detailing $$$?

[sebagoman007]

OK, I have read many discussions on the forum on polishing/waxing/detailing techniques, and I know how much some of you love your Porter-Cable polishers and so on. I'm really in awe of the amount of time and effort you put into keeping your Sea Rays looking tip-top. However, the cold hard realities for me are as follows:

1.) I'm basically lazy.

2.) My boat is berthed over 2 hours from where I live. (never mind the price of ga$)

3.) The season's just too short (and the women too cranky) for me to spend all or part of my precious weekends at the dock with tools in hand.

4.) The thought of dropping a electric buffer into the drink is not at all appealing, to say the least.

Having said all that, I've been asking around for pricing on polish/waxing and general detailing. I find the pricing to be a bit steep, but I freely admit I am probably out of touch with the current market. So, my question to the membership is this - what's a typical price for the above work for a 260DA? Mine is certainly not neglected, but it's not pristine either. Or, put another way, what are the going rates per foot for polish/wax, and the rough hourly rate for detailing? As a point of reference, the numbers I'm getting are $17/ft. and $95/hr. respectively. Just sounds like a lot to this old Yankee..............

Thanks in advance, everyone!!

Cheers,

Bill

 

[comsnark]

. . .yeah. . .. I have much the same problems related to cranky women and distant boat berths. Being a cheap S.O.B. doesn't help either. $95/hr ehh? That's about the price level of my Mercruiser mechanic. Want to make any guess as to what the guy with the wax sponge is pulling down?

I just suck it it up. . . .but I know at least two neighbors that fork out the dough.

 

[Nehalennia]

Hey Bill,
Work on your #1 issue. Go grab a PC and get on it. You'll see once you get started it's not that bad. Yes it is time consuming, and now that I've wheeled the circular buffer around 1/2 the boat, and getting almost all of my mechanical projects done/installed, I will bring the boat home a few upcoming weeknights and get her all purdy.

 

[highslice]

Bill,
The guys that do mine will detail the entire boat for $16/foot. Just to wash and wax from the rub rail down is $12/foot. They pull the carpet and shampoo it as a standard part of the detail. Unfortunately, they only work at Table Rock lake, so that doesn't help you much. $95/hour sounds a little excessive:wow:.

 

[Presentation]

Mr Bill,

LOL, Mr. Bill, who here is old enough to remember him? Hint “Oh Nooo!!!”

Just something to consider. When you get a quote make sure you know exactly what you get. Don’t accept a quote that is “Boat Detailing = $800, call Mr. Hand.” If you do you will be out $800 then yelling Oh Nooo!!! (sorry I could not help myself)

What does the detailing include?
Washing the exterior?
Removing oxidation?
Waxing / polishing?
Washing the canvas and isinglass?
Treating the canvas on the outside?
Treating the canvas on the inside?
Cleaning the cabin? What will they clean in the cabin?
How about cleaning the bilge area?

Just FYI – I spend about 40 hours labor on getting our boat all clean and ship shape this spring. Of these 40 hours I hired a college kid at $14/hour for 15 hours to wash and wax the exterior.

I did the rest. In addition to the money I spent on the kid I spend about $200 on cleaning supplies including the wax, bilge cleaner, deck cleaner, canvas cleaner and fabric protector, and other smaller items. My 40 hours did include some projects like cutting and installing a mattress topper, a 3rd CO detector, a 3rd fire extinguisher. Hired out installing the generator ($8,500) Oh, also a bracket in the engine compartment to hold water ski’s. I still need to paint it to match the gray of the table holder then I’ll take some pictures and post them.

 

[gredmer]

A friend of mine owns a detailing company and charges $20.00 per foot for the entire inside/outside.
Marinemax wouldn't let him on the lot as they have their own "people".

Their company charges:
Full service detail including eisenglass= $25-30 per foot.
Interior cleaning galley and head $2-3 per foot

So you're talking approx. $650.00 for a 24 foot boat.

 

[comsnark]

Gotta second the porter cable motion. The right tools make all the difference in the world. I spent about 6-7 hours waxing from the rub rail down over two days. Used about $50 in wax and cleaner. The job didn't seem too bad. I only had two "white" pads, however. Next time. . .I will probably have four "whites" on hand.

 

[Geurk]

Cruisers/yachts and sport boats are very different beasts! A full detailing here in Kentucky, inside and out with wax, for a 21' open bow boat will be anywhere from $89-$200 depending on who you have do it.

 

[Dancin Dave]

I wash my own boat, otherwise they charge 50-75 do do it. A wax job is a 1000.00 cash.
I do it myself now. wash, cleaner wax, and now hard wax no more liquid.

 

[dc380]

The going rate here is $14 - $18 per foot, from the rub rail down.

