Aluminum Boat Fabricator

Just as a brief intro, my name is Brad Taylor and for the past 6 years I have been building wooden duck boats. During that time I've come up with several new designs that I have built as well. I've given a lot of thought to turning this side business into a full-time venture.

A couple of pictures of the different designs...










I've also got a few other designs drawn up that I'm planning on starting construction within the next 6 months. I've toyed with the idea of having molds made, but while I know how to work with fiberglass, many people who are searching for a duck boat prefer the durability of an aluminum boat over glass or wood. I really feel like the designs are solid and the interest/potential buyers are there. If you'd like to see a little more of my work, you can do so at Toller Boatworks

With that being said, I would be looking for someone that can do quality work and preferably someone that shares the same passions for the outdoors. What I'm envisioning is I would provide the building, funding, equipment and materials as well as hands on help. Obviously, there are many other factors to consider but I'm curious as to the going salaries for someone with quality aluminum fabrication (preferably in the boating industry) skills. If you feel more comfortable pm'ing me or contacting me via email, please feel free.

Thanks,
Brad

 

duck boats

Hey brad, just stumbled across your post. I'm 26 and tired of punching time clocks. I am a boat builder to the core and have honed my skills at 2 of the most notorious aluminum boat shops on the west coast. Kvichak Marine and SafeBoats Int. At present, a buddy and I with the same skills, have gone freelance so we are looking at anything and everything on our way to running our own outfit. This being said I think youre on to something with the duckies. I am an outdoor enthusiest and can see the demand for your design. the boats look like perfect candidates for welded alum contruction. Something like your boats should take about week to build after a solid build proccess is established. Aluminum construction is quite simple once you have a handle on it. As far as wages go there is a large range. Safeboats, who push out a turnkey 25 foot coastgaurd response vessel with an enclosed cabin and outboards all in house at a rate of one per day with about 200 employees, wont pay a guy more then 25 bucks an hour after years of employment. I recently did a repair job in alaska through Allen Marine and they charged the guy nearly 70 a man hour. My buddy and I got in good with the costomer and we all went over the bill when it was complete. We only got 27 of that. (insurence and overhead gets the rest) Thats about what youre looking at. With a decent tig machine and mig setup being your biggest expense you could build your boat with a skillsaw, bandsaw, and a few air tools. a press break for bending plate and a tube bender for the handrails is good too but not crittical in all situations. All in all not much to it, the skills are the hardest thing to come by. Most guys who say they can weld aluminum are full of ****. If the could they would have a job as the demand is quite high. A guy that can weld and fab is like finding the holy grail at times. this is why we were able to quit a respectable job in the middle of the worst reccession in moddern times. Im sittin good right now on vacation for 3 months. its too bad youre on the east coast i woul get to your shop asap just to sniff around. Get back to me judge_me76@yahoo.com we could talk more.

 

tightfits
"...Most guys who say they can weld aluminum are full of ****. If the could they would have a job as the demand is quite high..."

Well said. All the quality welders and fabricators i know dotted all over the world are just that, always employed or being poached. The ones that moan and shout about how good they are..are not!

 

echo

Thanks for the support and I leave you with a quote. "Great minds speak of ideas. Small minds speak of events. Simple minds speak of other people."

 

ok maybe it was a bit long winded

 

Very cool

 

Wish you lived here on the right coast Its definitely still a dream of mine, I love teaching but hate the bs political crap that comes along with it. Definitely would like to talk with you sometime if you're up for it.

Brad

 

The right Coast! Hahahahahahahaah! Currently talking with investor to get a line of boats out there. Thanks for the support!

 

you want to take your design and turn them in CAD files. Have the parts cut and marked on a cnc plasma or water jet.
A navel architect could help you for a modest fee.