bb wrote:

On Wed, 19 May 2004 22:20:08 GMT, "Tom Treadway"
wrote:


I just had someone else recommend Ross Yacht. I checked their prices, and
they are outrageous! For 2 coats of ablative paint, sandblasting the
hardware, etc., they wanted $52/ft!! I've found the exact same service in
Tarpon Springs and Clearwater Bay Marina for anywhere from $30-$42/ft. And
it's the EXACT same paint. The lady on the phone said that people are often
shocked at their price.

Thanks for your advice.


As in most cases, you usually get what you pay for. The Ross that I
new had the same people around for 8 to 10 years. The Clearwater Bay
Marine ways I know is lucky to have people around 8 to 10 weeks.

Ross is in an area of very high priced real estate so I'm sure that
adds to their overhead. Also, you can't keep good help around for
long unless you are willing to pay. If you want to save a buck or two
I'd suggest checking further into some of the yards on the Anclote in
Tarpon Springs.

bb



Wow...when I was a kid, I used to scrape, sand and paint the bottoms of
your typical 16-18' runabout for $25 if the "customer" supplied the
paint and the barnacles on the bottom weren't too thick. I could make
$50-$75 on a Saturday - not bad for a kid in the late 1950s. I preferred
the clinker-built hulls, like Lymans and Cruisers and Thompsons...easier
to hide sloppy paint work in the shadows of those overlapping planks.
You could have any color you wanted, so long as it was Petit copper red.

Of course, gasoline for my boat was 19 cents a gallon, or free if I hit
the pumps at my father's marina.