Cost of replacing Blake's seacock?

[Tiresias]

Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

Has anyone replaced a Blake's 1.5 inch seacock recently? I've been charged £491.46 ex VAT. £384 of that was labour. It seems a lot, but what do I know?

Advice gratefully received - thanks!

 

[FullCircle]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

Less the VAT, thats about 320 quid which in my book is between 10 and 11 hours at our local yard.
Seems like a lot to me just for changing one cock.

The cock price is OKish as it is a largish Blakes.

 

[Niander]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

Flipin eck...id of done it my self
You must be rich!...

 

[SvenglishTommy]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

My word that is a lot of money for a cock /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Personally I couldn't even afford to use Blakes seacocks, but at least you know that portion of the bill was well spent. To add another £400 in labor is just ridiculous. I would refuse to pay it, did they give you a quote first, and is there a breakdown of the hourly rate and how long it took to install.

 

[doug748]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

They either had big problems with the job or have very slow staff. I think the bill does need some explanation. I will be fitting one next winter and have been quoted between c£90 - £110 (ie for the cock only). What was wrong with the old one?

 

[Micky]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

What did you change a Blakes for?? They normally last a lifetime and can be DIY refurbished easy enough.

 

[Tiresias]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

The old one was very pitted. I had ground it in a number of times. It also looked worryingly pink!

BTW, the figure of £384 labour was ex VAT.

 

[donm]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

Done several.
What is the hull material i.e. wood, GRP,steel etc. If it came away easily and cleanly, as they mostly do, it should only be a 2 or 3 hour job. If very old and corroded then cutting nuts and drilling out to avoid damage will increase the time taken significantly. Sometimes it need two people - one backing up on the outside.

Seems a lot on the face of it, and could do with a few questions and answers with the Yard.

 

[Tiresias]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

The hull is GRP.

I don't know how long the seacock had been in, but it must have been a fair while. The invoice doesn't say whether there were any difficulties in getting the old seacock out and no one commented on it when I picked the boat up.

Naively, for a man of my age and experience, I didn't get a quote first. My only excuse is that I thought it would be a run-of-the-mill job.

 

[donm]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

Usually not too much of a problem with GRP. How old is the boat?

 

[Tiresias]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

She's a 1978 Westerly.

 

[donm]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

Really should not have been much of a problem as Westerlys were quite well put together.

Needs some full and frank discussions with your Yard to understand why it has cost you so much!

 

[Poignard]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

Certainly worth asking for some detail from the yard. Do you know their hourly rate?

On my boat the seacocks were glassed in place when she was built 40 years ago. Last year I replaced one and chiselling it out took ages due to the hardness of the resin and extremely limited access. Then I turned up a marine plywood pad on the lathe, epoxied it with several coats, drilled the hull for the bolts, sealed the exposed edges of the hull laminate, fastened it in place with Sikaflex bedding. Also I didn't like the way that the squares on the Blakes coachbolts were longer than the thickness of the strainer plate and they would have graunched into the gelcoat, so they had to be turned back. It all took quite a long time but, as it's my boat I probably took more pains over it than a yard would have done.

 

[Spyro]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

£384 pounds ex vat for labour is ridiculous, if that had included a lift out and put back in it may not be too bad.
Don't be embarrassed to ask them to explain their charges, you are the customer who pays their wages.

 

[Norman_E]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

Ridiculous cost for labour. A friend in Yachtmarine in Marmaris had to have an old seacock (1.5 inch on an HR42) replaced. It could not be undone from the inside so a workman very skillfully cut away the external flange with an angle grinder without making a mark on the hull. Total time to get the old one out about half an hour, with half of that in the attempt to unscrew it internally. Fitting the new one probably also less than a half hour job.
Your yard needs to justify that outrageous labour charge.

 

[Niander]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

If you can get a small grinder in it would take me 15 mins at the most to get an old seacock out...even if i had to grind through the nut as well....but then im an expert with a grinder......but 15 mins!!...arnt swindelrys spose to be experts?

 

[FAITIRA]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

Crazy price for what should be no more than an hours work.

 

[Norman_E]

Re: Cost of replacing Blake\'s seacock?

The way they did it from outside was very neat. The young man used a cutting disk to make a whole series of radial cuts into the boss of the fitting. Each remaining piece of the boss was then ground thin and broken off by knocking it towards the centre. A very neat job with not a mark made on the hull. I wish I had taken a photo.