What is a fair price to polish and wax a 40 foot trawler on the hard?

[HeadedToTexas]

We have been negligent in maintaining our outer finish and this winter is the time to get it back in shape. The season is short and the sun is lower here in western Lake Erie than for our brothers in the south, but five years is clearly too long. Our heated indoor winter storage place allows us to do our own work, but we have to use their vendor for detailing and outer finish work. He buffed out a small section as an example of his work. Looks darn good in my estimation.

This being the first time my aching back and shoulders tell me to hire the job out, I am not confident that the quote is reasonable. Is $2850 a fair price to buff and wax the hull with three-step process and buff and wax the topsides with three-step process. The price includes bridge and aft deck complete and all labor and materials. Is that reasonable?

 

[DDW]

I'd say that is reasonable. It is a lot of work. Out here you will pay that just for the hull for a really good job. Deck and house often take longer than the hull because of all the hand work and obstructions.

 

[Mac2]

Very reasonable.

 

[Delta Riverat]

Sounds good to me. I paid $3500 a year ago.

 

[Bacchus]

Sounds reasonable to me as well. I've paid $1,000 for our MS 34HT with the most 2 steps and at least half a one step to clean / protect what was in good condition. I've found it more reasonable and satisfying to do an annual clean / protect with 2nd step only in areas needing it. The good condition areas actually get better every year.

 

[Comodave]

We pay $10 per foot for a wax job alone. But one marina wanted $4K to compound and wax our 41. I did the job the first two years but now I will pay for the wax job.

 

[Bacchus]

We pay $10 per foot for a wax job alone. But one marina wanted $4K to compound and wax our 41. I did the job the first two years but now I will pay for the wax job.

Dave...
That $10 / ft isn't hull ( below rubrail) AND topside is it? If so even for just wax it's a steal. Do you or they wash as a prep?

 

[Comodave]

Dave...
That $10 / ft isn't hull ( below rubrail) AND topside is it? If so even for just wax it's a steal. Do you or they wash as a prep?

It is for the whole boat. They wash and wax if for that price. Yes it is a great deal.

 

[O C Diver]

What's the hourly rate?

I had my boat waxed every year before going south. Our boats are similar in size and my waxing and buffing took 4 or 5 days for one guy.

If it's been 5 years, are you compounding it and then waxing or just waxing?

Would you be upset if the price was $2,850 and it took one guy two days? I might be expecting $50 per hour for 50 hours and $350 in material costs. Unless you're going to be there when the work is being done, I would want to see it after compounding and before waxing, if that's what you're doing.

The guy I had did a great job and I tipped him very well. But I was also in the yard every day working on my boat. So if there was anything I saw that he missed or wasn't up to snuff, it was resolved. I dislike the one price, and when it takes longer than expected, you don't get the same quality at the end.

Even had him wax and buff the hull of the dinghy.

Ted

 

[Delta Riverat]

My job was a 3 part; polish, fine polish and wax. The gelcoat was still in good shape (no cracks), just rather oxidized.

 

[BruceK]

Not unreasonable imo to bring back a badly degraded finish. Mine cost about that and took 5 days. The front of the FB and sides required wet sanding. Once you get it restored, keep it maintained. You can only go deep into the gelcoat limited times.

 

[Mac2]

After attempting to buff my hull with lackluster results, I paid a pro. After a few minutes he realized I had awlgrip paint. No amount of buffing would bring back the shine. I got a 60k quote to bring back the shine, aka paint the hull. $2850 looks really good to me!

 

[PierreR]

I am at Crossview, give me the name of the outfit that quoted you. I have gotten higher.

 

[slowgoesit]

Hmmmmm, location, Location, LOCATION!

January of 2024, last year, wash and wax entire boat, to include mast, ALL the stainless steel, and dingy, Luis, Mazatlan, Mexico, $500.00 all in!
Peter and Cheryl in Weebles also had their boat done around the same time. I think Luis did his too . . .
Great job, and great price, but a little bit of a long run to get there . . .

 

[Mambo42]

Indeed location, location.
I got quoted 2000 euro in Turkey, then 1500 in Greece, followed by 4000 in Italy, so I decided to do it myself. Took me 4 days to get it done.
And just this week I watched a video of Port Camargue in France and they charge 1200 euro.

In the end I guess it comes down to what it is worth to you and what you are willing to pay. I am not going to pay 2000 or 4000 euro for a 2 or 3 day job, but that is my choice.

 

[slowgoesit]

If the job took two people two days, that's 32 hours of labor, say $350 for materials, so your $2,850 quote is aprox $2,500 for labor, so $78.12/hour labor . . . . for a 40' boat . . . .
Only you can decide if that is a reasonable rate or not . . . .

 

[jrd22]

We just had our new to us 32' Nordic done. $2500 for entire boat and it was really bad (hadn't had wax for at least 10 years). We got another quote for $7500, and I'm sure it would have been a better job, but....

 

[SteveK]

I suspect if the workers are getting 100% the total would be noticeably less. Owner markups profit and recall can be 30-50% of total bill.
I saw this on non boating work. ie: plumber doing the work gets $40 hour but is charged out at $75.

 

[slowgoesit]

Around here boat work is charged out at $160/hr, and worker gets $40, if they're lucky . . . . and they bill for drive time as well, at the same rate . . . That's one of the reasons we do our own maintenance . . .

