[PUP] PPM - how big?

[Alan]

Tad said:
While 50' would be nice, any talk of 50' boats raises the investment
substantially. Building in North America will put a 50' budget north of $1m
fairly easily


REPLY:
That is not necessarily accurate.  I am building a 53' Aluminum passagemaker
in Nova Scotia (which is a little more expensive than steel).  I can tell
you from real live, recent experience -- since I have been writing the
checks or wiring the money -- that my final build price will be less that a
million, and when I started the exchange rate was much worse than it now is.

It can be frustrating to find the correct builder, and that is a process in
and of itself.  I did get bids and estimates for more than a million (one
was for a lot more).  The two estimates from the two builders I narrowed the
list down to were both under a million dollars (and I am going the aluminum,
controllable pitched prop, wing engine, flat screen, and nice electronics
route; it is not an extravagant build, but it is far from minimalist).

I visited and interviewed both (which is an absolute must, of course, when
you start building a "one of a kind, never been built before" boat).  When I
selected my builder I was convinced, and still am, that I has found the
right builder, with motivated and dedicated owners and professional, hard
working employees, who would work with me to do everything possible to get
the price to a reasonable figure.

I will share a quick story with you that I have not even told my builder.
It was one of those moments when I knew that I made the right builder choice
  Very shortly after construction began and the frames started going up I
got a call from the builder asking me if I could come up to talk about some
design and build issues (remember how I mentioned how they warned me that
some things would look differently in 3D than what you may have envisioned
by looking at a 2D drawing).  Anyway, when I went up to Canada to see what
was up and walked into the building where my child was being built . . .
there she was all shiny, with frames, a partial deck, etcetera.

I knew from my interview visit months and months before that the owners'
office was upstairs, and as I headed over to go see them, some guy walked up
to me and stuck out his hand to introduce himself.  He was obviously an
employee and obviously a "welder type" of a guy.  Anyway, he came over and
said "you must be Mr. Wagner, the owner", which I acknowledged was the case.
 I thought he was just going to point out where I should go to find the
company owners and my contact, but he introduced himself, told me his name,
and -- I swear, I will never forget this -- he thanked me, actually thanked
me, for selecting the company he worked for to build my boat and told me how
proud and honored he was to build it for me.  He actually used those words
-- "proud and honored."  He told me that he wanted to let me know that he
and everyone else working on my boat were going to do everything possible to
make sure that they built a strong, safe, and reliable boat for me.

I am sure I thanked him and mumbled something, but I don't remember what.  I
am a trial lawyer by training and profession and I am not often caught
speechless, but I was then.  This was just some guy with a welding torch
getting a paycheck every two weeks.  He didn't own the place; he wasn't
making big bucks or the profit; it wasn't "his" company, he was just a guy
on the line working paycheck to paycheck.  I have got to tell you, I knew
right then and there that Debbie and I had selected the right builder and
that we could trust what would go on there.

That is probably a little bit afield from Tad's initial point, but if you
find the right builder with the right motivation who wants to work for a
fair price as opposed to trying to dig as deep into your pockets as they
possibly can, you can build a nice 50+ foot passagemaking-capable boat here
in North America.  I know.  I am doing it.
o;? o;? o;? o;?
Alan Wagner
Tampa, Florida
Building "Passage of Time" in Nova Scotia at YachtSmiths International
www.YachtSmiths.com
http://kastenmarine.com/valdemar52.htm