How much does everything cost.

[pigslo]

Not being a wealthy man myself, I was only able to own a boat by doing the maintenance myself. It takes me longer but I knew the boat better as a result. I will fix the next boat myself but I will have a different perspective. I will choose the boat based on finding one with a minimum of deficiencies and those deficiencies will be ones that I feel I can get a handle on and that I know I was comfortable the first time around.
If you already own the boat you are asking about then you can't change that but if you have not chosen yet then my advise is to pick a ship that is the best example of her line that you can find. You will pay more but in the end you will be happier with a shorter list.
pigslo

[TrueBlue]

Wise words pigslo.

[j34035]

Originally Posted by SimonV

By the look of things if you can do things yourself you can reduce the cost down by 80%, skilled labour blows.

No, skilled labour does not blow (in my opinion). It is expensive, but there are those that need SKILLED labor. Expensive, UN-skilled labor blows. That is where the horror stories from yards come from. There are a lot of people that have neither the knowlege or time to maintain boats, so they have to hire work done. However, they do miss a lot of the enjoyment of boating (again, my opinion). I do most of my own work because I do enjoy it, and I have also found out I like the people I meet in boat yards.
DD

[sailingdog]

very good point.

Originally Posted by j34035

No, skilled labour does not blow (in my opinion). It is expensive, but there are those that need SKILLED labor. Expensive, UN-skilled labor blows. That is where the horror stories from yards come from. There are a lot of people that have neither the knowlege or time to maintain boats, so they have to hire work done. However, they do miss a lot of the enjoyment of boating (again, my opinion). I do most of my own work because I do enjoy it, and I have also found out I like the people I meet in boat yards.
DD