Going self employed :) Boat fitter/maintenance.

[WorkshopChris]

Or some have said they can always say that i am friend or relation doing the work,

That only works the first time could get complicated when you end up having to go back and work on a different customers boat.
The thing to watch with supplying materials is it can soon eat into your day running around picking up parts.

 

[brightspark]

The thing to watch with supplying materials is it can soon eat into your day running around picking up parts.

collecting materials time is needed to be added in

 

[addjunkie]

The other thing is boat work is very seasonal jan to may will be your busy time....boats are for play may till october, forgotten about till next year.

You next issue may be getting paid, thats not just boats its customers who like to take the pee.

Good luck and dont work yourselk into an early box

 

[GKQ]

When charging yourself out to work, you have to allow for holiday pay( not that you'll get a holiday for years but it's the thought that counts ) national insurance, days you can't work due to weather, etc in your hourly rate as when self employed there is no one to pay these for you.
Also if you use you car for work the insurance may be invalid if you only insure for domestic use.
I've been self employed since I was 16 and I am still amazed at people who think what you charge is what you put in your pocket.
Don't forget to put some aside for tax, all to easy to spend the tax money and The tax man will not be happy with you.
Best of luck.
Graham

 

[MattF]

Or some have said they can always say that i am friend or relation doing the work, but then that could make a reat old mess if something ever did go wrong. I bet if things go wrong and the customer gets a big bill or hits there insurance bad they will send it onto you/me.

Trust them not one jot, in that regard. Owt goes wrong, they'd drop you in the s*** in an instant. Make sure you're covered.

 

[henry Kadzielski]

Good morning and my two cents worth. I started out about 20 years ago doing what you have started, yes it is exciting, but also fraught with danger. Some, not all boaties will tel you go ahead, get the job done and when it is done say it's too expensive, or it isn't worth that and or worst of all not pay at all. The biggest difficulties I have had has been with wealthy people, and I now suspect they are wealthy for one reason only When you are starting out you will charge less than the established operators as you need to get recognition in your field. It is important to note what is fair price for the job and you must be very cautious not to be massively undercharging. If all goes well you will get away with it but if there is something wrong (and most times it may not be due to you) you will need to return and correct. Some customers will try to scam you for everything, be cautious. Another hidden problem is some customers are very willing for you to do all their work, and clarify their position as (they can't get anyone), it may be they are very bad payers and no one will do anything for them. Check you clients out carefully before you start. The biggest problem I had was what to charge, even though I did it on (hourly rate) what rate do you charge. General rule of thumb. Whatever a employee gets doing what you do gets you double it. If a general service man get $25/hr, you would charge $50/hr. This then covers you of phone, insurances, 'holiday pay'. When and only when you get to specialize and gain very good recognition then you can command a higher rate. All you customers will say it 's too expensive, but if they keep coming back it is just talk. Working 14hr day you will not last long, be mindfull, that you need time out as well.
I love what I do and have always done so, some jobs are very bad ( grinding fiberglass) but you don't get them every day. You have to take the good with the bad. You get to go places meet people (some are PITA some brilliant) and you knowledge base expands. Be prepared to offer suggestions on alternatives to possibly make things easier or better, if the customer takes it up then all good, however if they want to stick with their plan it is also good. They are the ones paying the bill so they get to decide. Be mindful that some customers have no ides what they want or how to get their desired result, or worse still do do something really 'doggy' those I just walk away from, it is not worth the hassel. This oppertunity can lead to other openings in other fields, which you may or may not want to take up. It is all up to you and you can't blame anyone if things go wrong, deal with it and get on with it, there will be highs and lows, it is just a fact of life.
Hmm just a bit more than 2 cents worth, OK consider it a gift

 

[Migmac]

Good luck with the new venture.

 

[Millentubby]

Best of luck! You can only achieve something that you are truly proud of by stepping out of your comfort zone!

If you want a hook-up to free qualified business insurance advice (and a no-obligation quote) from Arthur J Gallaghers then drop me a PM.

(I work in Business Banking and look after small businesses including startups- happy to chat if you want to PM me)

 

[Burdekin]

Keep putting your rates up until folk start baulking at the price. Charge by the hour, give an estimate but let folk know it's not a quote and it's by the hour. The resto car guy up here charges £30/hr plus vat, don't know what you can charge but charge more work less, enjoy your spare time.

