No DIY in the USA?

[Boatguy30]

Originally Posted by delmarrey

The biggest problems I have run across here in the USA are the PC culture and time, unless one already has the money. Then why not buy new.

Anyway, the PC'ers don't want some mass project going up in their neighbors back yard. We're zoned out! Where I live I have to have so much space between the boat and the neighbors property. Plus with all the TV and internet cables overhead I wouldn't be able to get the boat in/out.
And to rent a lot/space to do the work even remotely close to an ocean is costly. Might as well buy new.

And to be able to build, one needs money so one has to work. And if one works there's no time to build, especially if one has a spouse/family. It's better to be single. Although, a partner would be nice but trying to finding a female boat builder. It's rare as chickens teeth (egg tooth). So, might as well work extra hard and buy new.

The USA is complicated. All these rules and environment concerns. Boat yards are barely surviving due to PC pressures. The average Joe knows very little on how to control hazmat and some boat yards have enviro-Nazi's running around watching your every move. Just google boat yards and check out their rules list. Some are pages long.

Here in Everett they demolished the old boat yards and built all new paved over yards that has such tight controls that one has to walk with their cheeks squeezed together.

I was lucky with my rebuild. I found a place that was fairly graceful but still made sure tarps were down and bottom paint wasn't blown around. But I wouldn't do it again, now-a-daze. I'd buy new! Or, at least, cruise-able.

I think you're really giving the wrong impression here to those that don't know better. Most yards have rules because they don't a bunch of A-holes messing up there waterfront property.

I would think all boaters and even "sportsmen" would do all they can from getting toxic crap into the water column? We're really just talking common courtesy and most yards here just want to tell you you can't so they can pay a guy $8 an hour to grind you bottom and bill you $85.

Most established neighborhoods have little zoning affecting building a boat at home. You may not be able to build a structure, but no issues working in the yard behind the standard setback. My across the street neighbor has their house FS for 2.4 mil and the other guy's son was a candidate for state legislature. Nothing they can do about my boat though. Happens to fit inside my patio, but I did need to knock part of one wall down.

[geoleo]

One reason-catamaran wise-is that we in the usa cannot ship wide loads very far-if at all as its forbidden. I had a 20-6 beam cat stuck in woe-be gone Georgia swamps and I could not move it except via water and it needed huge work. Apparently in OZ its way different.

[geoleo]

Theres also a big lack of docks available in USA . Many new Marinas have zero docks for Catamarans--City of Clearwater built a new Marina 2 years ago and had zero docks for CATS.

[niget2002]

Originally Posted by Boracay

Maybe it's a difference in attitudes to money.

I get a clear impression that a very large number of Americans don't have a big nest egg to retire with despite working very hard all their lives.

It could be just me but Boracay has cost somewhat less than what I would have given in tips over the last 50 odd years if i had lived and worked in America.

In Oz it's not just boats that are DIY. It's houses too. At the moment it seems like every major TV network here is running a prime time home renovation show.

I agree with the attitude part. There's a lot of buy buy buy now now now going on with a lot of that having to do with keeping up with the joneses. A lot of people over here think that buying stuff will make them happy and they have to have the latest and greatest.