Does this price seem right?

[Cheechako]

I have no idea what those are but they seem vastly over priced...

[jt11791]

In the northeast USA the place to go for metal stock is Yarde metals. Their website has "the drop zone" where they sell off-cuts cheaply. Much better than onlinemetals.com if they happen to have what you need. Try: https://www.yarde.com/cgi-bin/dropzone.pl

[zstine]

Originally Posted by Franziska

If a shop does not have the right size material, they are sometimes required to get a full size rod.
They than put the complete rod on the clients bill and sell him the short pieces for the full price.

"Free" material for them to use on a different project.

Honest shops communicate that to the client upfront and ask if they should go ahead.
Better ask for a firm offer before.

In the USA this would be illegal. The supplier must either state a minimum buy or clearly disclose that you are being charged for materials not received. Otherwise it is stealing. And violates several consumer protection and financial billing laws. They cannot charge for the materials until the order is fulfilled/shipped either. If they advertise the material prices, then it should be easy for Chotu to see if he was charged for more material than he received. And if he was, I would be getting a refund if I was him!

[PineyWoodsPete]

Nothing to do with price, Chotu, but looking at the massive 3/4" rod and the tiny pin holes that couldn't be significantly more than 1/4". Surely the pins for these won't carry the whole shroud load in shear, but without more machining, no other options, seems to me...

[Celestialsailor]

Originally Posted by zstine

In the USA this would be illegal. The supplier must either state a minimum buy or clearly disclose that you are being charged for materials not received. Otherwise it is stealing. And violates several consumer protection and financial billing laws. They cannot charge for the materials until the order is fulfilled/shipped either. If they advertise the material prices, then it should be easy for Chotu to see if he was charged for more material than he received. And if he was, I would be getting a refund if I was him!

Only if you are quoting time & material. If you quote by the job, you can name your price.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Chotu

Maybe that’s it. On the receipt, it was the materials that were the most expensive part.

They didn’t seem to charge for polishing at all, and they charged $150 to drill the four holes.

I guess the next stuff I buy from them I will have to clamp down pretty hard on the pricing.

Hmm...polishing is usually labour intensive - dependant on the original stock and degree of finished expected. This sounds like sloppy invoicing details.

Of course, if they stiffed you the first time and you go back demanding a sharp pencil for the next job, you could end up looking for another supplier. Thus your timeline stretches and stretches.

Sounds like you are between the devil and the deep blue sea.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by PineyWoodsPete

Nothing to do with price, Chotu, but looking at the massive 3/4" rod and the tiny pin holes that couldn't be significantly more than 1/4". Surely the pins for these won't carry the whole shroud load in shear, but without more machining, no other options, seems to me...

You’re definitely not understanding how these work. At all.

The holes for the cotter pins simply position the three-quarter inch rod and keep it from potentially sliding out of the bushings. There is no more load on them than the cotter pins that hold the pin that holds your forestay up. There is no load on them. I don’t need any engineering posts in here. These are already done.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Wotname

Sounds like you are between the devil and the deep blue sea.

What else is new? If it’s not losing all the money for the build, it’s having a heart attack, it’s being sensitized to epoxy, I’m about ready to give up at this point.

Very down in the dumps that I couldn’t even get a mast up all winter here.

[Allied39]

Originally Posted by Chotu

What else is new? If it’s not losing all the money for the build, it’s having a heart attack, it’s being sensitized to epoxy, I’m about ready to give up at this point.

Very down in the dumps that I couldn’t even get a mast up all winter here.

Really sorry to see that you are having a hard time of it, but , to be honest, you need to live in reality. Reality has changed lately, not going to go into it, a waste of time.
However, at times, its best to simply comprehend that it is as it is.
Plenty of folks here can advise you to get a refund, or that you paid to much, however it is what it is. If you paid to much, don't worry about it, its paid, it's past, move forward.
Don't get discouraged, use it as knowledge as you move forward. You have knowledge gained from some of the posts. Celestial sailor may be able to be of asssistance, paying shipping and paying him has got to feel better than paying too much local.
It sounds like you have chosen to bite off a big chunk of work....time to chew. It's what us big boys do, put on our big boy pants and move fwd.
You'll get there.

[MicHughV]

Hourly shop rates are insane these days...in my neck of the woods a mechanic is gonna run you $150/hr.

The actual job might only be an hour or two, but they will likely have to set up a jig, etc, adding more time to the job. Most machine shops will add an extra " fee" for consumables, rags, etc.

Many shops use a "rate schedule", which is more or less a fixed $$ number to do something, regardless of the time involved.

Lastly, they may have given this job to a "newbie" who took twice as long as a shop pro.

