Mr. Deering and members, You had asked - What considerations have to go into buyer customizations, what are some of the more common customizations, and how do they affect cost? Well, this is what we've learned on the subject. My company has focused on the low volume (less than 2 doz per year) production of power catamarans. At this volume, it has been our experience that we need to be some where in between a production and semi-custom builder which is a difficult position. I understand definitions vary, but in my mind, a semi-custom build has a common molded hull (maybe deck as well) and is very flexible on the systems, layout, and finish. This is generally done as a time and materials project. At our volume we try to have known options and build on a fixed price basis, but with the ability to accommodate a clients particular requests. A good example of a custom request is the cockpit. Our Buzzards Bay 34 has no built in seating. I actually like it, as it provides great storage, (perfect for shore power cords, shoes, wash down gear) and the cockpit usually gets deck chairs thrown there anyway, but so many folks like the versatility that an open clear cockpit allows. So a custom option could be a cockpit seat. One-off construction of this part is expensive, which could be lowered considerably through tooling ( and thus becoming a standard option in the process) but we've never seen any consensus on design so this option remains custom. If most folks wanted the seat we would look at modifying our cockpit tool to add the seat right into the mold. A builder has to be careful not to design out customer preferences. I agree with Mr. Graham that too many options leaves a bad taste in everyones mouth. I would prefer to have more standard content, a higher base price, but deliver a boat that can actually be used as standard. "Oh, you actually want to go out in it...?". Inside the boat, electronics and entertainment systems can be custom optioned with even higher volume (up to 100 boat a year) builders. We don't like messing around with our mechanical systems and I would expect most builders are in this camp. Here, building the same thing over again pays big dividends to the owner. Based on historical data, a good builder knows whats good and what isn't, and knows how to design and build out problems. Cabinetry and layout we are more flexible on. Here again though, we certainly take to heart what our current owners like and don't like, and if the evolution of our Buzzards Bay 33 into the 34 is any indication, this pragmatic approach and continual evolution of cruising features certainly benefits the end user if his mission is the same as those previous builds. Some other common requests are wood species of the interior. Our standard offering is cherry. Why Cherry? The market seems to like it and its allot less expensive than teak. Last I checked, Cherry was $7 a board foot, and teak was $25! Optional woods are Mahogany and Teak. There many other woods popping up, but with these woods, I know there are reliable sources of quality plywood with matching veneers. Most of these exotic woods you here about, the builder has to order up veneers and vacuum bag on these veneers to plywood to make up the cabinetry. This extra step drives up the cost of the exotic wood option quite a bit, even if the wood is selling for less than say teak. Another area is engines. We build our Buzzards Bay 34 with both diesel stern drives and outboards. Its relatively easy to accommodate a buyers preference for a particular brand of outboard, though even this is getting more complex thanks to integrated electronics (think fuel management) and there is still the propping to do. Switching to a new diesel propulsion system never before installed by the builder however is a different story. There is the engine bed design to consider, clearance of internal structure (is that oil pan gonna hit the stringer?) as well as drive mounting height, steering, etc. Today, the builder may even have to deal with the software and potential issues from joy stick controls. This all involves much design and engineering costs. The buyer may not want to pay the true costs of this option. But I think as is often the case, the builder will absorb some or much of this cost in the hopes that he will make his boat more marketable. The above is some of our everyday issues when it comes to custom options. Custom options are a difficult thing. Boats are just so complex, its hard to see all ends, what will be affected and how. I know they can be a source of much attention and stress in a build, even as something as simple as a stereo. or wood species. It's not always a bad thing to copy. I like the fact we've even given copying a better title. I think they call it "best practices" now. Russell Hunt, President Multihull Development, Inc. and Buzzards Bay Catamarans Office #: 508-403-0301 Cell #: 508-759-4111 Other #: 800-882-7083 Email us at: info@MDcats.com Check out our website at : www.MDcats.com http://www.yachtworld.com/multihulldevelopment/

