Hi Folks:

Im new around here and am excited at what I see. I've been a go-fast powerboater for several years but am giving in to my desire to cruise, maybe long distance. I have subscriptions to PassageMaker, etc. and have been reading for a few years on this topic, but I would love to know if anyone has a rule of thumb on estimating thecost of building a metal boat. How would I start with the specs? Im looking for a ballpark way of estimating whether I can afford a 35' or a 50', as an example.

Thanks.

Randy

I've yet to see a "sensible" guide to guesstimating a custom boat's cost. Going by weight makes NO sense. A 50,000 flat bottom and a 50,000 S sectioned round bottom have huge time differences in labor and that is where much of the cost is.
The following is a rough way to approach a shipyard if you are talking a custom boat. Of course buying aproduction boat is different. They tell you the price right off!

You can actually do a pretty decent rough bid on the materials for a wood or metal boat yourself. Glass is a whole separate issue requiring a mold in most cases and is pretty expensive for a “one –off,” as a custom boat is called. As a result, glass is not practical for a custom boat unless you purchase an existing glass hull, and convert it into a finished boat.
The Old Time boatyard way of bidding was to figure the hull as a rectangle based on the length on deck, the depth from the deck to the deepest part of the hull rabbet, and the maximum beam. This accounts for waste in the assembly. The square footage of that shape is the hull plate. Figure a frame every three feet so add those lengths in. Figure longitudinals at perhaps 16” centers. Add them in. Rough measure the deckhouse and add that square footage. Your plans, or at least your study plans, should tell you what materials sizes are used where so you can use that info to figure how much material you need buy. For instance, for a 45’ steel boat hull plate is frequently 1/4”, decks the same, frames maybe 5/16” x 5”, hull longs 1/4” x 2”, house sides and roof 3/16”. Using the above system you can get a good guesstimate of how much steel is in her. Any steel supplier can tell you how much it would cost. Keep in mind that the hull materials is the cheap part……
Go the supply catalogs and start itemizing all the stuff in the boat. Engine, prop, galley, steering system, anchoring system, and so on. If you’re purchasing enough to build a boat you can get a pretty decent discount. The amount of stuff required to outfit a new boat is enough to qualify you for wholesale prices, so now you’ll know materials costs, and outfitting costs. Many builders will charge you the same as the discounted price you can get it for, making their money on the installation. It’s a good idea to go this way. It makes the builder look good to his supplier because of the volume of the sale, and doesn’t cost you extra. Getting the prices for these things ahead of time will help you stay aware of what the costs should be and shows the builder you’re pretty serious. You’ve invested a lot of your time in this project. If the builder you talk to doesn’t want to go for this I’d stay away from him because the odds are he’s overcharging you.
These two steps, and they’re laborious steps, give a good idea of the actual materials in the boat and gives you a real basis to talk to a builder. For instance, for a 45’ boat that displaces about 60,000 pounds you could say something like: “I figure roughly 35,000 pounds of steel with waste and $75,000 net prices outfitting and propulsion system. She’s a fairly simple hull form. Here’s the Lines plan. So what do you think your labor in building with “X” type of finish (gloss or flat exterior, painted or varnished interior, etc.) it would be?” This is a bit simplistic but actually isn’t that far off the mark and guarantees you don’t come across as some chump. You’ve done serious research and the builder will see right off you’re serious.
Labor is the big single expense and varies tremendously based on the complexity of the hull shape and the degree of finish. It also varies depending on the market segment the builder is in. A local builder who had got fat off ridiculous government contracts gave a $400,000 bid just for the steel work in a 57’ design of mine. I asked him if I could PLEASE get into his bidding circle. He never wrote back!
A single chine hull is quicker to build and wastes less materials than a multi-chine, and both are quicker and less wasteful than a full “S” sectioned round bottom hull. That beautiful glossy paint job on many new boats is the result of hours and hours of fairing and buffing and multiple coats, and the first time you bang a dock or hit the anchor to the side gets a nasty ding. Personally, I don’t like it because a flat or semi-gloss finish can be done in much less time (read MONEY) and is easily repaired if scratched. A natural wood interior, aside from being oppressive feeling in my opinion, requires far slower (read TIME which means MONEY) and more careful joinery than a painted one with a bit of varnished trim. These sort of things make a difference of thousands and thousands of dollars. If you want a cruising boat, you want to emphasize function, but of course it all depends on what you want and how much time and money you want to spend down the road maintaining things.

Thanks Jim. I think I will also start this thread in the other area.

Hi Randy,
It depends a lot on where you get the boat built. To build the Duck in the US would probably double you costs. Chuck Nevell says figure about $10/pound for smaller boats (here in the US) and maybe $5/pound for a boat over 100,000 pounds. That was a few years ago and the price might be up a bit by now. It also depends on how you have your boat finished and how much you are willing to put into your boat in "sweat equity". You could call and check with metal boat builders in this country for a better estimate OR look at the prices from Seahorse.