Budget Guidelines
This page was last updated on 23 January 2002.

After numerous requests and much procrastination, I have taken some time to post some of the most significant expenses related to our restoration of Glissando.  We incurred many of these expenses by conscious choice--that is, a decision was made to replace an item or go with something top of the line because of our overall involvement with the project and increasingly high expectations.  

Originally, I thought we'd end up spending between $15,000 and $20,000 to bring the boat back the way I wanted it.  We exceeded this seemingly worst-case proposed budget by a factor of 2--partly because of (somewhat) unexpected expenses, and partly because we chose to restore the boat to a high level.  This certainly lends credence to the well-known mantra that you need to double your budget for any given project.  We were almost spot-on (double the estimate).  The total amount spent includes virtually "everything you see here" on the website--sails, canvas, engine (2), interior, paint, varnish, woodwork, running and standing rigging, original purchase price, propane system, and so on.  With all of that factored in, it doesn't seem quite so bad--and we have an essentially new boat inside a classic shell.   

The total is for the "turn-key" boat, as she is now, with all equipment that's on board.  Perhaps some of these costs should be categorized differently than under the restoration project heading, but I feel that they mostly represent the minimum equipment required for any boat, new or used, and should be factored into the total budget for a restoration project such as this.  The figure represents what we spent to get out and sailing in a boat we were happy and comfortable with.  Virtually any used boat we might buy would require certain upgrades to meet those criteria.

Why did we go over the top so much?  

There were several reasons:

• Unforeseen replacement of some equipment that originally we thought we'd reuse

• Desire for the best product for a given task

• Desire for a high level of finish and increasingly high expectations for the completed project--otherwise known as the "might as well" syndrome

• No corners cut!

• Aggressive scope of project and schedule

• Lack of usable equipment that came with boat.  There was pretty much nothing worthwhile at all (sails, hardware, safety gear--all the usual stuff)

• A definite inherent desire on my part to have a beautiful vessel to be proud of, and unwillingness to settle for anything but.  My boat is my favorite possession, and I only like them one way:  nice.  This is just how I am, and I pay dearly for it!

• We thought we'd reuse the Atomic 4.  That went by the wayside in a couple months.  The used diesel we chose was a bust, and we ended up with a new diesel.  These costs were not anticipated at the onset.

• We thought at first that we'd have two usable, if old and worn, sails to use for a season or so.  The old genoa ended up being rotten and the mainsail, while OK and usable, just wasn't up to expectations.  Result:  two new sails.  

• I went over the top on the electrical system with a complex monitoring and charging setup.  Unnecessary?  Yes.  But I wanted it.  It required a lot of additional wiring, much of it heavy, expensive--but high quality--2/0 battery cable.

• The total amount spent includes all the stuff that can be easily taken for granted on a used boat:  lifejackets and safety gear, lines, sailing hardware, winches, cushions, sailcovers, dodgers...all of this stuff had to be bought new.  None of it was pre-existing, and it's all included in the total project cost below.

Ways to Cut Costs

There are only two ways to cut costs:  buy products for less, or cut quality.  We did not skimp on the quality of any materials or equipment, nor would we at any time in the future.  In purchasing materials and equipment for the boat, I attempted to be as thrifty as possible within reasonable means.  To a large extent, this allowed me to find the best price on certain items--shopping around definitely pays off in many cases.  

(All hail the Internet, without which this project would have been substantially more difficult!  Please bow and kiss your modem, and join me in silent thanks.)

However, sometimes, convenience takes over.  In doing a project, sometimes you need something now.  This means heading to your local hardware store or West Marine and buying it, despite the fact that a better price might be available elsewhere.  I tried to avoid this as much as possible--and largely succeeded for most of the larger portions of the project.  However, where I found this to be less successful was towards the end of the job (particularly January through May 2001) when I was involved in the completion stages of so many systems and projects on the boat.  When you're in the middle of a job and really need some parts to finish that, despite your best efforts, you neglected to include in your original order--you need to go get those parts.  Waiting for mail order or some such is not an option if you plan to maintain a schedule.

Other materials are not applicable for mail order because of the shipping charges that might be incurred.  So-called hazardous materials like epoxy resin, paints, and solvents come to mind--most shipping merchants will apply stiff surcharges for shipping these items.  Therefore, while you might find a better price elsewhere, if it's not in driving distance for you, you might as well come to terms with purchasing these items locally, regardless of price.  Of course, this does not mean that you shouldn't find the best local price.  In my area, there are two good marine suppliers that I used heavily for project materials.  Usually one was less expensive than the other, but sometimes they didn't have what I needed.