I do the work myself, although next year I plan to get some help. Holding a Makita buffer for 3 days over your head is a back killer.

I had some fender scratches from the Nor'easter the blow through in April last year. Which I ended up having to wet sand to remove. Then I used Buff Magic to clean and then Aquatech wax for the shine. After 3 days of sanding and buffing it came out pretty good.

 

[gerryb]

. I still need to paint it to match the gray of the table holder then I’ll take some pictures and post them.

I unscrewed and removed that damn table recepticle after a couple of weeks of having the boat. Takes up alot of precious room in the ER and we end-up either leaving the table in the cockpit or moving it down to the cabin 95% of the time. I found a rectangular table online over the winter and bought another clamping assy so we may try the larger table in the cockpit this year.

 

[Presentation]

I unscrewed and removed that damn table recepticle after a couple of weeks of having the boat. Takes up alot of precious room in the ER and we end-up either leaving the table in the cockpit or moving it down to the cabin 95% of the time. I found a rectangular table online over the winter and bought another clamping assy so we may try the larger table in the cockpit this year.

Gerry,

Don’t you have 2 other tables in the cabin?

I think ours is factory, not options.

The forward V birth has a table. I set it up a couple of times when we first got to boat. With the exception of when I’m cleaning, the table stays in the lower position with the filler cusion on top of it so the forward V birth is made into a bed. I still have that pole onboard to convert it to a table but now that I think about it I should remove this from the boat since we never use it.

On the port side of the cabin is a second table. We use this table a lot. At night I’m the one that converts this into a birth for one of our daughters.

In the cockpit I’d estimate we keep the table installed 2/3rds of the time. We remove it when we have a lot of guests onboard for room. When its just us the table is in the cockpit and the rear bench seat is down and out of the way so its no longer a seating location.

In the engine room, the table storage bracket is as far forward as it can go, mounted between the shelf that supports the water tank / generator and the cockpit floor.

We now have a bracket, well, three brackets actually, that hold water ski’s.

 

[Woody]

I unscrewed and removed that damn table recepticle after a couple of weeks of having the boat. Takes up alot of precious room in the ER and we end-up either leaving the table in the cockpit or moving it down to the cabin 95% of the time. I found a rectangular table online over the winter and bought another clamping assy so we may try the larger table in the cockpit this year.

The first time I got in the ER that storage receptacle came out. I thought of leaving the table set up but I'm in that ER at least once a day and that means you have to pull it and lay it somewhere, then it's in the way. The table has been in the garage since I brought the boat home.

 

[Turtlesboat]

You guys need to loose some weight. I don't have any problem with my table top holder in the ER.

 

[gerryb]

Mike, are you sure you're spending enough quality time in your engine room? Give that dinghy a break and get down there in the bowels of that nice boat...you'll want as much room as possible... (but you're point is technically correct, I do need to lose some weight.)

Doug, like you, we never use the berth tabletop as a table - it's way too big and no one can seem to get in or out of the seats. Taking that pole out is a good idea as it would free up some room. I do take the round cockpit table and use that in the vberth spot from time to time when I need another table below or need more room above. I have even left the cockpit table at our dock a few times. Try taking the cockpit table storage tray out of your ER and you'll see home much more room it gives you, especially to check the batteries and AC pump.

 

[Presentation]

Once a day? Wow. Why so often? Did you install a 2nd head down there?

We have coined the term ‘poopits.’ Poopits is a condition that only occurs when you are contained to a limited area like a boat and it has only one spot to take a poop. What happens is when one person is using the head, another person needs to go right then.

 

[Turtlesboat]

Ahhh, I see you healthy eaters have the 5.0's. I'm sure those take up a bit more room.

I only need the 4.3's because I don't need to haul around so much weight.

 

[Woody]

Once a day? Wow. Why so often? Did you install a 2nd head down there?

We have coined the term ‘poopits.’ Poopits is a condition that only occurs when you are contained to a limited area like a boat and it has only one spot to take a poop. What happens is when one person is using the head, another person needs to go right then.

Every day that I run the boat I also go in the ER and check things out. I check all oil levels and do a visual check in general. Where I boat I feel it makes good sense to try to catch what problems you can before hand.

 

[Presentation]

Every day that I run the boat I also go in the ER and check things out. I check all oil levels and do a visual check in general. Where I boat I feel it makes good sense to try to catch what problems you can before hand.

That makes sense and I complement you for it.

I’m far less often then that. If I started having movement on say the engine oil dipstick when I did check it I would increase my frequency.

 

[Turtlesboat]

Can't you check all of those things without climbing in? I check before and after each trip and never have to climb in. I only have to climb in to fix something or check the batteries.