 

[8ob]

Afraid so, that is correct as much as 30% i have seen, aswell as a charge working in there yard every day. If they knew sooner they would of asked for your charge rate...well books on the job. Its so they get the work in there on site work shops if they ave any. A ripoff yes but then they are loosong work through folk like us working on boats in there yards/marinas. But with that they should`nt charge so much which i believe they do.

I have a job that a chap needs doing that the boat yard will not take on, he is down Bath and me in Manchester, the yard will charge for outside contractors but will not do the work. aswell as nobly will do it or help him. He is so peeved he is bringing it to me.

The only reason I was there was because my friend was having no luck with the resident fitters. They had serviced his twin screw perkins engined gin palace and considerably lightened his wallet in the process, the said boat was out of action for about six months while they messed about with it. Long story short one engine was running really badly and the fitters at the yard were talking about changing injectors and injector pump @ their £££rates, I just worked my way through it with a carrier bag of tools and all that was wrong with it was a blocked gauze filter in the lift pump, thats just basic stuff that they should have checked and cleaned when they emptied his wallet the first time around . I would hate to add up the real cost of paying for their guy`s crap work, marina charges on a boat you cant use and all the running about.

Bob

One of these

 

[Burdekin]

I personally wouldn't have thought there would be a filter inside a diaphragm pump and just an online filter. Live and learn.

 

[Gwil]

I worked as a rigger here in Portugal for a few years. Brought stuff in from Sta-lok, fantastic company to do business with. I only packed it in when I was 100' up a mast in a howling gale and beginning to feel my age!

Many boat owners, and a few yards, view rigging as a black art. It's not, it just requires attention to detail and no short cuts, and proper attention to safety when you're up there. Lots of work out there. If you're not rigging already it's worth getting up to speed.

Good luck!

 

[W.olly]

The only reason I was there was because my friend was having no luck with the resident fitters. They had serviced his twin screw perkins engined gin palace and considerably lightened his wallet in the process, the said boat was out of action for about six months while they messed about with it. Long story short one engine was running really badly and the fitters at the yard were talking about changing injectors and injector pump @ their £££rates, I just worked my way through it with a carrier bag of tools and all that was wrong with it was a blocked gauze filter in the lift pump, thats just basic stuff that they should have checked and cleaned when they emptied his wallet the first time around . I would hate to add up the real cost of paying for their guy`s crap work, marina charges on a boat you cant use and all the running about.

Bob

One of these

I have sen a few of them before, i am sure a mechanic at a scrap yard i work in used to remove the gauze and fit them cheap inline plastic filters.



Anyway thanks for all the encouragement on this, i need to sort out my fee properly yet, a good sit down and go through the costings first and add my fee over PA.

When out today i popped by and bought a car for it. A 2005 Citroen Berlingo Multispace 1.9 diesel, very tidy car aswell for the money i spent. I will spend a few weeks fettling it like a timing belt kit, well thats about it i think. Not amazing vehicles but cheap to run and will look good with the windows blacked out and sign written. No rush on that but a si had the cash floating around and it looked a bargain...dont they always lol, will see how it goes.

I am now thinking of a name

Boatfixer

Boat fettler

????

some reason i am struggling on this.


Thanks all for the input and i have read through all comments and so many

Wayne

 

[Gwil]

Marine Solutions- Maintenance & Professional Repair.

Too poncy?!

 

[zx9]

Marine Solutions- Maintenance & Professional Repair.

Too poncy?!

No need for professional IMO often when you see professional in a company name the results are anything else but good, professional just means that you get paid for doing said activity.

 

[8ob]

Boatsmith ?

Bob

 

[addjunkie]

Now working for yourself

Dont forget

B. Ring
O ut
A nother
T housand

 

[W.olly]

Now working for yourself

Dont forget

B. Ring
O ut
A nother
T housand

Now that i am having lol can see that down the side of the van lol

 

[wookie]

I best stop giving you advice on your boat now that you're planning on becoming a "Man with a Van" and competing with the firm I work for

I hope you'll be better than the average "Man with a Van" there is a couple of them around the area I work, they always undercut us on price but we have gained a fair few customers off them as the owners aren't happy with standard of work they do. Some of the work I've seen them do has been down right dangerous, one guy nearly lost his boat to an electrical fire due to the incompetence of the guy who installed some kit on it.

Are you gonna be a jack of all trades or are you planning to specialise in one area of boat work ? Electrics on boats isn't particularly hard but you'd be amazed how well some people can cock it up, as for electronics unless you understand what you're doing I'd stay well clear, again the cock ups and bodges I find on boats are scary.

 

[lshigham]

Boaty mc boatfixer