I suppose I feel somewhat defensive because I know that I purchased items for more than I might have found them elsewhere.  However, I needed to keep the project moving, and I didn't have time to shop every single item to death.  Some of the less-expensive suppliers (namely Sailnet.com and Defender) often let me down with backorders and non-availability when I needed to order something.  In these instances, I would often order from West Marine because they had it in stock--now--and I knew I could count on having it in hand in a couple days.  Other times, the delay would not bother me and I'd stick with the other suppliers.  The point is that any way you shake it, you're going to get bargains on some items, and pay the regular street price for others.  Proper planning and careful listing of materials needed for any portion of the project will get you a long way, but you are guaranteed to forget certain items no matter how organized you are.

The worst:  fasteners!  No matter how much you try to plan, no matter  how careful you are, it seems that you always run out of screws in the middle of something, or always find that you needed a bolt that was a little longer or shorter.  I tried to always buy full boxes of almost any fastener type I needed, regardless of how many I needed (there were exceptions to this, of course)--but even so, it's impossible to always have what you need in stock.  This means yet another trip to your favorite local store for more, so that you can finish whatever you're in the middle of.  In the final months of the project, 45-minute round trip into Portland to Hamilton Marine and/or West Marine (plus shopping time) became an almost daily event.  There was just no avoiding it.

The Scary Stuff

Below I've tried to relay some of the costs of the project that are included in our overall total expenditure.  I kept careful track of every expense, but unfortunately didn't itemize some of them as well as I might have.  That is:  I have the totals spent accounted for down to the penny, but can't take that total and break it down as much as I might like.  (I'll do that for the next restoration project!)  But, anyway--here are some of the more major expenses for what we did.  Obviously, these are specific to our project, and are certainly not cast in stone.  Where possible, I've included specifications or comments that may in determining the feasibility or applicability of any given item for your own project.

If you factor in the various bits and pieces that are left out of this matrix--things that I could not or did not itemize in my records keeping, such as fasteners and miscellaneous supplies--the total ends up somewhat over $40,000.  This does not include returns, sale of the old Yanmar and Atomic Four engines, and other adjustments.  This total (40K) is for the complete boat, to date, and includes electronics, basic equipment, etc.  The good news:  there is little remaining to be done, from a financial perspective.  The boat is in excellent condition and requires only some finishing touches.  The other good news:  it's all paid for.

Fixed Costs (Relatively Speaking)

OK, you've seen the figures above.  Perhaps you're frightened--I am!  However, rest assured:  many of these costs were specific to our own boat, our own project, and our own desires and expectations.  We outfitted the boat with the intention of doing a lot of cruising--not offshore cruising or bluewater, but extensive, open-ended, non-scheduled coastal cruising that might lead further afield.   Therefore, comfort, reliability, and a homey atmosphere were among the most important factors in our restoration.  This led to creating a warm, cozy interior with a very usable galley.  Perhaps your own needs differ; that can be factored into (read:  subtracted from) the overall cost above.  Does the basic interior of your boat meet your needs, perhaps with only a little fresh paint and new cushion covers?  Obviously this will cost significantly less.  Your exterior paint choice may be different, and there are substantial savings to be had here in initial outlay depending, once again, upon your expectations.

So, what would I consider to be relatively fixed restoration costs for a typical old boat like a Triton or similar design?  Within a few percentage points either direction, I would say that my costs for fiberglass, epoxy resin and supplies, and related tools/sundries should be considered fairly constant for a similar scope of work when comparing identical projects--apples to apples.  You could save by purchasing epoxy in bulk--something that I wish I had done.  But even so, the savings might be maxed out at 10% over my own costs.  Frankly, the project consumed more epoxy and fillers than I ever imagined, so I erred in purchasing the stuff by the gallon.

Virtually all of the other costs are more subjective--that is, it very much depends on your own individual boat, your plans, and your desires.  But I would guess that, within, say, 10% either direction, each of my costs could be used for estimating purposes on any given, specific category--for the same scope of work.  There are exceptions, of course.

Is it possible to do the exact same project for less money in materials?  Almost certainly so.  I have no disillusions about that and know that in some cases I paid more than absolute rock-bottom.  I've discussed my reasons for this in the paragraphs above--sometimes convenience, rather than lowest cost, rules the day.  From a practical standpoint, though, and  under a fixed, aggressive project schedule, I'd say that these costs are pretty reasonable and mainstream.  If you can really get your act together, and make a detailed listing of every item you think you need for a project, you could likely save substantially by shopping your entire order around to various suppliers for purchase all at once.  This means, of course, that you need to be able to have the money available all at once also, rather than piecemeal.  For us, it was feasible to spread out the costs over the project period, while coming up with the lump sum up front would have been a real challenge.  Doing it our way, we avoided a loan of any sort--all expenditures were paid immediately.

Would we do it again?

In a word:  yes.  Did we spend too much?  Yes.  Do we begrudge any of the money spent making the boat the way she is?  Absolutely not!  Is the boat worth what we have into it?  Not from a purely technical sense.  But to us, she is.  And we couldn't get a better boat for our total investment.  Everything is all new; that's hard to beat.  And I know the boat inside and out, upside down and straight.

Glissando, Pearson  Triton #381
www.triton381.com 

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