A Toilet for £4000?

J

john_morris_uk

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Is this a joke or have I just entered some sort of parallel universe in which pricing has gone all wrong. I know some people say these toilets are good, but £4000 for the brand new one? £2,500 for the reconditioned one must be a bargain?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/YACHT-BOA...tEquipment_Accessories_SM&hash=item2a292580a4

I take it all back - the list price IS over £4000 accordeing to Mailspeed Marine who have discounted theirs to £3,656

This must be the joke to end all jokes about marine pricing surely?

Edit: No its not: I've just found a deluxe version for over £10k Aaaargh!!!

http://www.marinemegastore.com/product-Blakes-Lavac-Victory-Right-Hand-Toilet-SEA_TBV0859.htm
 
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I've got two Jabsco's. After five years I've replaced the valves etc with service kits that cost about £35 each from memory. They are now working as well as ever once again.

£10k+ for a toilet still makes me squirm a bit. Its the sort of price that a journalist with nothing better to do will quote in an article to demonstrate how all yachtsmen and women must be super rich.
 
Let me guess (without having clicked on the link) - these are Blakes toilets?

Their prices are insane, to the point I can't believe anyone pays them (even wealthy people care about value for money). No idea what their business model is supposed to be.

Pete
 
Got it in one.

We have one of their cookers - which was eye-wateringly expensive when new. I acquired it second hand and for several hundred pounds they refurbished it for me. My great sadness is that they have stopped making the gas cookers and the spares are now no longer very plentiful. Apart from that its a fantastic cooker...

But £10k for a toilet........... All the super-yachts I have dealings with have vacuum systems or some flushing system etc and certainly don't have Baby Blakes.

I suppose a classic yacht being restored might have one, but its a very limited market.
 
Searush said:
I believe they are mostly hand machined bronze, which would help account for the cost.
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Not knowing the toilet as now made - but they do seacocks in brass now, and want 150 for one. Shame :o
I'm servicing old ones now, as they are bronze. And plan to import proper bronze ones new from US for other holes. At 30$
 
Rossynant said:
- but they do seacocks in brass now,
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Yes but from DZR, not "brass". The implication you are making is that the Blakes Seacock is not made from a suitable material for marine use. I think this is being economic with the facts.

From the FAQ page http://www.blakes-lavac-taylors.co.uk/blakes_seacocks.htm

Q Material specification used on the Blakes seacocks
A The body and plug are made of DZR1 (BSEN 1982 CC752C). A dezincification resistant brass for die casting
If zinc is leached from brass by sea water corrosion, the brass will become porous and fail. DZR1 resists the zinc removal and is approved by Lloyds if used in a marine environment.
The seacock bolts are manufactured from Phosphor bronze.
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Brass is brass, and this is a name for it, as you see yourself. So this alloy is more resistant; so what? Ersatz is ersatz. Show me a logical reason for changing well proven product to something else.

Proper bronze would not make for much higher material costs, especially as they use it anyway. Plug type, flange mounted seacock of bronze costs about 20 pounds really. Blakes cost 150 in brass. And UK is the only country I know of thinking DZR brass is a substitute of equal value. No, it's not. Just it can survive in seawater.

Same way it's possible to make rudder mounts underwater of monel or some kinds of stainless steel, but good builder makes them of bronze. You may make ballast of cast iron, but lead still is better for this. And so on.
 
I think you'll find yourself out of synch with a lot of people arguing that line. DZR is accepted by many many people as being suitable below the waterline. Are you also suggesting that every boat with cast iron ballast or keels is sub standard? You'll upset a lot of people making that claim as well.

I also refute that UK is the only place that DZR is acceptable. There are European boat builder who were (still are?) putting brass below the waterline as they argued that it only had to last a few years to be 'serviceable quality'. There was a bit of an outcry in the UK over that little scam. I am not sure if its still happening or not as our boat is 28 years old...
 
I accept the points you make wrt cost of the Blakes and the change of material, however, other European countries fit DZR to production yachts, so it's not just a UK thing. Is DZR a poor choice of material of a seacock? I am led to believe that it is not a poor choice. The Greko 3/4" valve retails in the USA around £34 + £20 delivery + UK VAT = £64 plus what ever import duty is slapped on it and about £15 for the through hull in bronze, total £79. The same size DZR ball valve from ASAP is around £15 plus deliver charge, plus a skin fitting, totals around, £25. Clearly one logical reason is cost, when the same technical functionality is being delivered.
 
Searush said:
I believe they are mostly hand machined bronze, which would help account for the cost. You are buying a "new" antique, I'll bet that Griff Rhys-Jones has one on Undine.
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Actually he's got a lavac.

As for the cost, any made are essentially one offs. They have to make it worth their while and if someone is willing to pay then what's the problem?
 
I like the bit on the marine mega store page

quote:

At minimal extra cost you can specify:

Left hand pumps set up
Detachable handle on discharge pump
Cap & lining outlet (for easy pipe removal or rigid piping)

At £10700 what do they consider minimal extra cost to be
 
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