Naval Architect - Designer - Engineer ... Who Does What

I have received a couple of quotes from Engineers. They quote a fixed price for engineering a component and then a per hour price for any redesign or development work ... for example if the mast is not located in proper location and needs to be moved forward or aft they redesign and charge you per hour. The same could be for every component on the boat which means end price could be much higher than the fixed price quote.

So who does one hire to make sure everything is as proper as it can be. Is it the Engineers, the NA's a Designer ... Is it usually a team effort, how does it normally work? I can't afford to build a boat that doesn't work right.

 

It depends on how you negotiate the contract. You can get an engineer or naval architect to subcontract any work he/she may need. In the end, you only deal with one person as responsible for the project.

 

The naval architect is responsible for the whole boat. Thus you get him/her to design what you want.
The engineers, are doing all the bits beneath this. Thus the naval arch needs to make sure he/she gives you what you want, before you go into detailing.
Since bringing in the 'engineers' who can do this detailing work, if the naval arch doesn't or can't, will charge for these said changes.
It is usual to have once a dwg is issued to you, the client, you review it and make any changes if required before it is formally approved to engineers/yard/builders etc. After that, any changes after the dwg is formally issued will be charged by the naval arch or engineers doing the subcontracting.

 

And then there is the Naval Architect/Marine Engineer who can do it all. Most have a Professional Engineering certification and will ensure you get what you needed...not what you asked for.

 

Ok so either I get them to commit to doing that side of it first or I get an NA

Thanks