Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

[nolimits80]

I'm 17 years old and am pretty well experienced with the mercruiser I/O setups and have worked for a guy in the business for about a year. Have done side jobs for friends and just from word of mouth this last summer rebuilding gimbal housings, doing bellow, gimbal bearing and u joint replacement and have all the specialty tools for working on the mercruiser transom assembly. Also am pretty good with painting, re bunking and pretty much restoring boat trailers to brand new condition. We boat on the Ohio river above the Meldhal dam and I've grew up on that river pretty much and love to boat. I'm pretty good with turning wrenches on cars and anything with an engine or wheels. Don't want to go out and get a real full time job if I don't have to. If I can make more money in one week fixing boats than I can in 3 weeks in some other job, I'll take the boat jobs. I have a little bit of land that I can park the boats on and a pretty nice garage/shop setup to work on them. Also have a good solid tree and big chain hoist for pulling engines. I need some advice on what should I do, what not to do, how do I deal with customers since I'm only 17, is it a good idea to get into the business or not. I really just want to stick to mainly engine, outdrive, transom assembly, maybe wiring and interior stuff and trailer repair. Not very good with gel coat and wet sanding, but I can learn. I love boating and I love to work on them for some reason I don't know why. I know there is probably gonna be alot of busted engines this year from the hard winter. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

I would think that unless you have business insurance you could be putting your parents money, home, and possessions in jeopardy from a law suit.

I don't KNOW this to be true but I'd think it would be worth looking into.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

I admire your ambition and it is darn near impossible these days to find youg guys willing to work the way my generation all did. And lots of people can get away with doing what you want to do.

But to do it right, you need a lot of things: check zoning on running a boat repair business in your residential area--if you are in the city, probably not allowed (many don't even allow boats on trailers) and unless you are in the country, your neighbors aren't going to want to see a pile of boats, either.

You need a business license and will need to pay taxes.

You must have insurance. If you work on a boat, let's say anything with the bellows, and it sinks, you will be sued even if the sinking was not from your work. If the motor you work on has a major failure, if the restoration isn't to the customer's liking, you may get stiffed on your charges or have to give it back even if the problem was not from your work. If a trailer malfunctions on the highway causing a wreck, you will be sued even if the malfunction was not from your work. In other words that $800 repair job can carry high risks--lives are at stake.

So either stick with one-at-a-time for friends and family and take your chances, but if you want to go into business, be a businessman.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

As mentioned: Insurance, Legal entity, taxes . . .

Those would be things to address. Do you plan on continuing your education? . . . college?

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

Stick to cleaning boats and only minor things. LIABILITY is what can bite you in the butt. We live in a very litigious society and you need to protect yourself.

Trust me.....you will replace an impeller and then be accused of breaking a manifold. You will replace a spark plug and be accused of doing lower unit damage.

While I applaud you on your ambition you will need an education. Plan on your future.......look 10 years ahead at a minimum. If you are "school trained" as a marine mechanic your future will be brighter. How many alignment tools do you have? How many carburetors have you rebuilt? What is a FICHT? How do you change the head gasket in an inline 6 cylinder? OMG there are thousands of reasons to become school trained.

Start simple and plan. Maybe you can get a local shop to take you under their wing (their insurance, their book-keeping).

If you think things are easy then you are not working hard enough

 

[agallant80]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

Go for it. I was 19 when I started my first business, it failed and more than likely yours will too but it will be worth a collage education in Business Administration if you do it. The things you will learn will be great and as for liability well there is always that to think of but I am not going to let someone who hires a 17 year old to work on their boat cry boo if something goes wrong.

With that said I would keep it to low risk items. Adding electronics, basic maintance items, cleaning, trailer repair etc. Start with simple "easy kill" type things and then as you master those add in other things. Remember process is king, Always do things by process to insure consistent quality. Find an edge that others don't have. You are young and have energy on your side, you will be willing to do things that older people may not be willing to do like go to the customer instead of them coming to you. Bran storm what your advantage is and charge a fair price. Don't work for $5/hour just to get business. Your time and experience is worth something.

Let the flogging of my post begin.......

 

[jc55]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

Wow, a 17 year old with aspirations? Let's pass a plate around and help this kid out!

I would highly suggest, as humbling as it is, to continue working under someone else...for now if available. You're probably in Kentucky? Probably not a big place to work there at mile 436? Perhaps do some side jobs and get some schooling and certs?

I had a great job once in my 20's and on my own, I decided to work part time after work at a street rod shop for the experience. Sometimes I worked for free. I cannot even put into words how that experience has helped me in every aspect of my life. However, I did not share the immense headaches, customer issues and pressure, unthinkable secret phone calls to OSHA from competitors, taxes, accidents, high end tools going out right in the middle of a job, etc.

To see how the highest professionals do things is a night and day stark contrast to how a back yard builder does things. Sure, the back yard builder will tell you, "Hey, it gets me from point A to point B", but there is a difference in efficiency, quality, reliability, and longevity.
We have a back yard builder here. He could not understand why I would not allow my boat to sit outside uncovered without a lock on a trailer tongue. You want those higher end customers in time, because they'll make excuses for you to do MORE work. Pulling motors from a tree is a sure way to scare them away. But please don't take that as discouragement...you are on the right track little brother, just think bigger.


