{"id":526,"date":"2000-10-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2000-10-20T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/?p=526"},"modified":"2012-03-07T20:21:49","modified_gmt":"2012-03-08T01:21:49","slug":"s_logs-dashew-dashew65","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/setsail.com\/s_logs-dashew-dashew65\/","title":{"rendered":"Tips for Working with Marine Contractors"},"content":{"rendered":"
The Dashews did a lot of work this summer with various marine trades. In this report they share what they would have done differently, and what they did right.<\/div>\n

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Over the years we’ve built a lot of boats (50+) working with hull builders, boat yards, and various contractors. In the process we’ve learned a couple of things that have helped to get the job done correctly (usually the first time), reducing anxiety and cost in the process.<\/p>\n

Of course there have been situations when we’ve ignored our own rules, usually at some cost to ourselves.<\/p>\n

Our experiences this past summer with Beowulf are typical. Take the welding work we mentioned a few weeks ago. We had a series of things we wanted to do on deck, plus have a new pilot house entry door fabricated.<\/p>\n

Rule one has always aim for a vendor where the owner\/boss gets his hands dirty. That means dealing with a small business, where the guy at the top knows how to do everything himself. Even though he may delegate the work, his people are apt to be more knowledgeable – they can’t b.s. a boss who can do the work himself.<\/p>\n

That’s why we chose Howdy Bailey in Little Creek, VA for our projects. Howdy has a small shop, has built lots of boats, and is familiar with every aspect of building and maintenance. The facilities are funky, which means there is no wasted overhead.<\/p>\n

The type of work we had to do on Beowulf is a boat yard’s nightmare. A lot of mostly small projects. Very difficult to figure time on, so we had Howdy do the work on a time and material basis. He was prepared to give us a fixed price, but if we’d gone that route, he would have had to cover himself for a lot of contingencies. <\/p>\n

As we’ve already written, the two of us did all the preparation work – which takes more time than the actual jobs by Howdy’s crew. To make his work more efficient, we made detailed sketches and\/or templates of the various pieces we wanted to weld on and\/or change. If you are not sure what to do, Howdy is the kind of guy you can sit down with and sketch together. The key thing is to clearly communicate what needs to be done. Questions are better resolved before the hourly meter starts ticking.<\/p>\n

One of our concerns was scheduling. We were anxious to get Beowulf parked for a while so we could visit the kids, but wanted to participate in the project so we needed to get the work done expeditiously. Towards this end, we contacted Howdy a month ahead of time, to check on his schedule, and see if he could fit us in. We then updated Howdy on a weekly basis as to our plans. The day after we arrived at Little Creek Marina, two of his guys were working on the boat.<\/p>\n

Needless to say, we were pleased with the work, the schedule, and the bill was quite fair considering the disruption factor on his other projects. You can contact Howdy Bailey at 757-270-3554 (USA). <\/p>\n

Our experiences in Newport, Rhode Island, were not quite as positive with some of the folks we dealt with. Custom Nav was one. We’d had a problem with our Trimble Sat C transceiver and needed to get the software updated. After checking with Trimble as to the software rev required, at Trimble’s suggestion we took the unit in for service. When we got the set back and fired it up, the Custom Nav had installed the wrong rev of the software. Not a big deal as long as we caught it before heading offshore – but an annoyance nonetheless. They were obliging enough and got the proper rev eventually downloaded. We then needed to have our Sat C Antenna serviced, and this is where things broke down. The antenna work is done by a subcontractor of Trimble’s, and to send it in, the dealer gets an RMA number, which controls the work. We were anxious to get the antenna back to make sure everything was operating properly, and arranged to have it sent by courier to the repair facility – so it could be returned to us two weeks later in Virginia.<\/p>\n

When we got to Virginia we called to find out where it was and did not get a clear answer. Here is where we made our mistake. At the first hint of trouble on schedule, we should have asked for the number of the repair facility, so we could double check ourselves. We didn’t do this until another week (and several more run-around answers) transpired. When we did finally call the repair center we were told that the antenna had only just then arrived – two and a half weeks after we’d dropped it off at Custom Nav. Obviously somebody dropped the ball and did not want to admit it. The Trimble folks were then very helpful, and turned the antenna around in 24 hours for us. <\/p>\n

What did we learn (again!) from this? Since we were on a tight schedule we should have coordinated with the repair folks ourselves, from the beginning, and we should have gotten a courier tracking number. Either action would have told us there was a problem, and\/or let Custom Nav know they were under scrutiny.<\/p>\n

Of all the trades we’ve worked with over the years, upholstery has been the most difficult. This has been as true in Denmark as in New Zealand – and it has not changed in Newport, Rhode Island. In general, we’ve found it better to work with small shops, where the principles actually do the work. <\/p>\n

We needed new cushions for Beowulf’s saloon, pilot house, and cockpit. After making some local inquiries we ended up at S and S Fabrics talking to Paul DiMartino. Paul’s operation is a big one – that’s usually a negative – but they seemed quite capable on the surface and they had the crew to do the work in a week, so our lives aboard would suffer minimum disruption.<\/p>\n

We discussed in detail how things were to be done, Paul made copious notes, and we felt like the situation was well in hand.<\/p>\n

One of the ways we’ve kept control of upholstery in the past was by having samples made, so that everyone would be on the same page as to the way things were to turn out. However, in this case, since we were basically replacing existing cushions with only slight changes, we bypassed this crucial step – a big mistake.<\/p>\n

We won’t bore you with all of the details, but the saloon cushions ended up being done three times, the pilot house twice, and the cockpit cushions twice. This was hard on the folks at S and S as we had a fixed price bid – and the end result, even after all the modifications, was of a lower quality than we would normally accept. But it was time to head down the coast and we did not want to re-do everything yet again and lose another week.<\/p>\n

So what did we (re) learn with S and S? First, it is always better to go with a small shop, as we said at the beginning. Second, always do a sample. Third, make sure there is enough time before you depart so that you do not have to accept a lower quality standard due to schedule constraints.<\/p>\n

Not that all our Newport experiences were negative. We’ve already written about the wonderful new sails that Dan Neri made for us at North. They fit perfectly, have a very sexy and fast shape, and were delivered on the day Dan promised (North Northeast phone is 401 683 7997).<\/p>\n

And we have nothing but praise for our awning supplier, Todd Johnston at Banks Sails. Todd built us replacements for all our awnings, and they are beautiful. The detailing, especially the batten pockets, is the best we’ve ever had. And his service was excellent. If you are in the Newport area and need awnings, give him a try (401 884 4227).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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