Of course, the benefit of this relatively linear financial phenomenon is that budgeting is much easier. How much should we subtract from the final bill for our quantity savings? Nothing? Easy math!

But, don't let this diatribe fool you into thinking I'm going along with getting a "bad deal". The truth is that for the most part, boat yards that perform really good work aren't cheap. They pay their people well and give them benefits and treat them like, well, like people. It seems that when people are treated like people and not fast food service drones (sorry McD's), they tend to produce good quality products. Would you shave a nickle off quality just to get a better price on something that might one day save your life? Those of you driving Yugo's please refrain from response.

Since the boat exists to keep us from drowning it makes sense to ensure that it's well crafted and maintained. So, the best quality work is a necessity. Best quality means top dollar. However, not all good yards get good prices on equipment.

Small yards, or specialty yards, that don't buy a lot of equipment don't get the best discounts and therefore have less savings to pass on to the customer. The best equipment deals come from the large marine discount shops that have large purchasing power with the various manufacturers and are willing to pass their savings on to the customer. Bargain hunting 101, right? We're discovering, however, that some quality yards don't mind if you shop price on equipment since they're making their money on service. In fact, most of the equipment we're adding to Good Omens is coming from discount marine hardware dealers who will ship the product to the yard for installation. So, while we're spending more on service, we're saving on equipment. Ultimately we come out somewhere in the middle on overall job cost; at least that's the plan.

Of course, we're also doing a good deal of the easier tasks ourselves. That will be the subject of many, likely humorous articles to come.