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While good design will cost you,
bad design is always much more expensive….
Several times a month I field inquiries from folks
questioning what it would cost to design this boat or that. Now as a
buyer you’d assume that would be a pretty simple query to answer.
Unfortunately it is not that simple because there is no concrete
definition of what “complete design” entails. Story….
Back in the late 70’s / early 80’s there was a simple survey done of
many of the prominent boat designers of the day. The intent was to
determine what they would charge to design a “typical” 70-ish foot motor
boat. A letter was sent out with a picture (clipped from a magazine)
along with a list of requirements. The cover letter simply requested a
“ball park” estimate of the design cost for a boat of that general
description. Of the dozen or so who responded, including several heavy
hitters, the results were confusing if not confounding.
At that time, in those dollars, the survey reported design costs ranged
from $15,000 to $105,000. Now that was ostensibly for the “same boat”.
If you were shopping for any other widget that discrepancy would,
understandably, seem outrageous. It did to me. Still as the years have
passed I have come to realize that each of those quotes, was totally
valid and reasonable. At $15,000 and at $105,000, each designer was
providing good value. Each was giving you precisely what you paid for.
At the higher price you were not paying more, you were just getting
more.
The numbers may have changed but the same situation exists today. Low
cost design or stock plans are probably worth every penny, especially if
you are not really sure if you are going to build the boat anyway. If,
however, you are truly going to invest hundreds of thousands, a million
plus, or more, ask yourself… Is yielding to such false economies really
the most prudent choice?
But that’s just my opinion.
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