How much would you pay to have your winches serviced?

[chris95040]

I'd have to trust the person to do a through, correct job, including washing all the sticky dry shmutz w/ solvent etc before regreasing, I'd want them insured or some other guarantee that I'll be made whole if they mess something up or drop a part in the water.

Given all that, I'd _happily_ part with $25 per winch.

[Sailing August]

Do it yourself. Its not hard and the labor is free.

[chris95040]

Originally Posted by Sailing August

Do it yourself. Its not hard and the labor is free.

Only if you've got literally nothing else to do.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by Dogscout

And if any of those winches fail to properly operate, id want a full refund, no questions asked.

Assuming they were operational before you start and you didn't immediately bring any damage to my attention upon opening them up, I would expect more than just my money back if you break them.

You are on the hook for repair or replacement.

[Paramotorgreg]

From what everyone is saying I must be a bit unusual, but I’m cash rich and time (and skills) poor so I have just paid my rigger US$50 per winch to service my 7 winches.

It’s a job I have needed to do for a while but lack of time, lack of knowledge and laziness got in the way. Very pleased now that they are all done.

[Lionshooter]

When I was a full-service rigger for 20 years, I did a fair number of winches but invariably they were on larger boats for folks with better than average incomes. That was 30 years ago and I charged about $20-30 per plus parts. That was good money in 1981. But I certainly couldn't make a living doing just winches. I was well known and stayed busy but winch jobs came around only 5-6 times a year. In the world of 2021, I would think $40-50 would be about right, but you'll need to offer other services if you want to eat.

[Clivevon]

Originally Posted by chris95040

I'd have to trust the person to do a through, correct job, including washing all the sticky dry shmutz w/ solvent etc before regreasing, I'd want them insured or some other guarantee that I'll be made whole if they mess something up or drop a part in the water.

Given all that, I'd _happily_ part with $25 per winch.

OMG, you get things done cheap in the USA, don't you.

I am sitting here, red faced, head hanging in shame. Yes, I am that guy who pays people to do (some) things I can't be ***** to do myself. I should have a power boat really, I know..

I always worked on the assumption that the most expensive thing on the boat was me, as my hourly rate was somewhat higher than the boat engineer charged. So if I was on the boat, not earning money, I wanted to be sailing it, not fixing it.

Now I'm retired, I am trying to reform my ways, honest, but old habits die hard.

[jen1722terry]

Did you say "winches" or "wenches"?

[zengirl]

Learn how to do teak sanding and varnishing. This people will pay for this. As previously mentioned I think washing and waxing boats is a good idea. If you can have some cheap cards made up so you can pass them out without worry to the cost of them. Leave some in the office of marinas. It's hard having to scramble, I wish you luck.

[joelhemington]

Originally Posted by Shelles

Hey folks,
Things have been slow in my neck of the woods because of the pandemic. I bought a sailboat then the country shutdown (and my usual work as well). I'm thinking of ways to make a bit of money doing things that I enjoy and that are useful.
So tell me please, how much will you pay to get the winches on your boat serviced? Any advice? I'm only going to do manual winches.
(I know that a lot of sailors just do this themselves but I also know that it takes some time and maybe they're not crazy about doing it?)
Should I charge differently depending on the size of the winch, should I have a set cost per winch? Should the price depend on the condition of the winch?
Has anyone done this before? I'd be happy for any feedback.
Thanks!

From the drift of this thread, I'm thinking you'd make more money servicing the wenches - sorry, sometimes I just can't control myself

[seandepagnier]

I open winch, remove grease and put new grease same as bicycle hub.

The boat owner should do this themselves and not pay someone. It takes a few minutes.

I also bought 2 used winches for $50. It should be only $2-3 to service one.

[MJH]

Originally Posted by Shelles

Hey folks,
Things have been slow in my neck of the woods because of the pandemic. I bought a sailboat then the country shutdown (and my usual work as well). I'm thinking of ways to make a bit of money doing things that I enjoy and that are useful.
So tell me please, how much will you pay to get the winches on your boat serviced? Any advice? I'm only going to do manual winches.
(I know that a lot of sailors just do this themselves but I also know that it takes some time and maybe they're not crazy about doing it?)
Should I charge differently depending on the size of the winch, should I have a set cost per winch? Should the price depend on the condition of the winch?
Has anyone done this before? I'd be happy for any feedback.
Thanks!

Forget about it and build a career as a marine electrician. I just needed one and made numerous calls without success. Many of the ones I called were looking for more employees without success...and it pays way better.

~ ~ _/) ~ ~ MJH

[Dsanduril]

When I do the winches myself the removable parts all take a long, soaking bath in diesel fuel or mineral spirits. If I was paying someone I’d want them to do it “professionally”, which would mean an ultrasonic parts cleaner with an environmentally sensitive solvent. Get all the grease (and accompanying grit) out of all he nooks and crannies. If it’s just the same diesel bath and toothbrush that I use then I’d have a hard time spending much $.

[StoneCrab]

You don't say where you are located. I think that makes a difference as well.

In the northern states are great opportunity lies with shrink wrapping boats. I do it myself and have my own way of doing it, but I think I am the only owner working on his own boat. Normally, someone will get the consignment and come in for a week and shrink all the boats. They get big money for that work because it is easy to mess up and requires some planning for it to come out well.

One time I tried to shrink it from the inside. It was going well at first until the metal hoops started to absorb the heat and the shrinking continued well after I left the area. That was the last time that technique was used.

Brightwork is also normally hired out. Most people grow tired of the sanding and varnishing.

I've met some young women who made a business out of being boat maids. They would come by the boat every week, to clean up, remove trash, vacuum, and wash things down. Their business seemed very successful. Owners liked coming to an already clean boat and the girls seemed to do a good job of eliminating boat odors which really got the wives sold on the service. They had the added benefit of being on board mid week, so if anything was malfunctioning, they were another set of eyes or an early warning system for things like bilge pumps running non-stop, or not running when needed, battery chargers cooking batteries etc.

They never tried to expand their business which is probably the main reason it worked. You knew who you were getting and what there work ethic was. They worked together, always laughing and making it look like fun. They'd be on an off the boat in about 30 minutes, with everything clean and smelling great.

Bottom cleaning is also some work that I see hired out a lot. Once you develop your technique, I think it can be profitable.

Best of luck,

John

[jim King]

I think, like others have mentioned, you need a full range of services (wax, change oil, clean oil, water, and fuel filters, bottom cleaning, oil wooden rails, paint, and then maybe lube winches).