ridgy
Well-known member
A fibreglass tube, some foam, a weight, and a small flag. £200.
I can make one for £15. What am I missing?
I can make one for £15. What am I missing?
Why are danbouys so expensive?
- Thread starter ridgy
- Start date
PabloPicasso
Well-known member
185quid profit?
veshengro
Well-known member
A Dan Bouy is an item only purchased by yacht/Motor Boat owners. They are all rich, and many will pay £200...
veshengro
Well-known member
Many years ago I decided to fix a small strip light in the forepeak of my old Gaff Cutter as scuffling about in the semi darkness looking for gear made life difficult.
Two plastic bodied 12 volt strip lights, each with a opaque plastic lens/cover. On inspection both identical in every detail except the Marine version had a small blob of silicone sealant inside where the wires went through the plastic back plate. This apparently made it Marine and raised the price by £12+ above the other light which is the one I bought in the Caravan supply Shop.
Two plastic bodied 12 volt strip lights, each with a opaque plastic lens/cover. On inspection both identical in every detail except the Marine version had a small blob of silicone sealant inside where the wires went through the plastic back plate. This apparently made it Marine and raised the price by £12+ above the other light which is the one I bought in the Caravan supply Shop.
Minerva
Well-known member
If making a danbuoy, give consideration to making the weight just a little bit heavier and affix a AIS plb beacon to the top.
Has a longer range than one on the life jacket in the sea so increases chances of recovering the casualty.
Has a longer range than one on the life jacket in the sea so increases chances of recovering the casualty.
xyachtdave
Well-known member
10/10 Pablo!
Giblets
Well-known member
The item is marketed using the words "safety", "life-saving" and "marine" hence justifying the mark-up of at least 150%, more if you can get it!
Concerto
Well-known member
No doubt ridgy, you will not have tested your £15 danbuoy in rough conditions to ensure it still performs asit was intended. Also you would not have to satisfy the manufacturers insurers that the product performed in extreme conditions. No doubt if your boat was either raced or coded, then your danbuoy would not be acceptable for either due to the lack of certification.
A further comment that many also forget is a £200 item has just over £33 of VAT, then there is a retailer margin, delivery costs, packaging, manufacturing overheads including labour, factory rent & rates, design and testing costs, certification, etc. So the material cost may be £15 to £25, but any business must also cover all of these other costs in the price they sell the product for. We have all noticed over the past few decades how some manufacturing is now done abroad where all these costs are less. No doubt there will be plenty of people moaning about how we hardly manufacture lots of products ranging from ships to cars, sofas, etc. All of this has been driven by consumers wanting their money to go further and businesses realising they can obtain a a cheap cost product at a fixed price. The alternative to manufacture in the UK is less appealing with an incredible list of increased variable costs which make the products too risky and expensive.
A further comment that many also forget is a £200 item has just over £33 of VAT, then there is a retailer margin, delivery costs, packaging, manufacturing overheads including labour, factory rent & rates, design and testing costs, certification, etc. So the material cost may be £15 to £25, but any business must also cover all of these other costs in the price they sell the product for. We have all noticed over the past few decades how some manufacturing is now done abroad where all these costs are less. No doubt there will be plenty of people moaning about how we hardly manufacture lots of products ranging from ships to cars, sofas, etc. All of this has been driven by consumers wanting their money to go further and businesses realising they can obtain a a cheap cost product at a fixed price. The alternative to manufacture in the UK is less appealing with an incredible list of increased variable costs which make the products too risky and expensive.
andsarkit
Well-known member
Do you know what certification is required for a danbuoy? They all claim to comply to RORC and ISAF regulations but all I can find is that the flag must be 6ft above the water. That would be quite easy to meet but I haven't found any reference to performance in extreme wind strengths. In a 30knot wind most would lean over quite a long way until the counterweight took effect.
I agree about manufacturing in UK, as I have been involved in manufacturing for most of my working life. You need a niche product where you can charge a premium and even then some of the companies I worked for didn't survive.
Tranona
Well-known member
A RORC approved Danbouy is £75. The £200 is the much more substantial offshore version with automatic light which you won't make for £15.
Of course you can DIY but as concertos says there is more to buying off the shelf items than material costs. Nobody is making a fortune selling danbuoys.
boomerangben
Well-known member
The fishermen make their own Dan buoys and they last a lot longer than I hope any Dan buoy attached to me would need to last. I found one on the beach when I was a kid and got a crisp fiver for my troubles (my uncles troubles really) in recovering and returning. I suspect inflation would mean that £5 would be worth £25 now
