This month's article should be of interest to anyone who has ever received a quotation or an estimate of the cost of repair to a wooden hulled boat.

As for me, a professional restorer, I feel it is totally impossible to accurately estimate the exact price on a major project. Yes, I can tell you exactly the cost for us to sand and paint the bottom of your boat, or how much for two coats of varnish. But, anytime we start taking planks off or even a strip and refinish can become difficult. In this article I will explain why the price can change and what situations cause this to happen.

When a customer brings a boat to us and says, “I want an estimate”:

I will give a few examples of how very simple jobs can triple in price in a matter of hours.

Customer #1:
The boat is a 70' 1954 Thompson lapstrake plywood outboard hull. The customer would like the hullsides and bottom repainted and the deck and seats re-varnished. Also, he wants the floors recovered with new Nautolex vinyl floor covering. This boat was in what I thought perfect condition. Perfect condition that is until we removed the flooring (plywood) in the rear of the boat. We found 10 rotted ribs and the plywood bottom on both sides of the keel was bad as was the inside bottom of the transom. We called the owner and he authorized the extra work but the quote was almost tripled. The owner was happy we found the problem because it could have quickly developed into a safety issue.

Customer #2:
The Customer had us quote a strip and refinish of his hullsides, decks, and transom of his 19-foot 1956 Chris Craft Capri. The boat’s varnish was almost black. It had never been stripped since new. I estimated the cost taking in mind that it had a ton of varnish on it. We stripped the varnish and everything initially went according to plan. The problem came after stripping the hull. Most every plug was loose, as was every screw. I called the owner and suggested refastening the boat. He agreed and we proceeded but, with an added investment of 36 hours of labor costs.

Customer #3:
A customer sent me pictures of an absolutely beautiful Century 21 Coronado. The varnish was perfect, he had all the floors up and the inside of the bottom looked good from the pictures. I quoted the job based on what I saw in the pictures, leaving some room for the unexpected. The boat was shipped in and we prepared the boat for rotation. We rotated it upside down and began removing the bottom. Surprise, Surprise, Surprise! Someone had unfastened the bottom and, when it was refastened, they had increased both the length of the screw and the size used. The result was that they had split every rib longitudinally, split the keel, every bottom rib batten was unattached and the lower portion of the stem was rotted. You guess- it tripled the price!

So please, if you get a quote for work on a wood hulled boat, trust that the boat shop is not trying to get into your wallet with extra cost items. Almost all of the major restoration shops have gone strictly to a time and material cost assessment on major restoration work.

Also, remember that the men working in the major restoration shops are the highest skilled craftsmen in the marine industry and, if you check labor rates among plastic boat sales centers as compared to our restoration shop you will appreciate the bargain you are getting.