Launch Day for S/V MON TIKI Approaches!
One or two previous post have concerned insurance, and insuring MON TIKI is all that stands between us and a launch this Saturday at Montauk Marine Basin.
The surveyor was by today, impressed with the build, but a little puzzled at how to arrive at and justify a valuation. Insurance value is typically arrived at by looking at comparable boats, but MON TIKI is a one-of-a-kind vessel.
But I’m sure he’ll get it sorted out. After all, he’s working for me (that’s how marine insurance surveys work) so there’s really no doubt he’ll come back with a number that is acceptable to all parties. And in any case, the greater concern is liability. I have visions of being at the helm of a strange vessel for the first time, pinballing my way through the docks, leaving tens of thousands of dollars of gelcoat damage in my wake…
And so.
By the close of business tomorrow we (hopefully!) will have converted our builder’s risk policy to an on-the-water policy, and that completed, we can hoist her up in the travel-lift, trundle her the 100 feet from where she’s blocked up to the slipway, and drop her in.
The weather forecast for Saturday is fine and fair. Do you think she’ll float? And do you think she’ll float upright?
I hope so!
Exciting!
Looks like David’s baby is nearing birth too. Mon Tiki makes five!Report
Wait. What? Babies? Where?Report
“Do you think she’ll float? And do you think she’ll float upright? I hope so!”
This may be the wrong time to be asking these questions.
When it’s launched (or right before) you need to take a picture of the entire boat. We’ve gotten so many teaser shots of this part or that part over the year, I’m stoked to see the whole enchilada. I bet she’s gorgeous.Report
MON TIKI is my sixth boat. The previous 5 all floated, upright, and performed satisfactorily.
Still.
And yes. Photos. Lots of them.Report
Photos? Dude, you’re a filmmaker! At least station someone with a cheap video cam so we can actually watch video of the launch. Please. Pretty pretty please.Report
I’m echoing hanley here. You’re a bloody film maker, we demand to see Mon Tiki’s birth from her berth. You have an artistic obligation.Report
I’m echoing hanley here.
You should do that more often.Report
She’s a beauty. She will surely float. Your day has finally come, Captain.Report
As for the valuation. I don’t want to tell you or the surveyor how to do their jobs. But you do know how much it cost you to build, right? Presumably that would be a good starting point when it comes to determining valuation.Report
The miracle of capitalism is that merely counting labor and materials costs does not fully represent the value of the object created.
Lots and lots of theories have emerged for how to account for this difference, but the method most fully accepted today is the Free Market System, wherein the value a good or service is determined by what someone is willing to pay for it; and when a value is to be assigned assent a transaction, an appraiser looks at sale of comparable items.
Now here’s the rub.
It’s axiomatic that one-off builds of unusual designs will not resell for the cost of materials, let alone material and labor, let alone materials labor and a profit. The reasons for this are two-fold:
An unusual design is unusual because there is not a demand for it in the market. The two reasons it can still make sense to build an unusual design is because: a) it may perform as well or better than a more readily available design at a lower cost, and; b) it may have capabilities that are uniquely appealing to the builder that are not broadly appealing to the market.
The second is that there is less surety of the build. As a one-off from a builder with no track record, the buyer assumes more risk that something hasn’t been done right, and that he’ll have make corrections sometime down the line.
On the other hand, it’s a readily observable fact that USCG Inspected Vessels sell at a premium. Again the reasons are two-fold:
As an Inspected Vessel, the boat in question has been regularly inspected, and warranted as fit for the service intended.
As an Inspected Vessel the boat has a COI that designates here legal carrying capacity and legal routes. This give a perspective buyer a way to calculate the vessel’s earning potential.
—
The reason we elected to build MON TIKI is that we believed under a worst case scenario that we could build her for about half of what it would cost use to buy a a well-found second-hand Inspected Vessel of similar carrying capacity and we believed there were aspects to the design that were of unique benefit to our business plan and our private enjoyment of the boat in the off season.
Which is why I say it’s an interesting question to fix a value. MON TIKI will have a COI for 49 passengers while also offering accommodations for 4-6 for extended sea-going journeys. To buy a vessel of similar capacity would cost about $650,000, but we didn’t spend anywhere near that much constructing MON TIKI. The very reason we chose the TIKI 38 design is because she offers those capacities for a fraction of the cost.
At any rate, as I’ve been typing the surveyors report has arrived via email and been forwarded to our broker who will in turn forward it to the underwriter. Cross your fingers we’ll be bound by this afternoon!Report
This should be a post.Report
Totally, as should the follow-up. David is one of my favorite bloggers because he’s a window to a totally different world.Report
How are you going to rig the slings?Report
This is where this whole thing gets a little silly.
Although the same length MON TIKI (a catamaran) weighs about half of our previous boat, INTEMPERANCE (a heavily ballasted fin-keeled racer/cruiser.
The difference is that MON TIKI is structurally lighter (remember I told you about the British fighter/bomber the Mosquito, that was also built from plywood) and she derives her stability from her form (ie her wide catamaran stance), rather than from having a 3 1/2 ton lead fin bolted to her bottom. But because of her width (21′) we have to use the BIG travel lift, which is capable of lifting boats up to least 72 tons (F/V PONTOS was in the slings a couple weeks ago.)
The little travel lift, the one we’d use for INTEMPERANCE (38x12x8 tons) only has two slings, so there placement is more important.
MON TIKI (38x21x4 tons) will be lifted by four slings, so the load is very spread out. As our engineer John Marples put it,”Oh, four slings? You an put them anywhere.”Report
“Do you think she’ll float? And do you think she’ll float upright? I hope so!”
I hope so.
So does the insurance guy.
Yes, we need pictures of the day!Report
Hey, you built a boat.
When did that happen?
You should’ve written about it as you were doing it.Report