 

[BruceK]

The angst over a business charging out labour at a rate greater than it pays the worker escapes me. There are on costs, payroll tax, insurance, admin, supervision, organization, taxes etc etc. of course the charge out is greater. What`s the point in employing labour and charging it out at no profit? Better to just do it yourself and employ no one. Or as a worker, refuse employment, find your own work and carry your own risk and expense of running your own business.
Or do what I did. Use a sole trader,doing his own work, charging himself out. 5 days of genuine effort, materials included, cost around $3100 AUD.

 

[Bacchus]

The angst over a business charging out labour at a rate greater than it pays the worker escapes me. There are on costs, payroll tax, insurance, admin, supervision, organization, taxes etc etc. of course the charge out is greater. What`s the point in employing labour and charging it out at no profit? Better to just do it yourself and employ no one. Or as a worker, refuse employment, find your own work and carry your own risk and expense of running your own business.
Or do what I did. Use a sole trader,doing his own work, charging himself out. 5 days of genuine effort, materials included, cost around $3100 AUD.

The idea of marking up an employees wage to cover the business overhead is understood by most. I think the big question is what is a fair % for the mark up?
25%, 50%, 100%, 200%, 300%....
And then there is the question of what is a fair markup / fee % for a non- employee contractor being allowed to provide services on a yard privately owned by others ?
10% 25%, 50%, 100%, 200%, 300%.... the yard incurs little / no additional costs as they are born by the contractor.

 

[O C Diver]

The idea of marking up an employees wage to cover the business overhead is understood by most. I think the big question is what is a fair % for the mark up?
25%, 50%, 100%, 200%, 300%....
And then there is the question of what is a fair markup / fee % for a non- employee contractor being allowed to provide services on a yard privately owned by others ?
10% 25%, 50%, 100%, 200%, 300%.... the yard incurs little / no additional costs as they are born by the contractor.

40 years ago a really good automotive mechanic would get 50% of book time (the time an average mechanic should take to do the job, not what it took). My buddy was a really good transmission mechanic for a Ford dealership and could average 80 hours a week of book time (lots of warranty work). Now a good mechanic is getting maybe 35% and the labor cost is through the roof. Not apposed to the shops making overhead and profit, but share the profit with those who made it for you!

Ted

 

[slowgoesit]

The angst over a business charging out labour at a rate greater than it pays the worker escapes me. There are on costs, payroll tax, insurance, admin, supervision, organization, taxes etc etc. of course the charge out is greater.

As Don stated above, I totally understand and agree that a business has to make money, and charge more than they pay their employees, but in our case, 400% markup is pretty extreme . . . . especially if said worker is googling how to do the repair on his smart phone . . . .

 

[PierreR]

Workman's Comp is huge, way bigger than taxes. The work is arduous and dangerous enough that most of us will not do it in older age.

 

[John R M]

Trying to get the discussion back on track, the OP stated that he had to use the yard's vendor for outside work. He can't look for a competitive bid so he pays the price, tries to negotiate a better price, or doesn't have the work done. Only he can decide what's best of him.

 

[ssobol]

Once, we were at a well known boat yard in the Mid Atlantic region. There was a workman buffing a 30-40' boat. My wife asked how much a job like that cost. The response started with "If you have to ask...."

 

[Capt Pappy]

Been seeing videos on YouTube for this ReGel product --- supposedly, molecularly rejuvenates the gel coat. (promoted by Capt Paul / trawler video guy / no affiliation here)

Not sure of the cost, but at least in the videos --- the final product looks quite promising and brings back that glossy shine to the fiberglass hulls.

And supposedly quite cost effective.

 

[MichaelD]

We have been negligent in maintaining our outer finish and this winter is the time to get it back in shape. The season is short and the sun is lower here in western Lake Erie than for our brothers in the south, but five years is clearly too long. Our heated indoor winter storage place allows us to do our own work, but we have to use their vendor for detailing and outer finish work. He buffed out a small section as an example of his work. Looks darn good in my estimation.

View attachment 169808

This being the first time my aching back and shoulders tell me to hire the job out, I am not confident that the quote is reasonable. Is $2850 a fair price to buff and wax the hull with three-step process and buff and wax the topsides with three-step process. The price includes bridge and aft deck complete and all labor and materials. Is that reasonable?

That is a bargain if the work is good.

 

[johnma]

Sounds like a very good price to me. Last year I paid $2,000 just for the hull below the rub rail for our 390 Mainship

 

[Stevecman]

$2,850 is a reasonable charge for doing this work, assuming the gelcoat is not too oxidized and stained.

Once you have the gelcoat cleaned up and waxed, I suggest you have is thoroughly wash and waxed annually.

Gelcoat is generally not very thick, so you want to minimize the number of times you have to do a cut, buff, polish and waxed. The alternative is at some point the gelcoat will get too thin and you will be facing a much larger cost for re-coating/painting.

Being located in the PNW, our boat stays in the water year around in an uncovered slip. To protect is 20-year old gelcoat, we have it professionally washed once a month, have the topside waxed every six months, and the hull thoroughly cleaned and waxed annually.

When hiring a “professional” to do this work, make sure you retain someone who knows what they are doing and doesn’t damage the gelcoat and SS rails, etc. by using the wrong equipment, materials and technique