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Hidden costs to designing your boat |
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It may seem cheaper to make your own boat but keep in mind the hidden costs to designing your own boat. Take wooden boat designs, for example. You should be ready to spend extra for materials that large production boat builders are able to get in significant discounts because they are buying in bulk.
In the case of someone making boats for a hobby or as a project, the cost of materials could get a big chunk of your boat building budget. The lack of buying power to leverage with boat dealers may result in you spending more. Say you need only two and half-sheets of plywood, the boat store may sell you three sheets instead of two.
You also have to buy miscellaneous materials such as epoxy, fiberglass tape, ring nails, among others. To top it all, you would most likely do the sourcing and traveling for these materials yourself. It’s likely that the materials may not be delivered to you because they are in small quantity so you have to buy it from the store yourself. You are lucky if the supplier is near your place but you have to spend more on gas if you need to travel to another town to buy your boat supplies.
For new boat builders and designers, another hidden cost is both the need and the temptation to buy a variety of working tools. Sure you can survive with the basic tools such as a hammer, screwdriver and knife. However, as you work and visit hardware stores and browse through Internet sites, you will discover that there are many specialized tools that can make your boat project easier. Thus, you feel compelled to buy these tools without realizing that they all add up to your cost of building and designing your boat.
Other hidden costs that are often not included in the original planning and budgeting include necessities such as sandpaper, foam brushes, acetone, and fasteners, among others. Of course, the most important element is your time. You may be able to quantify at the onset the estimated time you need to work and finish your boat. But many things can happen when you start the project. You brought the wrong material and would need to have them replaced. You need to correct some mistakes in your design. Some repairs should be done. And so forth.
You have to make room for mistakes caused by the lack of knowledge and experience. Along the way, you will find that a lot of improvisation techniques are needed to complete your boat.
Before you realize it, you may be spending more time on your boat project than you have originally intended. You may think that time is free but definitely it has a value. So it is only you who can really quantify and qualify if the time that your boat project is taking is well worth it.
So what’s the point? There will always be hidden costs to designing your boat whether you like it or not. You can minimize it through careful planning, good foresight, and thorough preparation. But always be ready for the unexpected things that would force you to get money from your contingent funds. One who has experienced boat building puts it this way: “…building your own boat will cost you less than buying one, but it is not something you should get into with the intention of saving money. It is something you do for the sheer joy of building something that is both beautiful and useful, and your own.
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