New to yacht detailing

F

FordFan2009

New member
I am looking at possibly taking a 2nd job with a yacht detailing company dealing mainly with boats in the water. What should I expect? similar to cars?
 
It's a different animal.





If there's one thing I can say, is, get used to using a rotary buffer all day, for many hours at a time. I did it in Florida, in the middle of summer. It was like going to the gym, the sauna, and the tanning booth all at one time.





I would also suggest getting some polarized sunglasses, as dark as you can find. It will help you see the flaws that regular sunglasses don't.





And STAY HYDRATED. Granted, in WA, it's not going to be like the 7th ring of hell that FL is, but still.
 
Buffing the hull sides of a bigger boat in the water will bring a whole new demention to what you consider to be hard work.



I really like what Vanity said: it's true
 
I have a 42' Catalina in Newport Harbor and over the years have wondered who would be so bold as to hang over the sides of the deck with a buffer plugged in and in hand. I've seen yahoos in their litle Boston Whalers tied off to the side of boats. Man, electricity and water just scares me!!
 
Also, get accustomed to charging by the foot, instead of the job as a whole, or by the hour. If you charge by the hour, you'll either end up being put on a time deadline, or have some very angry clients when the total comes out to be exponentially higher.







I charge $5/foot for a wash and quick brightwork cleaning, when you start getting into waxing, it goes up to about $10/foot, and compounding/buffing ranges anywhere from $18-25/foot. All of those prices are for up to 65' yachts. After that, they go up about $3/foot across the board, and then over 110', I work with the client to get an agreed price. One of my clients in FL was the son of the Geico Insurance creator, and his boat was 177'. It took 12 hours just to wash it. I buffed out the entire thing, when it was out of the water. 11 days later, I had a NICE check in hand.
 
I just took on a client who wants his 50' Sea Ray washed every week in the water. It pretty much looks brand new so I don't ding him for the job. I'm only charging him $2.50 per foot. I also detail the interior of the boat every 3-4 weeks and for that I charge by the job.



OP, when you're doing the exterior of a boat, ALWAYS charge by the foot.
 
Listen to what others said, I dread even detailing my dads 30' when it's OUT of the water.



I typically use a quality carwash for washing exterior hull ( you don't want to strip the wax/sealant). If there are any black streaks, I go over them with a cleaner wax. Inside cockpit deck, if it gets real dirty I use a higher strength cleaner, something like ROLL OFF.
 
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