Custom small boat builder

Private owners, hobby sailors and paddlers, fishing guides, camps, rowing and sailing clubs, and lakefront or coastal residents.

A fixed price per boat quoted from materials plus your hours, with extras for trailers, oars, sails, paint finishes and fitting out. Deposits cover materials.

• Woodworking or fiberglass layup
• Reading plans and measuring accurately
• Finishing and painting
• Quoting jobs and managing customers

• Check city or county zoning and any home occupation permit rules before running a workshop at home
• Epoxy, resin and paint fumes and dust: check ventilation, fire code and respiratory protection requirements
• General liability and product liability insurance, since a boat that fails could cause injury
• Check US Coast Guard rules for recreational boats, including hull identification numbers and, for some powered boats, capacity labeling
• Check your state's boat titling and registration rules for buyers
• Quote carefully, since build time is easy to underestimate

Startup costs are typically around $3,000 to $15,000, depending on your workshop space, tools, ventilation and the materials you work with, such as wood, plywood-epoxy or fiberglass. These are estimates, so price your own setup before you commit.

Monthly revenue is typically estimated around $1,000 to $5,000, depending on how many boats you finish and what you charge. Build time is easy to underestimate, so quote carefully. A typical starting point is around 15 hours a week.

Check city or county zoning and any home occupation permit rules, plus fire code, ventilation and respiratory protection for fumes and dust. Also check US Coast Guard rules such as hull identification numbers, your state's titling and registration rules, and liability insurance.