I have to agree this is one of the best discussions To read. Jim Meader DRE # 00493029 RE/MAX Today Sent from my iPhone On Nov 14, 2009, at 3:25 PM, "Russell Hunt" <info@mdcats.com> wrote: > Mr. Deering and members, > You had asked - What considerations have to go into buyer > customizations, what are some of the more common customizations, and > how do they affect cost? > Well, this is what we've learned on the subject. My company has > focused on the low volume (less than 2 doz per year) production of > power catamarans. At this volume, it has been our experience that > we need to be some where in between a production and semi-custom > builder which is a difficult position. I understand definitions > vary, but in my mind, a semi-custom build has a common molded hull > (maybe deck as well) and is very flexible on the systems, layout, > and finish. This is generally done as a time and materials > project. At our volume we try to have known options and build on a > fixed price basis, but with the ability to accommodate a clients > particular requests. > A good example of a custom request is the cockpit. Our Buzzards Bay > 34 has no built in seating. I actually like it, as it provides > great storage, (perfect for shore power cords, shoes, wash down > gear) and the cockpit usually gets deck chairs thrown there anyway, > but so many folks like the versatility that an open clear cockpit > allows. So a custom option could be a cockpit seat. One-off > construction of this part is expensive, which could be lowered > considerably through tooling ( and thus becoming a standard option > in the process) but we've never seen any consensus on design so this > option remains custom. If most folks wanted the seat we would look > at modifying our cockpit tool to add the seat right into the mold. A > builder has to be careful not to design out customer preferences. I > agree with Mr. Graham that too many options leaves a bad taste in > everyones mouth. I would prefer to have more standard content, a > higher base price, but deliver a boat that can actually be used as > standard. "Oh, you actually want to go out in it...?". > Inside the boat, electronics and entertainment systems can be custom > optioned with even higher volume (up to 100 boat a year) builders. > We don't like messing around with our mechanical systems and I would > expect most builders are in this camp. Here, building the same > thing over again pays big dividends to the owner. Based on > historical data, a good builder knows whats good and what isn't, and > knows how to design and build out problems. > Cabinetry and layout we are more flexible on. Here again though, we > certainly take to heart what our current owners like and don't like, > and if the evolution of our Buzzards Bay 33 into the 34 is any > indication, this pragmatic approach and continual evolution of > cruising features certainly benefits the end user if his mission is > the same as those previous builds. > Some other common requests are wood species of the interior. Our > standard offering is cherry. Why Cherry? The market seems to like > it and its allot less expensive than teak. Last I checked, Cherry > was $7 a board foot, and teak was $25! Optional woods are Mahogany > and Teak. There many other woods popping up, but with these woods, I > know there are reliable sources of quality plywood with matching > veneers. Most of these exotic woods you here about, the builder has > to order up veneers and vacuum bag on these veneers to plywood to > make up the cabinetry. This extra step drives up the cost of the > exotic wood option quite a bit, even if the wood is selling for less > than say teak. > Another area is engines. We build our Buzzards Bay 34 with both > diesel stern drives and outboards. Its relatively easy to > accommodate a buyers preference for a particular brand of outboard, > though even this is getting more complex thanks to integrated > electronics (think fuel management) and there is still the propping > to do. Switching to a new diesel propulsion system never before > installed by the builder however is a different story. There is the > engine bed design to consider, clearance of internal structure (is > that oil pan gonna hit the stringer?) as well as drive mounting > height, steering, etc. Today, the builder may even have to deal > with the software and potential issues from joy stick controls. > This all involves much design and engineering costs. The buyer may > not want to pay the true costs of this option. But I think as is > often the case, the builder will absorb some or much of this cost in > the hopes that he will make his boat more marketable. > The above is some of our everyday issues when it comes to custom > options. Custom options are a difficult thing. Boats are just so > complex, its hard to see all ends, what will be affected and how. I > know they can be a source of much attention and stress in a build, > even as something as simple as a stereo. or wood species. It's not > always a bad thing to copy. I like the fact we've even given > copying a better title. I think they call it "best practices" now. > > Russell Hunt, President > Multihull Development, Inc. and Buzzards Bay Catamarans > Office #: 508-403-0301 > Cell #: 508-759-4111 > Other #: 800-882-7083 > Email us at: info@MDcats.com > Check out our website at : www.MDcats.com > http://www.yachtworld.com/multihulldevelopment/ > _______________________________________________ > Power-Catamaran Mailing List