What's the most ridiculous marine quote you've ever had?

James W

James W

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Time is tight, certain jobs are pretty important and so you get a quote from a professional. What's the most ridiculous one you've ever had?

I need a stern tube glassed in. Not a particularly tough job, a bit of grinding and then some new matting and resin, but i'm busy with family and work at the moment and so I had wanted to farm it out until...............

Quote: £1128.00

Oh, and that redundant skin fitting for the old engine inlet that needs filling in?

Quote: £282.00

I'm all for people earning a living but clearly i'm in the wrong bl**dy job! These quotes don't include VAT, apparently they're not eligible for VAT. How on earth can a little job cost so much and yet they somehow don't reach the VAT threshold across the year?!

***reaches for the glassfibre for dummies book***
 
The Folkboat association quoted me £829.00 + VAT for an outboard motor bracket. I did check whether this was a typo or not. It wasn't, so I made my own for £6.00.
 
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£8000 for a radar arch on the back of the boat. Really?

I have had fibreglass work quoted before - they do extract the yellow liquid. Don't know why.


I had a teak saloon table made which was about £1600 - but the finish, design and features make that seem value for money.
 
£10,000 to re-seal the saloon windows on a Moonraker 36. Went up to £16,000 when they got wind that it might get paid for by somebody else's insurance...

Owner fixed them himself using £30 worth of sikaflex and some elbow-grease: they were still leak-free 3 years later.
 
yachtailsa said:
Every quote I've ever had for a spray hood..... there seems to be some kind of cartel price of starting at £700 depending on boat size. For a bit of canvas and ally... Admittedly there is a lot of skill in the measurement but still...

Even for a standard boat with a known pattern it's the same...

http://www.cjmarine.co.uk/p/377/hunter-horizon-26-sprayhood
Click to expand...

The very opposite of a cartel. It is a highly competitive business and there are few economies of scale. Just about every job is a one off, even if the same model has been done before. There is not enough demand for individual models to justify making a production run to reduce costs.

If the current market price was too high, somebody would undercut it to take a larger market share. Wonder why they don't?
 
£14k to re-engine (25hp) our last boat, the problem was we stupidly did not get quote. Sold the boat 2 years later for, you guessed it, £14k grrr
(if you get re-engined in n. wales get a quote first !).
 
To add evidence on the sprayhood cartel : Eur 650 for a new window (35ft sailboat).

Found another supplier who did it for 120 and I still think he couldn't believe his luck the way he was grinning.
 
Remove carp Beneteau forward fairleads (bit of bent stainless rod) & fit proper ones as fitted to stern, also fit stainless backing plates for same, just £1145.00 plus VAT :eek:

Did the whole job myself with genuine rear fairleads (reversed) & made up stainless backing plates, took me 3 hours & looked like an oe fit. Cost me £140.00.
 
Removing teak decks and painting deck and hull with Awlgrip in Trinidad wasn't cheap but they did a really good job, Quote was six week work it took three months and we had to extend our visas. Trini's motto is ''The best energy saver today is tomorrow'', seen on a sign going into Porto Prince, workmen follow it obediently.
 
Asked a volvo mechanic to remove the timing gear case on my md2020 so I could fix the stop control back in place. Started telling me that as it had corrosion(slight) on the case, it would have to be replaced. Then went on to tell me it would cost £600 odd quid in parts alone. Said I would think about it. Got good advice from John-Morris of this parish & fixed itmyself for £20(£10 oilseal & £10 paper gasket).
 
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