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by sunsipples 1908 days ago
I build boats.

I work in an office/workshop for my 9-5 and then I build dinghy, canoes, catamaran and so on. have sold some, been commissioned for some. depending on what it is and the materials needed can take a month or six fitting it in around work and family.

working on a 12ft runabout at present for a friend, keeps me amused for a month or so.

not HN related but I guess it's my side hustle

1 comments

Im curious how much it costs to build something like a 12 ft runabout? Both what you charge and material costs?
this one is $7,000aud in materials -timber (blackbutt and stringy bark) takes up a lot of this, buying seasoned wood for the hull is a pain but quicker and more space efficient than doing it myself. -brass fittings are inexpensive, comparitively -caulking and epoxy is cheap -nails/screws/bolts/dowels/etc are cheap

because this one is more about appearance, it takes longer. two different shades of wood and wanting to use clear coating on all of it. it will spend more of it's time viewable than in use.

if this wasn't for a friend, and needing a lot more finishing than most wood boats I have built, I guess my time would add $2-6k which isn't close to my hourly rate but allows me to build other peoples projects and cover tools/consumables/molds/beer

the heartbreaking part of this build for me is its requirement for outboard mounting. it really alters the lines of the boat.