Catamaran Prices

[diesels12]

I have been a member of the forum for about 6 months and I have read thousands of postings and have gained alot of knowledge in a short period of time doing so. I am shocked by some of the prices I see for the boats built in the US, Europe and S.A. I have been exploring boat manufacturers in Taiwan, Thailand and even China and have noticed remarkably lower prices for custom boats. I realize that the quality in some of these places is lacking but I have found some Tiawanese builders who have been in business for 20-30 years and are putting out some nice products. Does anyone have any experience with purchasing a boat in this region? I would insist on only the best hardware and rigging but I do not have time to watch every aspect of the production process to make sure it is done properly. Any ideas or suggestions?

[Nordic cat]

Diesels,

The price of all the stuff that goes into making a quality boat is pretty much the same anywhere in the world, if you use the big name brands, and if the yard you use has some volume to get proper yard discounts.

The biggest variable IMO is what method you choose for the build, and the number of manhours and hourly rate these cost.

The actual labour cost for say a basic 40 ft cat will be between 15 and 30% of the total cost, depending on the required finish of course.

Never underestimate the value of experience in the build method you choose, this is an important quality factor.

An important issue IMO is to choose somewhere that has a good sub supplier infrastructure be it for parts or specialised skills. This can be lacking in some of the SE Asian markets in the type of build you would want for a lightweight boat.

Hope this helps

Regards

Alan

[Captainadam]

Yes China built boats cost less, maybe its because the laborers make the equivalent of a couple of dollars a day and the safety standards are fairly low. if you have a boat made in india it may even be less. oh yes, shipping will be around 30,000 to 50,000 US
Cheers
Adam

[David M]

Its generally true that with boats you get what you pay for. You may be getting what you pay for with cheap labor.

[diesels12]

Why not just sail the boat back yourself and save $50k?

[freetime]

The new Corsair 50 will be built in Thailand....

[diesels12]

How much will that be going for and how does it look?

[sandy daugherty]

Its a powercat. No mast. Said to be diesel/electric.