nzmuzza69 wrote:
$100 dollars for an impeller sound like you are getting ripped off! there is always someone out there who can do the job cheaper but are they doing it correctly? have you broken down the price of a fishing charter ,now that's another story
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Are you saying that if you do an impeller change the cost of the impeller, labour to remove, install and test, plus any 'misc' will be less than $100? If so that's pretty good. Impellers can be a sod to change, especially some of the Yamahas where the keys can be hard to remove. I always allow myself an hour to do one just in case. Sometimes it can be a bit more and sometimes it is a 20 minute job.
Personally I haven't found the connection between price and service standards to be that high in our marine servicing industry. Some of the most expensive places I know have done some of the worst work I have seen. Yes you want to avoid the backyard cowboys, but a qualified technician working on his own one day, is the same guy that a shop might hire the next day, or was working in a shop the day before.
As for breaking down a fishing charter cost, here is an example of one of ours -
9hr days fishing - $1200
Skipper does minimum 11.5 hours (30min prep and 2 hours cleaning). You usually end up coming in late as you gift an extra 30mins (sometimes more) so that the clients feel that they are being treated right. Clients also often arrive late and then think that they shoudl still get their 9 hour trip. So average trip is more like 12 hours of skipper time.
Typical trip for us is around 3 hours of running over the day
SO
Skipper - 12 x $30 = $360
Fuel - 3 x 15l x $2.2 = $100
Spare tackle, bait etc for clients that don't bring enough - $20
Ice - $10
Engine mtce (so lets use your $480 100hr service cost)
2 engines x 3 hours = 6 hrs @ $4.80 = ~$30
Tea, coffee, milk, sugar, LPG (BBQ), oil, foil, condiments etc - $30
Engine depreciation - say service life of 3000hrs and say $16k replacement cost after residual value (2 engines). Add a little for major maintenance intervals, so $6/hr x 3hrs x 2 engines
Eng Dep - $35
Repairs from client damage (incl broken plates, glasses, broken doors & tables, damaged carpet etc) - $40
So basic variable cost is around $625 per day excluding all the other wear and tear that occurs even when things aren't getting directly damaged.
Now lets say that you are one of the busier charter boats (there are 2 or 3 who do more, but at much discounted rates) and do 80 days per year. So your remainder after variable costs is $575 x 80 = $46000
So what are the other costs -
We have a $150k asset that depreciates (real depreciation not the much higher tax rates) at 6% per annum - $9000
We have commercial finance on the boat - $150k @ 12% = $18000, but the boat is significantly paid off so lets say $6000 (but it was $18000 in previous years)
We do a major cosmetic makeover every 3 to 5 years, so budget $2000 per year
You need to haul and antifoul annually - $2000
You need to do your SSM (now MOSS) at around $2000 per annum (incl equipment costs)
You need to do your own other maintenance on pumps, winches, chain, plumbing, covers, electrics, batteries etc etc - $averages around $5000 per year
You need a commercial berth - normally $14500, but we get ours a little cheaper so $12000
You need commercial insurance - $1500
So a new total of $39,500 once you have much of your finance paid down, otherwise over $50k
The wonder full profit is $6,500
Then to get your 80 days you need to use a certain number of booking agents. You also spend around another 60 minutes per booking in client liaison and invoicing, chasing payments etc. On top of that You end up discounting some trips or throwing in free extras, and in our case we have an office and associated costs that I haven't even started to include.
Bottom line is that the busy fishing charter boats make a wage for the skipper and not much more. We do it because it keeps our staff employed and we make better margins from other uses of the same boat. Having said that, we are in the process of getting the boat ready for sale as the returns do not justify the work required. Our replacement boat (very different) will be targeting a more profitable charter type as there is no money in fishing charters at the prices people expect to pay. There are a few other boats also being prepared for sale at the moment due to the high costs of the new MNZ 'survey' system meaning that they just can't continue.
There will always be cheap charter fishing because some guys will do it just to make a wage. That is until they need to spend money for a new engine etc and can't find the money. Then that boat gets sold and someone else with rose tinted glasses has a go at making a living from charter fishing. In a perfect world, all charter prices would go up around 20% - $30%, but the industry is full of people who convince themselves that they can get rich by doing their maths wrong. They keep the prices over suppressed and stop the industry from investing and developing. Hence why all the boats are old and getting older, as are most of the skippers. It is also why service levels on some boats are poor. When the skipper/owner is worrying about feeding his family or making the next bank payment and has to discount a trip even further for some demanding client just to secure some cash flow, don't be too surprised if the skipper doesn't go too far or stay late, the milk is stale, the bait is old, or the hire rod is junk etc. This industry really is one where you get what you pay for.
OK, that's my warts and all breakdown of charter fishing, so how about a detailed breakdown of a $480 service on a F60?