Bedford Boats started back in 2013. I keep records on every part that goes into every boat and, recently, I started combing through the records to in search of what materials and parts cost back in the day. Boy was I amazed!
The primary raw materials of my fiberglass hull / thwarts are (of course) the fiberglass, Vinylester Infusion Resin, and core materials like PVC foam or Soric. Then, comes the cleats, blocks, boards, mast rake hardware, leeboard fitting, mast, and boom (and a lot more). Looking through my records, I was pleased to see that Harken hardware has not increased in price a huge amount, and the same with the PVC foam cores I use. However, lots of other components have. Such as:
- Vinylester infusion Resin – was $266 for 5 gallons, now $420 – a 58% increase
- Teak (rails) – was $23 a board-foot, now $30.50 – a 23% increase
- Lantor Soric Infusion Medium – was $585 a roll, now $2743 – a 213% increase
- 17oz stitched fiberglass – was $300 a roll, now $834 – a 178% increase
- Carbon Masts – was $300 (wholesale), now about $975 – 225% increase
The Sabot hardware is about the same – a big jump since I started (now) ten years ago.
Now, I understand the price of carbon and fiberglass has gone through the roof since COVID (and didn’t come back down) and the Sabot hardware, well, we lost the original builder and all those parts had to be re-engineered and new fabricators found. So, I get it…
Oh, and how much has the price of the Sabot changed? Was $5500, now $6500 (w/o a mast) – an 18% increase. What? No wonder my wife calls Bedford Boats a not-for-profit business. If I’m going to stay in this business I’ll either have to A) use lesser quality materials (no core, non-stitched glass, and polyester resin) or B) substantially raise my prices (and don’t expect the former to ever happen)…