I had the bottom painted and a new boot top stripe painted at King Harbor, which is the small artificial harbor just about six miles south of Marina del Rey.
There couldn't be more contrast between King Harbor Marine Services and, say, The Boat Yard in MDR. The Boat Yard (that's its name) has many employes, a busy yard, and an advertising budget. Their bid for two and a half coats was $1500. That's for off-season, after Nov. 15, when they waive the $250 haul-out fee.
King Harbor Marine Services is tiny, with one Travelift. The yard is neat, sort of, but the platform ladders used to board boats that are hauled and blocked were made out of 2x4s about 15 years ago, never painted, and are falling apart. The owner is Abe. The yard manager is Scott (thanks for correcting the name, VOR). I wondered the first day if I'd made a mistake, motoring here in an hour or two to save some money. The vibe was very unboatyard-like. About 18 months before I had interviewed at three yards on the topic of DIY. Most, of course, don't want any part of that. Most permitted no outside workers. But King Harbor said $800/month, any workers you like, and you can use our air and power and advice.
That was a restoration project I wound up not doing, but I had at the time that same feeling--this is a yard from 1950, is it...capable? Where's the hard sell? Where's the "we'll take care of this, sir, don't worry about anything." Nothing had changed by last week. And frankly, I still don;t know what to think about this odd little business. But I do think I saved money, and I did tell them I'd spread the word about what they charged. Abe, the owner, just looked at me. "Thanks," he said. Courtesy, not Yelp-hungry.
The yard manager suggested I only put one coat of paint on. "Thelonious" has never been scraped down, there's a pretty thick build up, and he pointed out a few cracks that suggest all the paint will have to be removed eventually--so why put on more than necessary? Bottom paint, according to him loses it oomph after 18 months anyhow. Made sense to me, and I'd never heard the argument before.
So: Pressure wash, careful prep and fill, primer where needed, one complete coat plus two on the heading edges and rudder: $1150.
I really needed a new boot top, and that's something you can't do in the water. I chose Awlgrip Aristo Blue, which, if you can believe it, is an almost perfect match with my blue cove stripe. I watch Manuel prep, tape and prime but missed the actual application. He did a superb job, even after my compulsive directions about correcting some ancient unevenness in the waterline.
Boot top stripe: about $1000. I think their painting rate is $95 an hour.
King Harbor quoted me $560 to compound and wax just the topsides. I expressed astonishment, since the going rate here for waxing the deck and topsides in a slip is $350. But we were on blocks, and the manager said it was hard for the guys to deal with the scaffolding. So I declined. I thought the quote was weird, and it contributed to a sense of unease about King Harbor.
When I finally called to confirm the boat was ready to be relaunched, Scott said that it was, and they had just finished the wax job.
That registered after I hung up, so I called him back. Wait, I didn't approve a wax job--
"Oh, the Owner threw that in," Scott said.
"Yer kiddin' me, at the price?"
"I thought you'd be pleased," he said.
The whole job came out very well, and met my standards for bottom paint prep, which are pretty basic but at least I paid attention.
King Harbor Marine Services. Yeah, I know, kind of an odd review. But check it out. And when the time comes, it is one of the few DIY yards around.
There couldn't be more contrast between King Harbor Marine Services and, say, The Boat Yard in MDR. The Boat Yard (that's its name) has many employes, a busy yard, and an advertising budget. Their bid for two and a half coats was $1500. That's for off-season, after Nov. 15, when they waive the $250 haul-out fee.
King Harbor Marine Services is tiny, with one Travelift. The yard is neat, sort of, but the platform ladders used to board boats that are hauled and blocked were made out of 2x4s about 15 years ago, never painted, and are falling apart. The owner is Abe. The yard manager is Scott (thanks for correcting the name, VOR). I wondered the first day if I'd made a mistake, motoring here in an hour or two to save some money. The vibe was very unboatyard-like. About 18 months before I had interviewed at three yards on the topic of DIY. Most, of course, don't want any part of that. Most permitted no outside workers. But King Harbor said $800/month, any workers you like, and you can use our air and power and advice.
That was a restoration project I wound up not doing, but I had at the time that same feeling--this is a yard from 1950, is it...capable? Where's the hard sell? Where's the "we'll take care of this, sir, don't worry about anything." Nothing had changed by last week. And frankly, I still don;t know what to think about this odd little business. But I do think I saved money, and I did tell them I'd spread the word about what they charged. Abe, the owner, just looked at me. "Thanks," he said. Courtesy, not Yelp-hungry.
The yard manager suggested I only put one coat of paint on. "Thelonious" has never been scraped down, there's a pretty thick build up, and he pointed out a few cracks that suggest all the paint will have to be removed eventually--so why put on more than necessary? Bottom paint, according to him loses it oomph after 18 months anyhow. Made sense to me, and I'd never heard the argument before.
So: Pressure wash, careful prep and fill, primer where needed, one complete coat plus two on the heading edges and rudder: $1150.
I really needed a new boot top, and that's something you can't do in the water. I chose Awlgrip Aristo Blue, which, if you can believe it, is an almost perfect match with my blue cove stripe. I watch Manuel prep, tape and prime but missed the actual application. He did a superb job, even after my compulsive directions about correcting some ancient unevenness in the waterline.
Boot top stripe: about $1000. I think their painting rate is $95 an hour.
King Harbor quoted me $560 to compound and wax just the topsides. I expressed astonishment, since the going rate here for waxing the deck and topsides in a slip is $350. But we were on blocks, and the manager said it was hard for the guys to deal with the scaffolding. So I declined. I thought the quote was weird, and it contributed to a sense of unease about King Harbor.
When I finally called to confirm the boat was ready to be relaunched, Scott said that it was, and they had just finished the wax job.
That registered after I hung up, so I called him back. Wait, I didn't approve a wax job--
"Oh, the Owner threw that in," Scott said.
"Yer kiddin' me, at the price?"
"I thought you'd be pleased," he said.
The whole job came out very well, and met my standards for bottom paint prep, which are pretty basic but at least I paid attention.
King Harbor Marine Services. Yeah, I know, kind of an odd review. But check it out. And when the time comes, it is one of the few DIY yards around.
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