Cost of new deck

Discussion in 'Wooden Boat Building and Restoration' started by alienzdive, Feb 29, 2004.

  1. alienzdive
    Joined: Feb 2004
    Posts: 8
    Likes: 0, Points: 0, Legacy Rep: 10
    Location: uk

    alienzdive Junior Member

    I am preparing a budget for a restoration project. Does anyone know any links to wher I can get basic material costs or time costs/comparisons etc.
    The boat is a 37ft ferro hull and I am wanting to remove the deck and cabin top and replace it with a new design. I know it is like asking how long is a piece of string, how is it constructed, but there must be a rule of thumb for estimating.
     
  2. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
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    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    In this country Ferro construction has such a bad reputation you can't give them away. This is for a number of reasons, but two stick out. The mid to late sixties brought on a building craze, which included ferro. It was driven by promoters that where interested in selling books and franchises rather the developing the technology. Too many folks who read the Samson's ads saying they could build the hull and deck for a 45'er for $2,000, not realizing this was a small part of the whole cash outlay needed to finish and outfit. Many hulks lie about the country with 4 SALE spray painted on their flanks or filling land fills.

    That said, the material has it's merits, if built correctly. The second issue is the difficulty in performing an accurate survey of the structure. There were and I suppose are, good builders of ferro boats like English Windboats Ltd. who built to Lloyd's standards. The very difficult to assess ferro structure and the lack of good builders, makes ferro a risky buy. If the builder is known and available for questioning about the method, materials and techniques, then you're in reasonable shape, but if the builder was Joe Blow in his backyard or other not findable person(s) you're going to have a bit of trouble getting a real survey of the structure.

    I'd think, being in Europe, you'd have better success finding a firm or yard familiar with the material, as the construction method has a much better rep there. The only person I know in this country, that has any reliable knowledge on the subject (he co-wrote Practical Ferro-Cement Boatbuilding) is Jay Benford www.benford.us

    Good luck to you . . .
     
  3. alienzdive
    Joined: Feb 2004
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    Location: uk

    alienzdive Junior Member

    The hull is ferro but the deck and cabin top is timber, The existing deck is ok but signs of rot are just starting to appear and the hatch covers are not seagoing. The main problem is the shape of the existing cabin is to high and rather box like. I was wanting to totally redesign the cabin top and widen the deck walk area between the cabin top and hull. I am also wanting to strengthen the cabin top area around the mast step.
     

  4. PAR
    Joined: Nov 2003
    Posts: 19,126
    Likes: 498, Points: 93, Legacy Rep: 3967
    Location: Eustis, FL

    PAR Yacht Designer/Builder

    Material and labor costs vary on tastes, budget, design requirements and limitations. With a better idea of what you want I'll try to help, but currently I'm not sure what you need.

    This is sort of like having a home built and asking what's it all going to cost without knowing how big the house will be, number of bed rooms, design, type of construction, etc.

    A basic deck, cabin sides and roof could run $7,000 to $10,000 (US) I base this on a guess of about 300 sq. ft. of deck space you may have on your 37' concrete yacht. The costs could easily top these figures, all depending on the level of finish and quality of materials. I'd be interested in seeing the hull to deck joint contrived for this boat, if you have pictures, could you post them.

    Doing a lot of the work yourself and sourcing the materials carefully will help keep the costs down. Material pricing mark up is one of the ways you can save big. A $100 part will cost $170 to over $200 before it's installed, if the yard buys it, but the same part is only $100 if you buy it and supply it to them for installation. The same $10 oil filter at the local marine store will cost $18 or so if installed by the yard doing an oil change . . .
     
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