to go into the heart transplant business. You aren't a heart transplant specialist, but are a pretty good ear, eye and throat doctor, plus your business partner is a art history professor. You're looking to buy a business that's been transplanting hearts for some time, though probably not legally, so liability issues aside, in case one of these formerly transplanted hearts fails and sue you, the new owners for uncle Harry's untimely death, this imitation heart transplant specialist (current owner) will help you out for a while, at least until you figure out how to continue the scam?

My advise would be to hire a lawyer and split the proceeds on liability claims from the previous transplant victims, as you actively uncover them. At least this would seem the reasonable approach to this business venture, all the while keeping you out of harms way.

Simply put, if someone is declaring he's an NA and producing vessels for hire and anything happens, guess who's going be sitting on the fuzzy end of the stick, when you take ownership. Logic suggests you need a staff of industry personally, to make up for what you lack. These could be temporary positions, until you can get a compliance certificate or can upgrade your degree to NA. The same would be true of the art history professor.

 

Hmmmm....good advise and acerbic wit as a bonus! I love this place.

Thanks PAR

 

Thanks PAR

Your advise is another eye opener...

I'd love to be a ship designer in the future. Currently I am a mechanical engineer working in manufacturing industry. If I were alone I might try to find internship with NA firm or shipbuilder but I have a family to feed.

PAR, Could you share how you became a ship builder and designer or NA.

Thanks

 

I've been in biz all my life-though this may or not be the case with this instance-there is a lot of smoke and mirrors.
I trust nothing and no one-people will sell their own relatives a foundering business.
Sure they may get 2 calls a day,but if the conversion rate from a call to an actual build is only 1 in 1000...

These calls...were they perhaps the seller's relatives phoning in to make it sound all rosy and wonderful? Something to contemplate.

 

A true motor dealers trick, but I don't believe a ship yard gets 2,3 calls a day just while you happened to be there. As Mr Van said very very suspicious.

I think they would take any offer you made, I think they may even consider nothing and just take over the business and save jobs.

In any case I would only offer asset value only.

 

At gun point it was, I was forced, mostly against my will, but there was this dainty blonde that made it slightly more palatable. I was born on a boat, raised on an island, so my destiny was preordained.