Hi,
I have several things to be done in and around the boat. I can do most of them. But since we have to rent our home for our planned “circumnavigation” I have a lot of work to do around the house.("I’m late! I’m late! For a very important date! No time to say hello, goodbye!)
A friend suggested that I contact a young man he knew who did this kind of work. I did. He seemed to be nice person. He came to the boat and together we went through the list. He said he charged $35 per hour. In Herrington Harbor going rate is $90-$100. Even for sanding… That was the main incentive. I also thought that probably he could do a better job than myself…
However when the estimate came I was astonished. 1256 dollars (US) and 5 cents.
I wrote him a letter:
Dear X,
Are you serious? No… No… You must be joking. $280 for radio? May be you misunderstood me. I DO have the radio. You don’t have to purchase it. Will it really take you 8 hours to connect it? It will go where the old one was. CERYAN is not RMS QUEEN MARY.
$210 for grounding plates? 6 hours? 4 screws and some sealant. Probably another misunderstanding. Maybe you thought you had to make them from scratch. You know mixing tin and copper, melting them, pouring into molds etc. I already have them. Like the radio they are in the boat.
You estimate that it will take you 4 hours to install the hot water hose to bow, but 6 hours to connect it to the shower head? Six hours? I can do it in half an hour… I don’t understand.
A short story:
As you know in the old days flogging was a common disciplinary measure. According to historical documents a sentence of 100 or 120 lashes was equivalent to a death sentence. During the Ottoman Empire a new Sultan (King) sentences a petty criminal to 2000 lashes. The shocked man says: ?My Lord either you have never been lashed or don?t know how to count.?
Like the young Ottoman Sultan, could this be your first official estimate?
I had around $500 in my mind. Maximum. Cash. And you were supposed to be doing this on your off time. I don’t really know why you got your company involved in this.
If you are still interested let me know.
Thanks…
Mehmet
I hope you don’t mind a little constructive criticism but if you are really planning a circumnavigation I would suggest you do all the work yourself. If you do it yourself you know it is done right, you know you have the tools and you will save enough money to hire someone to work on your house. In 25 years of boating I have never once been satisfied with a job I paid someone else to do.
I hope you don’t mind a little constructive
criticism but if you are really planning a
circumnavigation I would suggest you do all the
work yourself. If you do it yourself you know it
is done right, you know you have the tools and you
will save enough money to hire someone to work on
your house. In 25 years of boating I have never
once been satisfied with a job I paid someone else
to do.
Ahoy Mehmet , I couldn’t agree with Barefootnavigator and Gary , More !
Make no mistake , the amount of proceedures necessary to install one screw or bolt , can be astounding !
I always underestimate the time it takes to complete a task on the "To Do " List , Ouch !
Even L & L say to do the task yourself , then you have gained the skills and the tools to do it again .
I would find it nearly impossible to quote for a job on someone else’s boat , so when a task is beyond me, I hire, paying for time and materials, watch progress carefully , and stop the work, if I see something amiss .
It was a rude awakening when I figured out that boat workers don’t have to go to sea with their work.
Mike Anderson is the only boat builder I trust working on my boat, because we worked together, side by side, as he proved his worth time and again.
I agree with Mike Andersons work, I have not used him personally but he did much of the replacement wood work for the previous owner of my boat and its truly a work of art. I stand corrected. Thank you Mike.
Thank you guys for the compliments… especially you Dougy, it was pleasure to work on "Calleiste, while you were here at Sea Spray Boat Yard.
Larry Pardey was my mentor many years ago and he told me that on average, amateurs or first time boatbuilders will take a “third of the time longer” than a professional to do the same task.
So, when you get an estimate from someone who was recommended,think about it in a different way …rather than freak out at the estimate of hours and cost, try adding on a third of the estimated time to the project as if you were to do the task alone.
