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Guest Jonny

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Ah Strowy has beaten me to the point and saved me a Lakesailor :naughty:

I am not denigrating your business model MBA I am sure you do a great job. Where you sub contracting from JPC as a Webo agent or just working for them? You will know Tom then.

I do know Tom but only through chatting when i've bought there we are similar in age (he's a little yonger) although did not school together. sub contract or working for them neither, I was employed by E.C Landamores for over 8yrs there we fitted webasto's of all shapes and sizes inc webasto aircon this was all fitted to either JPC or webasto direct (in the aircond case) spec inorder to keep warrenteis valid. I've been self employed for the last 4 years and have fitted about 5 webasto systems in that time (they dont come up to often), since JPC moved to Brundall from Wroxham i have had little reason to use them, I found that you can buy £1200 JPC kits (small airtronic blown air unit) for the £850 mark online brand new and warrented so as much as i enjoy a chat with Tom the difference on the purchase cost would cover (more than, depending on the complexity) the installation.

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There is a factor that's important to remember here.

The main reason that boatyards have higher overheads than mobile contractors is the cost of their premises, adjacent to the water.

Slipping and lifting facilities and hard standing are at a premium in the Broads area, and are a considerable extra overhead to boatyards, in capital investment and business rates.

One of the main reasons they quite rightly expect a percentage whenever an independent contractor works in their premises, whether the craft is afloat or slipped.

They do have all those expencive overheads, and i dont recall slating the prices they charge, what they charge is down to them. I will work on yards where i have to but 90% of my work is on peoples private moorings.

If none of us are greedy there are/is more than enough boats and work to go around.

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They do have all those expencive overheads, and i dont recall slating the prices they charge, what they charge is down to them. I will work on yards where i have to but 90% of my work is on peoples private moorings.

If none of us are greedy there are/is more than enough boats and work to go around.

As well as the above, large yards have office staff, cleaners ect. depending on how large the yard, all of these costs will be added to the hourly rate. You have to choose whether to support the large or small business but remember most operations start small and grow.

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It is good to have the diversiy of operations, as with all industries, and each has different benefits depending on the scale of task needed.

A one man band working from home would be useless (without support services elsewhere at least) if you needed your boat lifting out for a repair or antifouling etc, but would be great for many tasks such as servicing & repairs that do not require the on-site facilities that a boatyard or larger operation can offer and if didnt exist at all would make the infrastructure un-viable.

As with most trades the fact there are different levels and scales of operation helps give a choice and also provides enough competition to stop people holding too much of a monolopy over what is charged and how.... all good stuff to my mind on balance.

Dan

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this thread bring out some good point some bad points....

a sale can be good or it can be bad

you can have good products or bad products

you can get ripped off you might not

so as always really hard to say

Jonny

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Even a mobile contractor has overheads far greater than has already been mentioned here (van & tools, I would never drive a van :naughty: ), or rather should have. Marina overheads are larger but are able to be somewhat absorbed by income from mooring fees etc. Just a few I could mention that I have to fund as part of fixed overhead: Public liability and marine trades insurance, don’t let anybody onboard until you have seen this for obvious reasons. Ongoing training and certification, in my case NMEA, BSI and numerous marine electronic, heating and electrical systems training on new products from various manufacturers, this can alone amount to a significant sum. Funding stock of high quality electrical & data cabling and distribution systems, heater spares etc, expensive diagnostic Kit and having it calibrated annually, trade body subscriptions to keep updating ones knowledge base, vehicle insurance, the list goes on. This means that to make it worthwhile getting out of bed that a commensurate job rate must be charged, but for that the customer gets a certified job, backed by insurance and in some cases on marine electronics, an extended and onsite warranty on their electronics. I feel perfectly happy in posting this in the knowledge that people can be assured it is not some kind of sales patter and is impartial as I have not and will not carry out any work in Broadland despite requests to do so. There are many people who charge pretty cheap rates on basic jobs and do them to an acceptable standard so price is not an absolute as there are a number of factors to take into account, the one thing I will repeat from earlier in the post though is, NEVER LET ANYBODY WORK ON YOUR BOAT WITHOUT SIGHT OF THEIR INSURANCE WHATEVER THE PRICE.

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NEVER LET ANYBODY WORK ON YOUR BOAT WITHOUT SIGHT OF THEIR INSURANCE WHATEVER THE PRICE.

Absolutely right, and all too frequently absent.

Conversations with fellow berth holders over the years has revealed that far from being the norm, liability insurance doesn't even occur to many contractors, let alone customers....

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