[hamiam]

alas, it is "normal." completely unacceptable and boarding on fraud but normal. I had a series of jobs done last season by a major shipyard in the state of Rhode Island and then managed to come in way over estimate, more than a month late, and, in some cases, of questionable quality. Basically they hold your boat hostage until you pay the bill so you can either pay it and get your boat back or fight with them and potentially lose alot of sailing time. I have a 35'' sailboat and this particular yard caters to megayachts. I am not sure if I got shafted due to the size of my boat or what.