2 new seacoks 600EUR a piece, is this right?

Sounds a bit steep. I removed a sea cock and fitted a new one with my last boat dried out across low water and had time to relax before the fitting was immersed, working single handed. Also, fitted through hull cooler for new fridge on my current boat including cutting the hole, again dried out between tides, with plenty of time to spare. Admittedly, in both cases all the pieces and backing pads had been prepared ready to fit.
 
Yet another example of the marine industry doing what it does best............................. if you haven't paid them then dont pay it, look them in the eye and ask them to explain how they arrived at that figure, sounds a bit of a piss take to me unless theres a typo.
 
benlui said:
Not in Greece, this is in IRL at a known boatyard in. I'm not missing any materials, total labour 1050,and total lot including materials 1270. no glass work whatsoever. simple replacing 2 seacoks.
Thanks guys.
PS nice to be back on here again. Will have to find more time to zone in every now and then.
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I think you know the answer yourself before asking. If these are professionals then they need to get their act together. 15 hours each one!! THAT IS 2 DAYS WORK for one seacock.
You really need to ask them to explain how it takes 2 days. Don't be shy, you are the paying customer. Ask for a break down of the work involved.
 
Dumb of me, but I hadn't realised it was a bill and not a quote.
I agree with the yard: that job could conceivably have taken 30 hours, but only if the yard-hand were armed with nothing but a nail file. That bill is utterly scandalous.

Disconnect hoses, removed skin fittings, seacocks: 1 hour each.
Install new hardware: 1 hour each seacock/skin fitting. (Plus a few minutes for another guy inside whilst the skin fittings are tightened.)
Double that if it's an awkward layout, and it's still just one day's work.
The yard is either taking the pee or moronically inept. A pro can install an engine in 30 hours.
 
Important to get a quote. Problem is, some yards don't allow outside craftsmen to work inside their gates.

Can you get a surveyor to assess the work for a second opinion? Problem is the local surveyors are probably in cahouts with the yard.

Can you get launched if you refuse to pay all the bill?

Are there small claims courts in Greece?

Good luck

S.
 
To take out the old "bronze" heads outlet seacock and replace with new Marelon seacock (£50 more than fitting DZR) at Hamble Point Marina (ie bloody expensive place) by approved private contractor (Malcolm Lush - recommended): August 2013 £300.
The seacock was in the heads cupboard underneath the sink. Cupboard door off and awkward to get at.
Price included attending at relaunch to ensure that all was well and then re-fitting the cupboard door.

OP's price seems crackers to me. Could have the whole boat done in Marelon and change left for fish 'n chips.
 
Poecheng said:
To take out the old "bronze" heads outlet seacock and replace with new Marelon seacock (£50 more than fitting DZR) at Hamble Point Marina (ie bloody expensive place) by approved private contractor (Malcolm Lush - recommended): August 2013 £300.
The seacock was in the heads cupboard underneath the sink. Cupboard door off and awkward to get at.
Price included attending at relaunch to ensure that all was well and then re-fitting the cupboard door.

OP's price seems crackers to me. Could have the whole boat done in Marelon and change left for fish 'n chips.
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Absolute ripoff. I changed 5 in one day working alone between beers this year. Only way those hours could be accurate is if extensive work needed to dismantle and reassemble internal joinery or move an engine, which is the case on a minority of boats.

If you have possession of the boat then I would not pay. Get a surveyor or fitter in to give an opinion then take whatever route you can under Irish trading standards law.
 
Any sort of work like this is fraught with problems re the final cost. The worker has to be paid by the hour. The yard owner has to charge by the hour for the time he (they) spend doing the job plus a margin for overheads. Now the time it takes for a worker to do a job depends on his skill and experience, his willingness to get on and not loaf and as much the unexpected problems that may occur. Now if you do the job yourself you may or may not have the skill and experience of the yard worker but you still may be hit by unexpected problems like access.
You can't blame the yard for being reluctant to give a quote. On the other hand you can't blame the owner for wanting to know what it will cost.
I used to work (a long time back) fixing radios (for planes). A guy askes for a repair cos his radio is not working. Generally the fix is easy, cheap, finding the problem is the hard part. It can be quick or it can take hours. The final bill relative to replacement cost of the radio can be very embarrassing. We just have to hope the owner trusts that the technician was clever and did his best. Who else should pay but the owner. If he won't pay then the whole business (service) will go under. That situation has changed now as hardly any radios are worth fixing compared to replacement cost.
So no advice to the OP except perhaps to query the bill but just realise sometimes costs can just get out of hand through no one's fault. olewill
 
I have had the misfortune of leaving a yacht in a yard over winter in Cork a few years ago and got quotes for doing various jobs on the yacht while it was there. The quotes were ridiculously over priced and I ended up doing most of the jobs myself. Also the yard would not permit outside contractors so competition was excluded. Renovated a yacht in Devon last year - boatyard did an excellent job and never felt ripped off. Will get a bow thruster installed next Spring and already feel a trip over the Irish Sea will be warranted.
 
macd said:
Scotty: the boat's in Ireland (post #9)
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And what's more not even the Greeks would try a bill quite that big.

At no point did anyone stop and think "We have a problem, this is going to cost a hell of a lot of money, let's contact the owner and see what he says. ". No one approached the supervisor and said there was a problem. The supervisor didn't go and have a look at what was taking 4 full days of work?

Problem diagnosis with computers, cars, radios takes time but at some point you know how much it's going to cost. This was a replacement job. Remove old, replace new. Surely a look at access, hole size, tools required would come up with a reasonably accurate quote.
 
When I was working on cars many years ago, it was normal practice to give an estimate cost. If the job turned out more coplex than expected, then the owner was contacted. In nearly all cases they acepted the extra cost.
On one occation the car was towed away with the gearbox in the boot because they did not want to pay.
 
benlui said:
Not in Greece, this is in IRL at a known boatyard in. I'm not missing any materials, total labour 1050,and total lot including materials 1270. no glass work whatsoever. simple replacing 2 seacoks.
Thanks guys.
PS nice to be back on here again. Will have to find more time to zone in every now and then.
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Decimal place in the wrong place (or they think you're an ijeet). Still I suppose they could've added in the waiting time (for you to arrive).
 
I paid our yard about £1300 to supply and fit 6 seacocks and hull fittings (engine, galley sink drain, 2 for the heads and 2 cockpit drains), make and fit replacement s/s chainplate fittings to take the cap shroud loads properly into the hull, and make and fit a new fairing to take a new through hull depth transducer. That was for all materials and labour apart from the transducer which I supplied. This was in 2012.

Not much less to just replace 2 seacocks sounds like a major rip off.
 
macd said:
Disconnect hoses, removed skin fittings, seacocks: 1 hour each.
Install new hardware: 1 hour each seacock/skin fitting. (Plus a few minutes for another guy inside whilst the skin fittings are tightened.)
Double that if it's an awkward layout, and it's still just one day's work.
The yard is either taking the pee or moronically inept. A pro can install an engine in 30 hours.
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As a comparison, I paid Ardfern to fit a new bow water tank filler point to my boat last year ... I had a busted wrist which just about let me sail but certainly wasn't up to fitting work. The bill for removing the old, seized filler, enlarging the hole, fitting and sealing the new filler and connecting up inside was fifteen quid. Plus VAT.
 
Sounds like a typo, can you check ? I replaced two of mine with new between tides earlier this year, took about one hour for the two. Even if you run into problems I can't see it taking 30 hrs.
 
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