You can certainly take side jobs while you work under someone else, but I strongly suggest learning more first, to get you to your awesome dream. and indeed awesome it is!

 

[colbyt]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

I sure admire your determination and your own boat business may be a good path to follow when you are properly set up to do so.

In addition to the things mentioned above a 17 year does not have the legal capacity to enter contracts and every repair job is a contract. I suggest you spend some time learning the business side of the equation to further promote you future success. I'm not one to say you need a degree from a business school but you do need to learn the basics of business management.

For sure if you go into business you will be sued sooner or later. You need insurance for protection and most business insurance companies require at 2 years of documented experience in the applicable field before they will issue a general business liability policy.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

The busiest guys at my marina are the detailers....

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

The busiest guys at my marina are the detailers....

I would also think that would be the best and safest money.

 

[pro-crastinator]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work.
Colin Powell

 

[gm280]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

I too applaud your ambition. Too many people don't have much if any anymore. However, working for a few friends and working for the general public is two entirely different things. Anybody that has ever worked for the general public knows just how bad the public can be. Like previously alluded too, they will certainly blame you for anything that goes wrong! AND you can absolutely bet on liability claims! It is sad to say, but these days folks have $ signs in their eyes for their "mother ship" coming in. Talk to some others that have gone into their business and learn from their problems before jumping into a backyard business. BUT don't loose that ambition...move forwards with caution and some serious legal insured plans...

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

Detailing would be the way to go

Maybe canvas work too though I could see someone suing over it leaking

Another possibility is to buy a boat, fix it and sell it.... No guarantees. No list of repairs except maybe a stack of receipts for parts but no explanation of how they got installed. AS IS with signed paperwork to that effect. and if you are GOOD at buying the right stuff and putting it together you can have a profitable hobby.

example buy one of those boats that will pop up this spring w a bad engine and swap in a junk yard truck engine with the needed head gaskets, freeze plugs, cam, and all accys from the bad engine along with some new manifolds... If you can snag a 10k boat for 5k and replace the engine for 1k then you just made 4k... Of course you would need an adult to take on the paper work and the liability for you.

Maybe look into a bigger project that will take a year to finish so you can legally own it and sell it tho lol....

As the guys above mentioned.... focus on education.... keep this stuff in the background and look at the future

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

Another possibility is to buy a boat, fix it and sell it.... No guarantees. No list of repairs except maybe a stack of receipts for parts but no explanation of how they got installed. AS IS with signed paperwork to that effect. and if you are GOOD at buying the right stuff and putting it together you can have a profitable hobby.

Also a very good idea

 

[Frank Acampora]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

I am a guy who "backed into" outboard engine repair. It all started as a friend asking me to rebuild an Evinrude for a buddy of his. Of course, I did this part time and now I am retired so money that I earn is not a prime consideration.

However: A man can not serve two masters. You need to go into it full time if you want it to be your life's work. BUT: boat repair can be an iffy source of income. So, your first priority--even at this young age--would be education.

Work in your backyard taking commissions as your time allows but don't overextend yourself. Word-of mouth is a very powerful tool. Give the customer just a little more than they expect and they will let others know.

However, don't make the mistake of charging too little. Your time and skill is worth a given amount. If you charge too little , you don't respect yourself, the customer doesn't respect you, and he thinks you simply can't do a good job. In reality THEY WANT TO BE CHARGED A FAIR AMOUNT.

 

[minuteman62-64]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

A lot of pitfalls (valid) have been pointed out. If you are as ambitious as you appear, you'll probably go ahead anyways. If you do, build your reputation by doing quality work and standing behind your work. The rest will take care of itself.

 

[Home Cookin']

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

Go for it....

Let the flogging of my post begin.......

not from me, even though my advice was way over on the cautious side. You present a great perspective for this young man to follow

 

[ssobol]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

not from me, even though my advice was way over on the cautious side. You present a great perspective for this young man to follow

No matter how much you like working on boats, if it is your job you may come to get sick of it. Doing something on a boat when you want to is great. However, if it is a business you'll have do a job because the customer wants it tomorrow even if you don't feel like it. Not every job is going to be fun or rewarding. You'll get some crap boats that will be a PITA to fix/work on. Some customers will also be a huge PITA. Depending on where you live, the work will be seasonal, especially if you are working outside. The business part of it will take a lot more of your time than you think and it is probably not something you'll be keen to do.

I have a great job and like what I do a lot, but on my own time I want nothing to do with what I make my living at. After awhile you may start feeling the same way about boats.

It's great that you have the ambition and the initiative to do something like this (unlike a lot of people your age). But you need to think it through carefully before you jump into something like this.

 

[Grub54891]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??


Some are a pain to work on! I'm re-wiring this one now for a customer,up to abyc standards. Already did all the 110v,and 12v systyms,they were just as bad. Certifications are a big plus when dealing with customers. They get pricy,but they are worth it.
Grub

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Starting my own boat repair business out of my backyard. Good or bad idea??

First question I would ask as a customer, what sort of insurance do you carry before I hand over my expensive boat? ESPECIALLY if you are a shade tree mechanic working in your parents back yard.

I think your 1st question would be to yourself: "am I going to leave my boat with a young man with no experience working in his back yard?". My answer is no. I may give him a job detailing though.