Their could be many variables. I would have asked for a written estimate.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Allied39

Really sorry to see that you are having a hard time of it, but , to be honest, you need to live in reality. Reality has changed lately, not going to go into it, a waste of time.
However, at times, its best to simply comprehend that it is as it is.
Plenty of folks here can advise you to get a refund, or that you paid to much, however it is what it is. If you paid to much, don't worry about it, its paid, it's past, move forward.
Don't get discouraged, use it as knowledge as you move forward. You have knowledge gained from some of the posts. Celestial sailor may be able to be of asssistance, paying shipping and paying him has got to feel better than paying too much local.
It sounds like you have chosen to bite off a big chunk of work....time to chew. It's what us big boys do, put on our big boy pants and move fwd.
You'll get there.

It’s a cumulative effect. The other things I mentioned weigh heavily. Not just this small thing. This is like a straw breaking the camel’s back sort of speak. I have faced way more adversity in this build than anyone ever has before. Except the guys that die in the middle of it. Which I came pretty close to doing, actually.

So I think I have earned the right to get a little down once in a while about it. I should not have to have faced everything that I did in this build. This was excessively awful and it robbed me of my health.

Yes, I am very much a realist and face that things are what they are. But I don’t know how much more fight I have left for this.

I would definitely be very happy to contract with celestial sailor and work with someone that I know. That I trust. It would be fantastic actually. That’s what I’m hoping for.

[Wotname]

Originally Posted by Chotu

...............

Very down in the dumps that I couldn’t even get a mast up all winter here.

I only know of your circumstances by what you post on CF so I might have the wrong end of the stick. Keeping that in mind, I make the following observations.

The timeframe is yours and yours alone so you can change it; don't be torpedoed by what you can change i.e. rejig your self imposed timeline.

Take a (short) break and re-marshal your priorities. The mast-less cat isn't going anywhere and in the meantime you will either die or you will not. If the former, nothing matters; if the latter, proceed once you are again ready to tackle the hurdles. Boat building and refitting is always a marathon, never a sprint.

[MicHughV]

Chotu,

I've got to echo what others have said.
A 50' cat is a massive undertaking...massive !!!
I've know many others that have tackled these large build projects.
These kind of projects are extremely challenging to do for a single person, both financially and from a labor point of view.

You have to remember....you can only eat the elephant one bit at a time!!

As one that built my own boat, I often took a left turn, when I should have gone straight, but I always found the way back.

When I started my build, I though I could do it in one year for $10K. Three years later, I splashed it for considerably more than the $10K.

'jes sayin'....

[Madehn]

No you got hosed on that one. Order the tube and bar from McMaster carr then cut to size with an angle grinder with cutting discs. Probably 8 dollars worth of discs and 40 bucks for a cheap angle grinder. As for drilling Cheap 90 dollar harbor freight drill press and a set of good cobalt drill bits ($100). A can of drill oil for 10 bucks and you are good to go. I have had good luck locally by having my SS work done at a non marine place. My arch, dinghy crane, Bimini frame, anchor mounts, grill mount, generator tray etc we’re all fabricated for me at a local shop that normally does commercial kitchen counters as their main business. I draw up what I need take it to him and give him a few weeks. I drill most of the holes and they do all of the welding and polishing. He gives me a quote, we haggle a little then agree. I always pay in cash and I don’t need a receipt. Works out well for both of us.

[Allied39]

Originally Posted by Chotu

It’s a cumulative effect. The other things I mentioned weigh heavily. Not just this small thing. This is like a straw breaking the camel’s back sort of speak. I have faced way more adversity in this build than anyone ever has before. Except the guys that die in the middle of it. Which I came pretty close to doing, actually.

So I think I have earned the right to get a little down once in a while about it. I should not have to have faced everything that I did in this build. This was excessively awful and it robbed me of my health.

Yes, I am very much a realist and face that things are what they are. But I don’t know how much more fight I have left for this.

I would definitely be very happy to contract with celestial sailor and work with someone that I know. That I trust. It would be fantastic actually. That’s what I’m hoping for.

A little while back I watched my friend's 13 year old son die from brain cancer (rare they say, total BS) over a year. I saw what it did to my friend.

After that my outlook changed a bit. In order of importance , I have not buried anyone lately,me and mine are healthy, it does not look like I will be burying anyone soon, I have a multitude of skills and I have money to tip well.
All else is a stupid joke.
If you are feeling down, and depressed, yeah, I can see that. I can see how stuff can mount up. I know depression is as real as a broken leg with bone protruding through skin and it can be hard to get past at times.

In your mind go for a wander through a cancer unit at a kids hospital....do it for real if you really want to mess yourself up.

After you put this all in perspective I hope you feel better.