[yem23]

So I have done a couple of bright work jobs, and I have been asked to bid a job much larger then the few I have done. The last time I bid a job was almost 2 years ago. I have 2 issues I need help with. One is bidding the job. The jobs I have done in the past were trim, toe rails, seats, and the largest singular piece I have done was a companionway. This boat's entire transom is varnished teak. I remember I bid the last job per linear sqft., plus cost of materials. I made a couple of mistakes (like working on it too late, trying to meet a deadline) and although I was able to fix all of my mistakes, the cost in time made the job not so profitable. I got frustrated and put it down for a while. So, I would like to learn from this, and not sorely underbid this job. Being that this one is much bigger, I imagine that mistake would cost me much more. Any suggestions on how to bid this job? I want to be fair and I dont want to hurt myself in the process. Second issue is all of the varnish looks like I may be able to scuff and add new coats, except for the toe rail. It appears that the metal strips just below the rail were not removed in previous applications. Moisture was trapped under those rails, and now the varnish is bubbling up. And I don’t think its a traditional varnish. I believe its urethane based something or another (consistency of a thick nail polish). It seems to have fared well everywhere else on the boat, except on the rail. I am thinking that the rail should be dealt with differently. I believe I should remove the metal strips, use a chemical solvent to strip the whole rail down, bring the natural teak back, and start the buildup over. My understanding is that the bright work has been pretty well maintained (reapplication every 6 mos or so) and it appears to be the case....on the rest of the boat. But you can’t tell by looking at the toe rail. There are a few spots where the wood has been exposed to sun and bleached, and a lot of spots (only along the metal strip) where moisture has seeped up from the metal strip and caused the finish to bubble. I am pretty sure the wood where the moisture has gotten (under the bubbles) doesn’t look pretty. Would I charge differently for stripping the teak, repairing damage, and reapplying? It is going to be a lot more work than the rest of the job. I think it may be easier to bid by the foot instead of the hour. I have no idea how long this is going to take, and if I bid by the foot, should I charge per sq ft. on the transom, and linear foot on the rest? And what is fair to charge for stripping it and starting over vs. slapping a few more layers on? I dont remember what I charged last job. Again, bidding the job is my biggest dilemma. I am going to try and attach some pics. and if any one has a better idea on how to deal with the bubbling, I would love to hear it. Thanks in advance,
Laura