Part 2 - Build vs. Buy
Now that I had found the boat I wanted, I had to find someone to finish it.
I needed the wheelhouse to be fully enclosed and the cabin finished down forward, as well as a number of other items.
I called 3 or 4 of the boat finishing shops up in Maine that I had previously read about and were regular advertisers in National Fisherman and Commercial Fisheries News.
|
An unfinished RP 35 hull and top sits outside RP Boat Shop in Steuben, ME. |
Since I had never done this before, I also called the builder of the hull, RP Boat Shop, and got a price from them for a brand new boat built to spec.
To my surprise, there was only a 10% - 15% difference in price for building a new RP 35 vs. buying the one I was looking at and having it finished!
The wheels began to turn...
There was another reason why I had to seriously consider building vs. buying at this point.
Horsepower.
The 315 HP Cummins is a great engine, but 315 HP isn't a lot of power in a 35' boat.
The boat topped out at over 20 knots with her, but that was partially unfinished, light on fuel, with no gear and running hard.
I didn't want to have to run an engine at top end to make a speed that I still wasn't happy with.
So while this was the perfect boat for me, was it the perfect engine?
Could I (and my customers) be happy with a 15 knot boat?
I had to further explore building a boat...
Time. There is never enough time.
RP Boat Shop. Fraser Performance. PenBay Boat Company.
All were perfectly happy to build me a boat, but they wouldn't have it done until later in the summer.
It seems the word is getting out about the versatility of a Maine lobsterboat and the craftsmanship of their builders, and most builders are booked 12 - 18 months out.
I pretty much had my boat sold, and didn't want to be without a boat until "hopefully" August.
Maybe I could get by on 315 HP...
There was one more shop to call - Sargent's Custom Boats.
Joe Sargent had been recommended by Dick (Richard) Pinkham at RP Boat Shop as the person "who I would want to build my boat".
I called Joe, told him what I wanted to have done, and got some references from him (including a boat in North Jersey he had just finished the past summer!).
He got back to me with a quote in line with the rest, and I asked him the big question...when could he start?
The answer: the first of January and be done in April.
I told him a deposit would be in the mail in the morning, and I suddenly found myself fully immersed in the world of building a custom boat!
|